Governing: State and local government news and analysis
As the presidential campaign gets underway, some Republicans are pledging to wield federal power to nationalize their states’ policies. It’s an approach that seems at odds with the party’s history.
A proposed bill would pave the way for night markets and farmers’ markets across the state by cutting red tape and costs through a dedicated permit to regularly occurring market events.
Commissioners in Yancey County, in the western part of the state, considered withdrawing their library from the regional system after heated public debate about a Pride Month book display.
Most of our infrastructure has been designed to withstand rainfall projections that are hopelessly obsolete. Every part of the country at risk of flooding needs urgent and significant upgrades.
Future prosperity depends not only on local resources, but on size. Academic centers that don’t lure new residents are apt to fall behind.
Greyhound recently left its Philadelphia station to join other intercity bus services on the curb, creating headaches for riders, businesses and local officials. Other cities are in a similar position — or will be soon.
The District of Columbia’s approach isn’t perfect, but overall it’s a balanced and well-thought-out effort that protects individuals and doesn't overly burden businesses. It could serve as a model for other governments.
Arresting people who have no options left is just adding another tier of disenfranchisement. At best, it’s a dehumanizing shell game.
Despite Americans’ pessimism about the state of our democracy, Democrats and Republicans agree on policies to protect election workers, expand voting access and strengthen election integrity.
Sometimes they work, producing public revenue and neighborhood development. But some of them turn out to be civic disasters. Is there a formula for mixed-use magic?
Attractive investment returns could accompany economic development if local public pension systems join forces with angel investors to capitalize on a marketplace void.
Even before the Supreme Court's decision striking it down, Black students didn’t have equitable access to elite public higher education. We need to find better ways to extend true educational opportunities to all Americans.
Wage theft, which can include not paying workers minimum wage, misclassifying workers to avoid paying overtime and taking tips meant for employees, is a $50 billion problem in the U.S.
A freshman Virginia delegate has jump-started the Legislature’s technology and innovation caucus. Her inclusive way of dealing with AI and facial recognition policies has drawn positive attention from both sides of the aisle.
The city's Regional Transit Authority has ambitious plans to improve service for some of the city’s most disadvantaged communities. The agency’s new CEO says it’s mostly about the basics.
In developing nations, rules written by governments and corporations alike are understood as a tool for extortion.
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.
California legislators agreed to provide additional operating support for transit agencies facing big budget gaps. San Francisco area lawmakers are looking to raise bridge tolls to make up some of the difference.
"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 year ago, six jurisdictions were selected as the first participants in an incubator project designed to help them harness the economic power of publicly owned land and buildings. Atlanta is ready to use what it learned.
The response to COVID-19 led to problems in schools, mental health and urban life. That doesn't mean it was all a mistake.
Putting the First Amendment, national security and America’s most (in)famous leakers — Daniel Ellsberg, Julian Assange, Edward Snowden and Chelsea Manning — in context.
Networks of thousands of home-based batteries could be key to a cleaner, more reliable electricity system.
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.
California leads the country in electrifying its transportation sector, according to a new scorecard from the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy. States can pursue a range of strategies to support greater adoption of electric vehicles.
After a decade, the state’s open, nonpartisan primaries still have their critics, but it’s clear that they have steadily reduced polarization. The system could do the same for other states.
It's one thing to try to impose discipline within the party; punishing members of the other party involves a different set of dynamics. Plus, can you fire a non-appointee?
More than 7,500 people were killed last year, the highest number of fatalities in 40 years. The epidemic of deaths has been blamed on bad driving behavior, oversized vehicles and flaws in the design of highways and roads.
Over 2,000 square miles of land have been lost in the past 100 years due to natural and manmade causes. The state intends to spend $1 billion annually for the next several decades to protect what remains of its coastal areas.
