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.
State Reps. Cyrus Javadi and Tom Andersen aim to amend the state constitution to mandate visible identification for all law enforcement officers.
Demand for their services is expected to rise, but local clinics worry about the potential impact of Medicaid cuts at the federal level that could cause people to lose access to health care.
Five states allow firing squads but Idaho could become the first to use it as the primary method of execution.
GOP state Rep. Rachelle Smit, a former local clerk, continues to spout false claims about the 2020 election. She’s now the chair of the Michigan House’s newly renamed Election Integrity Committee.
A reentry program near Waco, Texas, has proven successful. Not only does every participant come out with a job, but their recidivism rate is 73 percent lower than incarcerated women throughout the state as a whole.
At stake in a case from Oklahoma is whether the court will expand the boundaries of government aid to faith-based institutions. It would be a sea change in education law.
It’s an opportunity for state lawmakers. The public hates these surprise charges, and they put businesses that price their services transparently at a disadvantage.
“The removal of critical health information from governmental public health sites is chilling and puts the health of the public at risk,” said Richard Besser, a former acting director of the CDC.
By empowering them to bargain and providing other protections, policymakers can address frustration over flat wages and inflation, while strengthening local economies.
Red states are in sync with the Trump administration’s efforts, but some Democratic governors are reminding districts to protect immigrants’ legal rights.
State and local public health departments rely on federal funding to operate. With those dollars at risk amid the Trump administration’s federal funding freezes, they’re bracing for the future.
For years, states strictly limited the amount of time people could be institutionalized. With homelessness rising, some policymakers want to do more.
Pregnant women who are incarcerated will move into the facility next week. For now, only women with 18 months or less to serve can participate but the program may expand over time.
Last year, legislators approved funding to fill a coverage gap. The law, however, was overridden by a ballot measure involving pay increases for doctors.
Gloria Sachdev has spent years taking on the health-care establishment in Indiana, working to pull down high hospital prices and make information public to patients. Now, in a newly created position in the governor’s Cabinet, she’s no longer fighting from the outside.
The Department of Education denied an application from a cyber charter school that would have been part of a multistate network. Classes would have been led by AI tutors with humans serving as “guides.”
The education committees in both the House and Senate approved a $450 million bill, a top priority for Gov. Bill Lee. Legislators are expected to pass it quickly during a special session this week.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has signed a bill overturning the state’s work requirements, which had previously been blocked in court. The bill passed in December while Democrats still controlled the Legislature, with Republicans complaining it sent the wrong message to recipients.
The White House ordered a pause on all federal grants, partly intending to target diversity, equity and inclusion and other "woke" programs. A third of states' budgets comes from federal grants.
Health officials are calling the outbreak of the highly contagious disease “unprecedented,” but the numbers remain small, with 67 active infections centered in the Kansas City suburbs.
Enjoying momentum thanks to Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s nomination as federal health secretary, vaccine skeptics are pushing state-level bills to block mandates and give parents and workers greater latitude to opt out.
Maryland took historic steps to improve its education system. It shouldn't back away from them now, even amid budget shortfalls.
The Trump White House has ordered a pause on infrastructure spending approved during the last administration, and is promoting new spending on digital infrastructure to support artificial intelligence.
The city is launching “neighborhood wellness courts,” a diversion program designed to issue citations and offer addiction treatment and other services in lieu of misdemeanor sentences.
Lone wolf attackers can be harder to detect than those who work in a group. But strategies involving police, the public and mental health professionals can help.
The 2023-24 school year saw the highest percentage of kindergarteners exempted from vaccinations, with increases in 40 states and Washington, D.C. In some localities, the so-called health freedom message has led to nonmedical exemption rates as high as 50 percent.
Insurance companies were fleeing fire-prone parts of California even before the disaster in Los Angeles. Policymakers are under pressure to find solutions as the risks grow.
Lawmakers will devote considerable time this year to perennial concerns such as crime and education.
Gov. Ron DeSantis says sheriffs will have to help the Trump administration carry out its immigration policies or he’ll remove them from office.
Lawmakers continue to try to get ahead of the curve on AI and many are eager to curb social media use among the young. Climate remains the top environmental concern but "forever chemicals" are more likely to see bipartisan action.
Grant programs too often send money to areas that already have resources. Federal agencies should work with state and local leaders to identify the place-specific needs of regional economies and develop custom projects.
