Governing: State and local government news and analysis
It’s happening more and more. But while the initiative process could use some reforms, it's a legitimate element of the democratic process.
State policymakers must ask: Is our system creating real value for students? A growing number of states are pointing the way.
A wave of downtown streetcars took to the streets in recent years to spur economic development. Many are struggling to prove their usefulness.
Despite their obvious differences, legislators are able to work across the aisle on issues of shared concern such as transportation and housing, says the head of NCSL.
Local government jobs weren’t a focus for career technical education at a Central Texas school district until a new human resources director came to Cedar Park.
There’s much to applaud in the ways Columbia now celebrates its Black heritage. But too much of that celebration is limited to Black residents.
A dozen years after bankruptcy, Detroit is in better shape than almost anyone could have imagined. But too much of the city remains poor, says Mary Sheffield, the probable next mayor.
We could save billions by transforming these shuttered monuments to mass incarceration into something far more useful, humane and fiscally responsible. What the military did decades ago offers a proven blueprint.
A month after she was sworn in, Cara Spencer had to deal with a devastating tornado.
The city’s movement toward free care for kids up to age 2 could be a gamechanger with national implications. And it’s a sign of the growing political strength of working parents.
Washington wants to prune federal regulations. The feds should pay attention to what the Old Dominion is doing. And AI can help.
Hurricane season begins in earnest in August. The devastating floods in Texas earlier this summer underscored the importance of state and local readiness as the federal government rethinks its role in disaster response.
The Trump administration is trying to stop wind projects, but the Great Lakes states have a powerful say in what happens on the lakes, where turbines could power the entire region and beyond. They should lay the groundwork now.
The new tax and spending law’s requirements for food assistance and Medicaid impose costly administrative burdens on states and localities. Widely misunderstood rules for taxing overtime will intensify the administrative pain. Public employers should start preparing their workers for the confusion to come.
The park in Portland, Ore., takes up little space but has a whimsical history.
Monique Limón, a Santa Barbara Democrat, was chosen to serve as the next president pro tem of the California state Senate. A former educator, she’s the first woman of color to serve in the role.
Cities that depend heavily on federal research dollars will necessarily take a hit. But a look at two different cities suggests two possible futures.
Groups focused on food security are scrambling following the cancellation of federal programs supporting purchases from local farmers.
Many voters are switching party allegiances during the Trump era, but the parties aren't changing in ways that reflect their preferences.
Denver’s new sidewalk program shifts the responsibility from property owners to the city. It’s a far-reaching plan to improve thousands of miles of infrastructure.
It’s threatened with extinction in many places and the relationship can be fraught, but it has a lot of value both to communities and their governments. Social media alone isn’t a substitute.
Legislators on both sides of the aisle have moved to regulate these kiosks, which allow customers to purchase cryptocurrency and send it to a digital wallet.
They raise issues of fairness, and critics claim they’re only about revenue. More speed and red-light cameras, however, would prevent a lot of deaths and injuries.
Congress voted this month to claw back funding from some awards made during the Biden administration, particularly those focused on equity. The rescissions will leave dozens of transportation projects partly planned and without promised funds.
Despite all the rhetoric about an environmental "war on coal," what drove its decline were falling prices for natural gas.
The power of legislatures has waxed and waned over the centuries. It's been on an upswing during the 50 years since the founding of NCSL.
Virginia has the nation’s oldest legislature. It’s also arguably the most powerful.
Subsidies distort fair competition. If these technologies are the future of America’s energy sector, they should compete without the crutch of federal aid.
From politics to economics, closing old or bad prisons is not always straightforward. Even some incarcerated people have mixed emotions.
Our universities’ real problems have little to do with DEI or antisemitism. Genuine reforms would encompass expanding access and equity and confronting a history of institutional racism.
