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.
Conservative efforts to keep it out of public schools amount to an esoteric cultural war aimed at dividing us further. We should teach the truth — the good and the bad — about our history.
The Ohio Criminal Sentencing Commission would enable common-pleas judges to electronically determine a felony sentencing, aiming to reduce bias and errors. But some judges worry the system will diminish judicial independence.
It's gaining in popularity around the country, touted as a way to restore civility and bipartisanship. But it's not a perfect solution, and it doesn't come without costs.
No city in the country has had as much success keeping its residents safe from the coronavirus as San Francisco.
In what seems like retaliation after Democratic lawmakers walked off the floor to boycott a contentious elections bill, Gov. Greg Abbott announced that he would veto the part of the budget that funds legislators’ paychecks.
The state depends almost entirely on the Colonial Pipeline, which recently was shut down for several days after a cyber attack. While industry advocates say pipelines are secure and green, officials may want to consider other options.
In many cases, state and local governments have more jobs than applicants. HR departments are fighting employee burnout, rising retirement and competition from the private sector to fill them.
Technology leaders in California, Colorado and Minnesota convened at NASCIO to offer best practices on bridging connectivity and digital literacy gaps in their states.
Taking away a license over unpaid fines for minor traffic infractions makes work and family life a misery for low-income Americans. States should reform this punitive, unjust practice.
Big tech companies like Amazon, Google, Facebook and Apple could soon face a 2 percent tax in New York state for profiting off of consumer data — if a recently proposed bill gains enough support to become law.
The legislative package addresses wildfire prevention, workforce training, disaster relief and wetland protection. The state is already spending $536 million on fire-prevention projects.
The research is clear: The creative and cultural sectors are a powerful force for helping communities large and small turn the corner on the pandemic’s economic shocks.
State lawmakers have postponed making a decision about whether or not to extend the state’s emergency declaration for the coronavirus pandemic beyond the original May 28 timeline. They will decide on May 28.
Oklahoma lawmakers have approved $6.6 million to establish two temporary centers, one in Oklahoma City and the other in Tulsa, to help process REAL ID requests through the end of the year.
The death of George Floyd inspired communities across North Carolina to commit themselves to reforming policing practices. A year later, some cities have made more progress towards those goals than others.
Despite a national push towards electric vehicle implementation, the coronavirus pandemic has led to a microchip scarcity, triggering production challenges for many starting companies in the EV industry.
The U.S. could have done much better in battling COVID-19, preventing hundreds of thousands of deaths. But its decentralized system of governance failed to rise to the challenge.
Half the states have passed legislation to address policing, sometimes in ambitious fashion. But rising crime and discomfort with a racial reckoning have slowed momentum in many places.
The state’s gas tax will increase again on July 1 to bring even greater revenue for road and highway maintenance projects. But the repairs have been slow, often lagging behind other states.
As the economy reopens, there’s increased demand for Uber and Lyft, which are still short on riders. That may push some riders back to transit, but systems are still well under capacity.
Digital equity advocates, state broadband offices and local government staffers are encouraged by the president’s emphasis on their work, but what do they need at the federal level to fully solve this challenge?
A new Information Technology and Innovation Foundation report argues that any U.S. infrastructure plan should bank on digital infrastructure because it offers the greatest long-term social and economic gains.
With most of the state gripped by extreme dryness, some conditions are better, some worse, than the last record-breaking drought. Over-pumping of wells hasn’t stopped. But urban residents haven’t lapsed back into water-wasting lifestyles.
The pandemic and all the frustrations it's brought to parents have increased support for charter schools and vouchers. States that had resisted such ideas have ambitious new programs.
Gov. Mike DeWine has signed a law that will create the Ohio Residential Broadband Expansion Grant Program in hopes of improving Internet access for residents and decreasing the digital divide.
The pandemic has significantly increased the number of students who don’t attend class. Solutions aren’t easy, but school districts can recover the chronically absent by digging deeper into data.
In 1972, the city and King County were determined to build a giant multipurpose, domed stadium in Seattle’s International District. Just as determined to stop it were the Asian Americans who lived there.
A recent survey found that two out of three state residents agree businesses should be able to check for proof of vaccination or a negative COVID test before allowing customers to enter. About half of state residents are vaccinated.
An Antrim County judge rejected a lawsuit that claimed the vote tabulators used in the 2020 election were faulty and would switch votes from Donald Trump to Joe Biden. An audit already determined the counts were fair.
Social sentiment analysis is helping local officials understand the views and concerns of their residents about COVID-19 vaccinations, giving them information they need to shape effective messaging strategies.
