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.
An investigation found that suicides in 2025 were tied to isolation, substance use and inconsistent clinical care.
Anti-LGBTQ and anti-semetic flyers were distributed in a city neighborhood just weeks after an outpouring of anti-semitic commentary at City Council meetings and rising hate crimes against LGBTQ people across the state.
A new edition of a book by a former government official argues that human-centered steps taken before technology implementation are the key to success.
Some worry that the state’s new “sprawl bill” could negatively impact affordable housing, conservation efforts and hurricane evacuation routes by requiring citizens to pay for legal challenges against local governments and developers.
"Nonstandard" workers keep growing as a percentage of the workforce, but the technology we use to determine benefits eligibility is decades behind. It’s about designing systems around the recipients themselves, and the tools are available.
Elias Fretwell, a 14-year-old self-taught coder, has discovered that government data, together with APIs, can be a fun and useful way to make bureaucracy more accessible.
A legal scholar explains why federal agencies are purchasing so much of the data on the open market and what it means for privacy in the age of AI.
The handful of new laws include a ban on non-compete clauses, a requirement to address increasing violence against health-care workers and an expansion of voting allowances for incarcerated individuals.
The $380 million plan will turn a portion of the Marin County, Calif., prison into a Scandinavian-inspired rehabilitation center, including a new education and vocation space. However, the plan does not commit to a set number of prison closures.
Dispensaries across the state are preparing for an influx of customers, including some from out of state, as it will be legal for any individual 21 or older to buy vapes, gummies, pre-rolled joints and edibles starting this weekend.
The rollout of facial recognition technology in cities and states nationwide — as well as some overturned bans — could offer lessons on how to regulate other technologies that haven’t yet reached broad adoption.
A new state law increases what SNAP applicants’ vehicles can be worth before they’re disqualified for federal food assistance. But most states don’t take car values into consideration at all.
A trip to the birthplace of the blues is also a visit to a region soaked in the history of bigotry and the struggle for civil rights. It’s a past that we need to acknowledge and that today’s students need to learn about.
For many, Suza Francina’s struggle for housing and her council seat is a stark example of California’s ever-growing housing crisis. Last month the Ventura County grand jury gave her 30 days to establish new residency or lose her seat.
Nationally, nearly 900 unique titles had been targeted for bans during the first half of the 2022-2023 school year. Most bans target stories by and about people of color and LGBTQ+ individuals, but some include books on history and art.
A judge ruled that the state’s Attorney General Andrew Bailey did not have the authority to inflate the estimated cost of a ballot measure to restore abortion rights from $0 to $12.5 billion of state funds.
Chief privacy officer roles exist in 21 states and counting. As the job evolves, we look at where those IT leaders sit, how they collaborate with their peers and where the field is going.
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.
