Internet Explorer 11 is not supported

For optimal browsing, we recommend Chrome, Firefox or Safari browsers.
Smith_Carl_Headshot-400RGB

Carl Smith

Senior Staff Writer

Carl Smith is a senior staff writer for Governing and covers a broad range of issues affecting states and localities. For the past 30 years, Carl has written about education and the environment for peer-reviewed papers, magazines and online publications, with a special focus on conservation and sustainability. He has guest-edited special issues of the International Journal of Occupational and Environmental Health focused on the Precautionary Principle and the human rights dimensions of environmental degradation. Carl attended the University of Texas and the University of Georgia. He can be reached at carl.smith@governing.com or on Twitter at @governingwriter.

Despite a huge drop in revenues, states are taking some measures to relieve pressure on taxpayers and have introduced bills that extend filing deadlines, remove penalties and limit certain liabilities for now.
Governing is building a 50-state map to visualize the changes underway to declare states “Open for Business” even as the coronavirus remains at large across the country.
Despite widespread disruption to session calendars, state legislators still find time to address matters other than the pandemic, an illustration of how the wheels of democracy keep turning.
Leaders from special districts in California, Illinois and New Jersey, with widely varied responsibilities, talk about maintaining operations, as well as functioning remotely, during the pandemic.
The need to protect public health in the remaining primary elections, and uncertainty about the state of the coronavirus pandemic in November, are forcing legislators to consider changes to voting guidelines.
The pandemic has raised concerns about keeping this year’s voting process healthy and safe. Allowing voters to send in their ballots by mail could be the answer, but it will be costly and some worry about potential fraud.
The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power is pursuing a goal of 100 percent renewable energy by including the world’s first utility-scale hydrogen power plant in its energy mix.
State lawmakers continue to address wide-ranging consequences of the pandemic with bills that focus on various remedies to the financial burden on workers and their families placed by government work restrictions.
The range of applications for unmanned aerial vehicles has grown in recent years and, with COVID-19, their purpose could cross into more sensitive areas, such as security and surveillance, according to research.
State legislatures have introduced more than 200 bills relating to COVID-19 since the beginning of the year to address public health issues only government can handle. Here’s our rundown.