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.
With hospitals operating on margins as low as 1 percent, new federal policy changes could undercut care access in rural communities.
Conservatives backed criminal justice reforms in hopes of driving down corrections costs and state budgets. A lot of violent and repeat offenders would have to be released to achieve real savings.
Proposition 36 — which made certain repeat drug and theft crimes into felonies — did not allocate funding to expand treatment slots or coordinate referrals.
But it doesn’t seem to be working, at least not yet. Pilot programs in Louisiana and Arizona reveal weak participation, limited functionality and risks of widespread coverage loss.
While House Republicans filed measures to eliminate non-school property taxes, DeSantis argues that placing multiple measures on the ballot undermines any substantive reform.
The County Council is considering scrapping a mid-century ordinance once used to curb gambling among minors.
Federal funding is a bigger share of state budgets than ever. It comes with too many strings and strictures that choke off efficiency and innovation, and it threatens democratic self-governance.
Deployments of National Guard troops across states without full gubernatorial consent signal a shift in domestic military operations and threaten to erode state control over their forces.
The assistance program is a shell of its former self, with caseloads down and millions of poor families receiving no help.
Governments are paying out billions to settle thousands of claims. There is no substitute for justice, but keeping the abuse from happening in the first place would be far more cost-effective.
Primary and preventive care have been shown to reduce negative health outcomes. A new report outlines strategies for reverting a primary-care shortage.
Universities may trade policy flexibility and self-governance for federal favors in this ambitious — but problematic — plan.
A proposal to open education savings accounts to every student mirrors recent legislation in Arkansas and Alabama but raises new concerns over accountability and equity.
Lawmakers approved a $17 million plan to replace expiring federal tax credits, preventing rate hikes of more than 300 percent for some households.
State humanities councils connect Americans with their past and each other. That work is under threat due to federal cuts.
States are doing the bidding of big drugmakers by limiting the cost-saving role of pharmacy benefit managers.
State lawmakers are making the right move by curtailing the major middlemen of drug sales, known as pharmacy benefit managers.
The only state with such a program didn’t get there overnight. Years of action at the state Capitol and the ballot box set the stage. It’s a lesson for lawmakers in other states facing the fiscal challenges of providing services families need amid diminishing federal aid.
Gov. Joe Lombardo struck a deal with the DOJ to expand cooperation with ICE, ending the state’s sanctuary label.
The bill aims to get around federal protections for gun manufacturers.
A landmark study finds older, long-term inmates released under reforms rarely reoffend, while younger offenders with shorter terms cycle back into the system at higher rates.
To balance budgets, states are trimming provider rates even before President Trump’s tax law strips $1 trillion in federal Medicaid support over 10 years.
A new federal program provides a historic level of funding for rural health care. But the application presents challenges and the timeline for submission is short.
When it comes to protecting their residents from environmental harms, lawmakers in red and blue states alike are making progress without waiting for Washington.
High school students’ math and reading proficiency levels are the lowest in decades. Only rigorous accountability and proven improvement strategies can turn that around.
Two big political blocs have different ideas when it comes to health.
Changing federal guidelines are creating uncertainty about access to the updated COVID-19 vaccination. Connecticut has found a way to bring clarity.
These programs are under relentless attack but there is no evidence that they’ve given Black Americans any disproportionate benefit.
President Donald Trump has taken aim at cashless bail, arguing it encourages crime.
The measure is a response to federal immigration officers wearing masks while on duty. It requires most officers to show their faces and identify themselves, with limited exceptions for SWAT and undercover work.
Legislators also agreed to boost domestic oil production through new drilling permits.
