State and Local Politics and Policy
It’s especially hard to get low-income Americans living in multifamily buildings across the digital divide. But states and nonprofits are finding ways to do it.
Some district attorneys are concerned about the lack of sufficient evidence to investigate noncitizen voting cases, an issue which is at the forefront of Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger’s re-election campaign.
While most of the men have taken stands on cultural issues that reflect national GOP platforms, such as guns and abortion, there are issues they back that are distinct to the Keystone State.
Agreements negotiated a century ago to share water on Western rivers among states are showing their age in a time of water scarcity.
The Texas governor has sparked backlash from advocates and educators after suggesting that the state may challenge a long-standing Supreme Court decision that allows free tuition for unauthorized immigrant school children.
A new California law requires addiction treatment providers to notify clients that they have the right to safe, ethical and evidence-based services. Penalties of up to $20,000 could be imposed for violations.
Mayor Dave Bronson has launched an inquiry into the municipal election that occurred last month, in part based upon security complaints from conservative candidates. Critics see the move as an attempt to undermine the election process.
More than a dozen lawyers reported that the Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center in South Carolina has made visiting and providing legal information to clients extremely difficult or impossible.
On Wednesday, the public school association changed its bylaws to require school athletes to compete in sports teams associated with the sex listed on their birth certificate. The measure passed in a 62-0 vote.
A trigger law making abortion illegal would go into effect within 30 days after the repeal of Roe v. Wade. An older law could hold people who get abortions criminally liable — but it’s unclear whether it would still apply.
Billions of dollars will soon begin to flow to state, local and tribal governments. It should be used in ways that reflect each community's needs, and we need systems of accountability.
Two lawsuits, one wrongful death and the other emotional distress, have been filed against Amazon for the company’s actions before and after a tornado hit one of its warehouses in Edwardsville, Ill., in December, killing six.
The Electric Reliability Council of Texas is expecting a high demand for energy this weekend as weather forecasts predict potentially record-breaking temperatures this weekend in regions across the state.
The Supreme Court's expected decision to overturn Roe is both the payoff from a decadeslong push by conservative activists and a signal for action on further fronts of the culture war.
The success of investments in broadband equity depends on pinpointing where gaps exist. New maps from Utah State University’s Center for Growth and Opportunity aim to bring them into better focus.
AI can map fire perimeters in minutes, rather than hours, and can predict a wildfire’s speed and direction. But emphasis on preventative instead of reactive efforts would be more impactful, say fire experts.
Only 17 percent of state supreme court justices are people of color.
A new study finds that many transit boardmembers are not representative of their constituents who ride bus, subway or rail. Too often members are old, white and male and don’t use transit much or at all.
Following an announcement from Twitter that the long awaited “edit” feature is currently in the testing process, and news about Elon Musk taking on ownership, what do government social media managers need to know?
The two Texas cities will vote on abolishing low-level marijuana charges in elections this spring and fall. Sixty percent of state residents believe marijauna possession should be legal, at least for low amounts.
Plus a look at missed opportunities for Democrats; a redistricting roundup; and, courage under pressure.
Too often they suffer for disclosing uncomfortable truths. Steps could be taken to make what they do more effective, including strengthening state laws purporting to protect them.
Some lawmakers believe that the Colorado Open Records Act has failed due to high fees and outdated technology. Although a fresh reform bill failed to pass into law, lawmakers hope they’ve laid a foundation for the next session.
Landlords filed 771 eviction cases in Denver County in March, the largest single-month total since the pandemic began. City officials report allotting a bit more than $49 million for emergency rental assistance.
With a housing market unable to meet demand and rents spiking, Minneapolis and St. Paul are turning to a practice many have scorned as bad housing policy.
The $2.45 million app, which launched on Monday, arrived nearly a month later than promised and after much of the state’s pandemic restrictions have been lifted. Just 1,425 people had registered by 8 a.m. Tuesday.
It started out as a grassroots medium for community speech, but now it’s struggling to survive. It needs a new platform that blends the best of its past with today’s technology.
A bipartisan group of lawmakers rejected two of Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s nominees to the state’s Prisoner Review Board last month, highlighting how crime and politics have changed over the last several years.
Enforcement of the ban, which includes menthol cigarettes, won’t begin until January. Californians will vote on a possible statewide ban of flavored tobacco in the November elections.
A new Urban Institute study finds tax rebates are a better solution, while efforts that discourage driving would have the most significant long-term impact on the inflation problem.
We’re used to thinking of it as a waterfall of policies and fights flowing down from Washington. But increasingly it’s about ideas and movements that are erupting from the states.
