Governing: State and local government news and analysis
People outside of government aren’t the only ones who could benefit from a better understanding of election processes.
Instead of across-the-board property tax cuts, targeted state and federal incentives for younger first-time home buyers and older would-be sellers could begin to break the logjam in the housing market.
How one organization in Pasadena, Calif., is mobilizing amid a shortage of federal food aid during the government shutdown.
Just about every jurisdiction measures them differently. The data should differentiate between life-and-death situations and less serious ones. Doing so could save lives — including those of first responders.
A new California law overrides local regulations to provide multifamily housing around transit corridors. Can it succeed in finally getting much-needed housing built? And is sprawl really such a bad thing?
The issues that drove the winning campaigns reflected a mix of local and national concerns, and the results pointed to divergent, sometimes contradictory, priorities for big-city voters.
The media and politicians focus on which party is winning or losing congressional seats. But moving 20 million Americans into new districts mid-decade will represent a major tear in the fabric of representative democracy.
States are reducing subsidy slots, slashing provider reimbursement rates and raising co-pays for low-income parents amid shrinking federal aid.
Abigail Spanberger’s comfortable win in the Virginia governor’s race Tuesday, and Mikie Sherrill’s in New Jersey, gave Democrats their biggest electoral triumphs since Trump’s return to power.
Kentucky Secretary of State Michael G. Adams is one of the few public officials who's found a way to address both election security and ballot access concerns.
The federal funding reductions and new eligibility rules will have severe consequences for those with substance use disorders and returning from incarceration. States have ways to keep many of them covered.
Typhoon Halong battered remote communities on Alaska's west coast last month. The state faced unique obstacles in getting people to safety — and it faces even more as it looks toward rebuilding.
A 21st-century president and a revolutionary-era rascal have something in common: the Insurrection Act.
Home prices have begun to stabilize ever so slightly in the last few months after years of rapid growth. Experts don’t expect them to plummet anytime soon.
Holding city council meetings downtown during weekday business hours makes them inaccessible to too many residents. To open up civic participation, local governments should rethink their scheduling and make the most of electronic tools.
Actors in and out of government continue to cast doubt on election integrity. What makes accusations stick, and what can states do about them?
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.
Nationally, fourth grade students’ reading scores have been sliding for a long time. But in the past five years, Louisiana has seen strong improvements.
The cost of housing is one big barrier to family formation. But simply building more single family homes isn't the answer.
It’s not yet clear how much financial support states can expect from a reimagined FEMA. A new analysis of past costs sheds light on the gaps they might have to fill.
Education technology has a history of failure. It will take years — and a lot of humility, experimentation and assessment — to learn whether artificial intelligence’s classroom benefits outweigh its negative effects.
The shutdown has caused flight delays across the country. But some rural areas are at risk of losing flight service altogether.
It’s likely the result of confusion about how questions are asked. In reality, people almost universally condemn it.
Short-term interest rates are likely to continue ratcheting down, making it a challenge for state and local financiers to maximize income on investments. But there are a few opportunities here and there.
A stretch of a historic highway in Lancaster, Calif., was transformed from a semi-freeway through town to an inviting space for residents and passersby to linger and connect.
What’s happened in Wyoming illustrates how closed primary elections shut too many voters out of the electoral process, intensify political polarization and raise important questions about funding these elections.
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.
Several Democratic governors have threatened to leave the National Governors Association, a 117-year old bipartisan group, amid tensions over the Trump administration's deployment of National Guard troops to Democratic cities.
Economists hate it, but imposed in moderation it isn’t automatically ruinous. Meat-ax approaches like Zohran Mamdani’s in New York City might appeal to the voters, but they risk doing more harm than good.
The life of the former Atlanta mayor, congressman and U.N. ambassador hasn’t been without its contradictions, but today’s leaders can learn a lot from his decades of courageous leadership.
