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.

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.
Using satellite imagery, California's Humboldt County has found an effective way to deal with unpermitted and illegal cannabis-cultivation operations and reduce their environmental impact.
State lawmakers are tackling new digital threats to elections and public trust by banning voting bots and criminalizing deepfakes; meanwhile, in New Jersey, a legislator wants to bring an end to paper records.
Richard L. Hasen, one of the nation’s leading experts on election law and campaign finance regulation, talks about what state and local officials can do to reduce potential abuses and disruptions during the 2020 election.
A multi-partner water recycling project is helping Monterey, Calif., stabilize and replenish its dwindling groundwater supply. The project could serve as a model for shrinking aquifers in other regions of the country.
New research from Pew Charitable Trusts points to the need for involvement from all levels of government to help close a digital divide that has left 21 million Americans without broadband access.