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 governor’s plan will require expansion beneficiaries to work 80 hours a month or be enrolled in school half time to retain coverage.
Nearly two dozen states controlled by Republicans have prohibited or modified diversity, equity and inclusion programs, primarily in public university systems. One new law led the University of Texas system to eliminate 300 positions.
Reparations remains mostly unpopular with the public, but numerous states and localities continue to explore the idea of addressing both past and present harms affecting African Americans.
Instead of indulging in the sugar high of tough-on-crime legislation, lawmakers should provide the treatment solutions that dramatically reduce deaths, especially in correctional settings.
Monday’s action was one of the largest mass pardons in U.S. history. Maryland voters legalized marijuana two years ago.
The school board is expected to vote Tuesday to ban student use of phones throughout the school day, citing distraction. The policy would take effect next year.
Critics say recent changes will make corruption more likely. Transparency requirements were traded away in a deal that included a gas tax increase and updates to affordable housing rules.
We need to focus on the need to address the inequalities in our criminal justice system, especially as they impact people of color and the poor.
Aldermen are set to consider the city’s largest police misconduct settlement ever. Four men were imprisoned after allegedly being coerced by the police to give false confessions of a 1995 double murder.
The proposed rules would require indoor workplaces to be cooled below 87 degrees Fahrenheit when employees are present. They would require breaks and water and other cooling devices when 87 degrees cannot be met.
Colorado has passed the nation’s most ambitious AI regulatory law. In other states, lawmakers are regulating fake likenesses involving porn, politics and celebrities.
A draft plan for co-management of Bears Ears National Monument comes after years of advocacy from native organizations, but federal policies don’t go far enough. Co-stewardship of public lands is Indigenous peoples’ inherent right.
California schools are using more chatbots, and teachers are using them to grade papers and give students feedback. Educators are split on the technology’s efficacy.
Mayor Quinton Lucas alleges that Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft moved a ballot measure to force Kansas City to pay more for its police to a different date than the top state court ordered.
Last year, the state House fell a few votes short of advancing a constitutional amendment to allow the construction of eight destination resort casinos. It is unlikely that the state Senate will have enough votes to pass the measure next session.
The two are intertwined, yet too often they aren’t viewed that way. Aligning them is a strategy for creating strong rural and Native communities.
The passage of the federal DATA Act 10 years ago and its implementation provide a road map for bipartisan reform at every level of government.
The city’s Education Department has directed districts to increase their share of classes in compliance with a reduced size plan by 3 percent. Superintendents can require schools to meet individual targets.
Proposed legislation would allow homeless people displaying mental health issues to be taken to a behavioral center against their will for assessment.
The new state department will be housed at Florida Atlantic University. It seeks to harness public and private research, education, technology and business applications involving fresh and salt water.
Most U.S. states offer Medicare Advantage plans to their state retirees, while 12 states offer Medicare Advantage exclusively.
Florida and Alabama have made it a crime to produce or sell meat grown in a lab, and a U.S. senator has joined what he calls the “pro-bio slop caucus.” Instead, they should be celebrating good old American innovation.
Wealthier families have always had options for educating their children. States have ways to provide options to everyone.
The legislation would bar school districts from adopting parental notification policies that would require school staff to inform a student’s parents if the student shows signs of being transgender.
Too many children die as the result of abuse and neglect. The hard truth is that no one is working hard to count how many of them, or what’s behind outcomes that may be largely preventable.
The state’s Clean Slate Act, approved in 2022, established an automatic record-sealing process for some lower-level crimes to better allow people access to housing, jobs or other opportunities. It will go into effect this summer.
While generative AI has become increasingly popular, its frequency of use is nowhere close to its earlier counterpart, predictive artificial intelligence, which is used in FICO scores, loan applications and health care.
Future in Context
From digital inclusion to AI innovation, we take a look at Government Technology’s Top 25 Doers, Dreamers and Drivers and how five of these government technologists are making an impact on state and local policies.
Bill author state Rep. Dodie Horton argued that the Ten Commandments are the “basis of all laws in Louisiana” and the legislation honors the country’s religious origins. The bill must be signed by the governor before it becomes law.
The state House Education Committee unanimously approved a measure on Tuesday that would bar protests by any organization funded by a foreign adversary. It would also prohibit professors from imposing their political views on students.
A proposed law would require elected county commissioners to be replaced if they fail to attend three consecutive meetings without “good cause.” The rule mirrors an existing law for local school boards.
