News

A visa program created under NAFTA allows Canadian and Mexican professionals to work in the U.S. with minimal red tape. But to take advantage of it, states need to look at the Catch-22 situation created by their occupational licensing requirements.

The program is designed to offer solar power to households in low-income and disadvantaged communities. Grant recipients received notice from the federal government that funding was put on pause with no indication when or if they might receive it.

“The removal of critical health information from governmental public health sites is chilling and puts the health of the public at risk,” said Richard Besser, a former acting director of the CDC.

GOP governors and lawmakers have set up their own government efficiency task forces and committees to find ways to cut state spending.

Dr. James Williams, arguably America’s leading expert on the firing squad. He has testified in courtrooms across the U.S. about the effectiveness of the firing squad as a method for executions (always on the side of prisoners, never the state). In an interview with The Marshall Project, Williams explained how he got started in this line of work: “A friend in the firearms community introduced me to death row public defenders, and I had the right resume: I had trained police and military on how to shoot more effectively … I also dealt with countless gunshot wounds as an emergency room doctor. In 2016, some men on death row were thinking about asking for the firing squad, but wanted to know what would happen when the bullets hit their body. I met with two of them. I felt a sense of privilege, to meet them face-to-face as human beings and say they do not need to fear a prolonged and painful death as they might with a lethal injection. I said, in effect, ‘You’ll be OK. I mean, you’ll be dead, but you’ll be OK.’” (The Marshall Project – Feb. 4, 2025)

The average rate increase State Farm, California’s largest insurer, is asking the state to approve for policy holders. The insurer says the recent L.A. fires have imperiled its finances, and it wants these rate increases as an “emergency” cash infusion as it attempts to pay out claims.

Republican Gov. Mike DeWine has proposed a new refundable child tax credit and increases in child care and children’s health funding, along with full funding for public schools.

Fremont is set to pass an anti-encampment ordinance. Its broad language could penalize nonprofit groups that provide services to homeless populations.

Red states are in sync with the Trump administration’s efforts, but some Democratic governors are reminding districts to protect immigrants’ legal rights.

By empowering them to bargain and providing other protections, policymakers can address frustration over flat wages and inflation, while strengthening local economies.

State and local public health departments rely on federal funding to operate. With those dollars at risk amid the Trump administration’s federal funding freezes, they’re bracing for the future.

The number of Oregon state employees who make more money than Gov. Tina Kotek. The governor earns $98,600 a year, which is less than all the governors save those in Maine, Colorado and Arizona. Her relatively modest salary means that one in every five state employees in Oregon make more money than the governor. (The Oregonian)

Indiana state Sen. Rick Niemeyer. He’s sponsored a bill to require farms that confine animals for feeding to have an additional inspection every five years. Farm groups complained that this would raise costs for them, but Niemeyer said their neighbors have concerns about pollution and smell. He said he recognizes that odors are part of livestock farming, but the “magnitude of manure” can be “tremendous.” (Indiana Capital Chronicle)

For years, states strictly limited the amount of time people could be institutionalized. With homelessness rising, some policymakers want to do more.

A combined federal and state effort to redesign the boondoggle-prone economic development program could also provide the blueprint for rebuilding devastated communities.

Pregnant women who are incarcerated will move into the facility next week. For now, only women with 18 months or less to serve can participate but the program may expand over time.

Understaffed police departments and concerns over public safety are spurring greater use of private security guards. But they aren't a perfect substitute.

President Trump, who calls FEMA “not good,” has issued an executive order and established a commission to look at ending the agency. He favors having states respond to their own disasters, but they may not have adequate resources.

Last year, legislators approved funding to fill a coverage gap. The law, however, was overridden by a ballot measure involving pay increases for doctors.

South Carolina residents are seeing rates go down thanks to a law passed in 2022, but the state still charges a lot more than North Carolina and other southeastern neighbors.

The amount it would cost annually to clean up the dead zone off the coast of Louisiana. A vast dead zone is caused seasonally by nutrient runoff from the Mississippi and Atchafalaya rivers that cause algae blooms and cut off oxygen. The Environmental Protection Agency has set a goal of reducing runoff by 45 percent, which would cost $7 billion per year, according to a new study. (Louisiana Illuminator)

Kate Bauer, executive director of the American Association of Birth Centers. She was referring to a new Florida law that allows C-sections to be performed outside of hospitals. The policy was pushed by a private equity group that owns birthing centers and argued this would expand access to care. Bauer warned that birth centers would not be able to provide the same level of care if interventions are necessary. (Stateline)

The Eaton Fire consumed a home and community I had loved for decades. I went from writing about homelessness to living it.

Gloria Sachdev has spent years taking on the health-care establishment in Indiana, working to pull down high hospital prices and make information public to patients. Now, in a newly created position in the governor’s Cabinet, she’s no longer fighting from the outside.

They split their tickets in last year’s elections more than they have in the past, and they were more likely to identify as moderates. It’s cause for optimism.

After a two-year investigation into a sprawling donor network, the Fair Political Practices Commission found it did not violate any rules. This finding will make it easier for groups to coordinate fundraising and donations.

Last month, the EPA issued a rule to step up monitoring and limit worker exposure to ethylene oxide, a cancer-causing molecule. But in his first term, Trump rolled back dozens of environmental rules, making residents of Louisiana’s “Cancer Alley” nervous.

The projected cost of a new school voucher plan in Tennessee over the next three years. Last week, legislators passed a bill making Tennessee the latest state to offer vouchers to all families, regardless of location or income. Critics said the cost will grow much higher. The bill was a top priority for GOP Gov. Bill Lee.

Idaho state Rep. Bruce Skaug. The Republican lawmaker has introduced legislation that would allow the governor to veto ballot initiatives approved by voters, arguing that they don’t always get the same amount of information that legislators receive before passing bills. Initiatives that pass with more than two-thirds of the vote could not be vetoed, but supporters of the initiative process called the proposal a slap in the face of voters. (Idaho Capital Sun)

Some programmers and engineers are willing to forego private-sector pay to find meaningful work. But governments need to be more nimble about hiring.