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Congress is blocked from passing bills that impose unfunded mandates. The 25-year-old restriction isn't perfect but has saved states, cities and counties billions of dollars.
If we are genuinely searching for national healing and reconciliation, look at the aftermath of the election of 1800, which was as angry and mean-spirited as any in our history.
Legislators have introduced a bill that would effectively prohibit mail-ballot drop boxes to determine a winner more quickly. But Gov. Wolf is fiercely against anything that inhibits Pennsylvanians’ ability to vote.
Evacuation maps that are a year old, coding errors that stop emergency alerts and an emergency official who didn’t hear his phone that was set to vibrate are just some of the many errors in California’s emergency alert system.
The police department in Pennsylvania has worked to balance legal requirements and moral imperatives of public demands for more transparent policing. Some believe more data will help build trust, but not everyone agrees.
Certain school districts in Florida and Tennessee have formally classified school teachers as essential workers, which means that they must continue to work even if they’ve come in contact with COVID-19.
Outdoor learning can slash the odds that in-person classes will put staff or students at risk of contracting the coronavirus. A national coalition is developing guidelines and resources to help schools in any climate.
Officials aren’t worried about fraud. They’re worried about disqualified mail-in ballots because they weren’t postmarked on time, arrived beyond the 17-day eligibility period or were missing signatures.
Many minority communities have grown to rely on the independent contract work flexibility of ride-sharing and delivery apps, so classifying workers as full-time would actually be detrimental. “It’s not good for folks of color.”
There is no national data network that allows quick and effective responses to disasters or disease outbreaks. Many doctors still have to fax documents to public health agencies, a problem many want to change.
Officials in Washington’s Puget Sound area are considering plexiglass barriers, mask-selling vending machines and ultraviolet light to disinfect stations as ways to ensure safety amid public transit during COVID-19.
Reading school board voted to spend up to $700,000 to provide broadband Internet to 10,000 households, with two months of free broadband from Comcast. “I hope this shows the importance of low-cost or free publicly held wifi.”
State lawmakers have stalled a bill that would punish police officers who don’t physically intervene in situations of excessive force. Law enforcement groups opposed the legislation, which stalled without explanation.
Election officials worry the inactive status will further confuse an already complicated general election, but they want to emphasize that dormant voters can still vote; they just have to change their voting status first.
Pushed by unions, Virginia, Oregon and California aren’t waiting for federal guidance any longer and are creating worker protection rules to prevent the spread of COVID-19 while on the job.
The pandemic has exacerbated building departments' chronic under-resourcing. We need to invest in technology to boost their efficiency and enable them to carry out their critical functions remotely.
Elected officials, agency heads and other government leaders need to understand their organizations' challenges and issues. It's the key to establishing a shared culture of security in a public organization.
Federal help is needed now to reopen schools safely and address educational gaps. But for the long term, K-12 education needs to become more financially efficient and prioritize equity.
A military surplus program has allowed Illinois to gather 1,139 items of military gear for their police officers. For many, the military gear is used to intimidate the public. Others don’t mind as long as it keeps people safe.
It is deeply imbedded into the idea of what we expect from our national government. Able to reliably deliver letters, prescriptions and ballots anywhere in the country, the Post Office has become more important than ever.
Massachusetts, Nebraska and Minnesota are among numerous states where legislation has recently been introduced to address the affordable housing deficit. Some bills are more concrete than others.
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Digital technology has changed how people live, move and do everyday tasks. The cities of Portland, Maine, Buffalo, New York and Omaha, Nebraska, share a common vision—a future where parking is no longer a burden for city leaders or the communities they serve.
The state will begin paying one-time relief checks to as many as 70,000 residents who haven’t received unemployment benefit payments from the state. While the $500 payment isn’t sufficient, leaders hope it will help.
Nearly 25 percent of students in the state do not have Internet access at home. Lawmakers are considering how they can address the problem, but until then, school districts are having to make temporary solutions.
Gov. Charlie Baker has announced that the funds in grants will be put toward addressing food insecurities caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Some funds will be invested in technology to help producers distribute food.
The COVID-19 committee has asked for more data regarding positive cases from the Hawaii Department of Health so that citizens can better know which activities to avoid. The department is still considering the request.
The president’s re-election campaign accused New Jersey of a “brazen power grab” because of its plan to send ballots to all registered voters for this fall’s election. There still is no evidence of widespread voting fraud by mail.
More than a dozen incumbent legislators may have lost seats in Tuesday's primaries, including a state Senate president. The results continued a trend of insufficiently ardent partisans being unseated in both parties.
Around this time each year, tens of thousands of “Burners” descend outside a small town in the Nevada desert, turning it into part carnival, part cultural experiment for the 21st century. But 2020 will be different.
Even with a 2 percent increase in total tax collections, Virginia is still 3.1 percent below the revenue growth predicted at the beginning of 2020. Now officials project there will be $2.7 billion less over the next two years.
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