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.
Michigan’s experience illustrates how challenging it can be to stop large numbers of people from inadvertently losing coverage,
Several states are passing laws that aim to keep kids off certain sites and block them from accessing adult content in an effort to improve teen health. But some worry that tech-savvy teens will still find a way around the restrictions.
Libraries once struggled to keep up with demand. Now branches are removing computers as they move toward a future built on providing a wide array of technology to patrons.
Some point to pretrial release from jail to explain increases in homicides and other violent crimes. But as a new study shows, the data doesn't support that argument.
The 2020 Police Accountability Act strengthened officer regulations and expanded scenarios under which an officer could lose their license. Since that law, 47 cases have been filed.
The governor, lieutenant governor and other lawmakers engaged in policymaking debates over Twitter, publicly exposing fractures in the state’s GOP. No deals were made before the session ended.
The bill would make it a crime to request, obtain, deliver or prefill an absentee ballot application for another voter, with some exceptions. The state’s annual legislative session ends Tuesday.
Does your local government need a stance on generative AI? Boston encourages staff’s “responsible experimentation,” Seattle’s interim policy outlines cautions, and King County considers what responsible generative AI use might be.
State Sen. Tom Davis wants to eliminate college degree requirements for the majority of state-classified jobs, though no legislation has yet been proposed in the House and it’s unclear if such a bill would pass.
The 28-member council will develop recommendations on how to retain college graduates, promote Michigan’s natural resources and build upon its manufacturing legacy. The state experienced its first population loss in over a decade in the last Census.
President Biden signed an executive order last year mandating federal agents to start wearing body cameras in an attempt to restore public trust in law enforcement, but the majority of agents in Minnesota still aren’t wearing them.
U.S. Senator Alex Padilla has proposed legislation that would provide individuals who worked as essential workers during the pandemic with a pathway for citizenship, though the bill does not provide any timeline for the plan.
In a legislative first, the Land of Enchantment has committed to an earth-bound scent.
State lawmakers are considering legislation that would reallocate hundreds of millions of dollars from K-12 and higher education into a new savings account and would cap future education budget increases to no more than 5 percent.
The bill would have given young offenders the opportunity to apply for parole after 30 years in prison, a full 10 years less than the law currently allows. State Sen. Drew Springer’s bill will not advance after he explained it wrong.
One-quarter of adults in the United States have some kind of disability. Are government agencies doing enough to serve their citizens equally — and ensure their safety in emergency situations?
During the last legislative session, state lawmakers passed a measure that will require all school systems to adopt teaching materials that emphasize phonics, but critics worry that politicians are making laws about topics they know little about.
Allowing undocumented immigrants to obtain driver's licenses is about more than highway safety. It's good for assimilation, belonging and community engagement.
In 1980, the THC content of marijuana was less than 1.5 percent, while some of today’s varieties can be found with more than 30 percent. In 2021, 16.3 million people had experienced a marijuana use disorder.
The city will become the fourth in Kentucky to pass a CROWN ordinance, which blocks the hair discrimination of certain hairstyles, such as braids, locs, twists or Bantu knots, in employment and housing.
As the administration calls for gun control measures, many congressmembers, including from Kansas and Missouri, have remained silent. A poll found that only 39 percent of Missourians supported a semi-automatic weapon ban.
More than 40 percent of American adults know someone who is transgender and yet 46 percent favor making it illegal to provide transgender medical care to minors. Support for anti-trans bills has been growing for years.
Colorado has a draft rule that would impose oversight and transparency requirements on insurance companies that use big data about consumers or feed such data into predictive models and algorithms.
One of the measures heading to Gov. Jared Polis’ desk would recognize Lunar New Year as an observed state holiday. The other two would adopt the ICWA and allow traditional Native American regalia at graduation ceremonies.
The Legislature has overridden eight out of 15 vetoed bills in the current session, including a ban on transgender athletes in girls sports and additional work rules for older recipients of food assistance.
The GOP-controlled Legislature has promised to try and override many of Kelly’s vetoes, which cover a variety of issues including transgender rights and income tax rates. The governor sees her re-election as a mandate to check legislative excesses.
The legislative package would give consumers the right to opt out of sharing their data, requiring tech giants like Amazon, Google and Facebook to disclose when and if they are collecting users’ personal data.
The program was among the more than 100 bills that Wes Moore signed into law, including approval for the $63.1 billion Maryland budget, fixes to the 529 college savings program and agencies for racetracks and water systems.
The Cuyahoga County Council is considering legislation that would bar businesses that have engaged in wage theft or payroll fraud from contracting with the county and will require contractors to undergo ethics training.
While more than half of states have banned TikTok on state-owned devices and networks, some governors still use the platform — and some unofficial accounts use their names and photos. Is it a cybersecurity risk?
