Policy
This coverage will look at how public leaders establish new policies in a range of crucial areas of government – health, education, public safety, for example – and how these policies impact people’s lives through better services, effective regulations and new programs. This will include stories examining how state and local government approaches policymaking around emerging areas, including artificial intelligence.
The state Legislature passed a “first-grade readiness” bill to require students who do not complete kindergarten to take a test to enter the first grade. If signed by Gov. Kay Ivey, the law will go into effect in July.
A study found that California students who received associate’s degrees were able to recoup their educational costs faster than students who received bachelor’s degrees or certificates.
Proposed legislation would prohibit data center development along the 22-mile Beltline trail loop and from within a half mile of transit centers, including MARTA stations and BRT stops. Existing data centers would be unaffected.
The guidance that allows states to provide health-care coverage to incarcerated people at least a month prior to their release has gained bipartisan interest. As of last month, federal officials had approved applications from four states.
The unknowns keep piling up. The stakes are too high to let that continue.
Despite widespread support for the legislation, state lawmakers have failed to pass a ban on motorist handheld use of cellphones. From 2014 to 2023, 78 people in Iowa were killed by distracted drivers using a cellphone or other handheld device.
A new bill would require Colorado law enforcement agencies to publish policy on the controversial "prone restraint", a technique that many critics link to the deaths of those restrained facedown.
Gov. Brian Kemp signed legislation on May 1 that requires jailers to hold any suspect who is believed to be in the country without legal permission. The legislation gained momentum after the killing of 22-year-old nursing student Laken Riley.
A 2-1 decision by a federal court stopped the state from using its new congressional map for any election, finding the changes Louisiana made to comply with the Voting Rights Act instead violated the 14th Amendment.
The bill is part of a package to punish juvenile offenders more harshly. One senator warns the measure will bring “massive repercussions” and raises complicated legal questions.
High-capacity magazines and cheap devices that turn semi-automatic firearms into machine guns have already raised the shooting fatality rate. Targeting them legislatively could save hundreds or thousands of lives per year.
After a February special legislative session gave gun-rights groups sweeping wins, bills to expand firearm-free zones have stalled. Expansion of the zones seems unlikely this year.
The Supreme Court seems likely to curtail federal agencies’ interpretations of laws passed by Congress, but Washington bureaucrats have another way to exercise unaccountable power over state and local governments. States and localities can fight back.
After more than 20,000 voters in New Hampshire received a deepfake phone call asking them to skip the state’s January primary, at least 39 states are considering measures to ensure transparency of artificial intelligence used in political ads.
The court is considering whether criminal penalties for sleeping in public places amount to cruel and unusual punishment. But no ruling on the issues before the high court will change the nature or scope of the problem.
As several states propose child marriage bans, Missouri state Sen. Holly Thompson Rehder hopes that she can use her experiences to encourage a shift in her state’s legislation.
The 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline provides comprehensive support for Americans who face acute mental health challenges. Congress is considering ways to tailor services more strategically.
A lot of communities are experimenting with this costly, ineffective approach to fighting poverty that disincentivizes work. Iowa lawmakers are right to ban localities from creating guaranteed income programs.
A variety of factors make Latinos less likely to have health insurance, including language barriers, types of occupations and immigration status. Coverage problems extend well beyond undocumented individuals.
Currently, the state controls the local speed limits but a proposal folded into the state budget would change that. The current speed limit in New York City was set in 2014, the first citywide reduction in a half-century.
Ethics Commissioner Freddie Figgers didn’t submit his 2021 financial disclosure statement until the day after Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed him to the Ethics Commission. The commission voted 4-1 to waive the $1,500 fine.
Pharmacists are convenient, accessible and trusted. Improving reimbursements and making permanent the authority they were given for the pandemic will increase immunization rates and save lives.
The tech giant’s announcement is pushback against pending legislation that would require companies such as Google to pay a “journalism usage fee” when they sell ads next to new content.
Detection of avian flu in dairy cows and one sick worker don’t add up to imminent danger for lots of people. But public health officials say the threat shouldn't be taken lightly.
Federal tax cuts may be in jeopardy, but some states are reducing the tax burdens on their citizens and businesses. It’s not surprising that millions are moving to states with robust free-market policies — and leaving those that don’t have them.
On Thursday Gov. Tate Reeves announced federal approval for the second part of his 2023 proposal for increased reimbursements to state hospitals from Medicaid.
There’s a movement toward cracking down again on minor offenses. It raises larger questions about what transgressions we should be punishing — and why we should.
Legislation that would have legalized and regulated autonomous vehicles in Kentucky was vetoed on Friday, April 5, by the governor who claimed the bill was moving too quickly and the state needed a testing period first.
The state’s gambling deal with the Seminole Tribe of Florida is expected to bring in $750 million annually, totaling $6 billion through 2030. Currently, 96 percent of the funds are committed to water-quality projects.
Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly and GOP legislators have agreed to reduce the state’s top income tax bracket, starting at $30,000, from 5.7 percent to 5.5 percent. The proposal would cost $1.4 billion over the next three years.
Officials at Laguna Beach High School in Orange County, Calif., have launched an investigation after a student allegedly created and circulated inappropriate AI images of other students.
