Governing: State and local government news and analysis
New AI tools and proven best practices can enhance the work of government purchasing teams. It’s time to transform the process.
Legislation states passed or enacted in the past 30 days.
A district at the edge of the Mojave Desert is part of a network of California schools harvesting environmental, behavioral and academic benefits from a school forest.
New federal funding policy pits minority-serving technical and community colleges against other institutions that serve the nation's most vulnerable learners. State and local leaders must do what they can to limit the damage.
Mississippi is hoping IT upgrades, new trainings and other efforts can reduce its SNAP “error rate” — or how often it over- or underpays benefits — before new federal penalties come into effect.
Federal policy changes stand to make it harder for local governments to cope with housing instability and homelessness. There are some things they can do to brace for what’s coming.
Millions of Americans are at risk of losing their health coverage if Congress does not renew ACA subsidies.
At Stillwater, corrections officials are testing an “earned living unit” that trades privileges for accountability and has gone two months without a lockdown.
The state employed disciplined budgeting, debt repayment, spending cuts and targeted tax relief to dig itself out of a cash-flow crisis. To deal with crushing national debt, Washington policymakers should model this discipline.
Washington, D.C., will become the first locality with its own child tax credit. An expansion of the federal child tax credit during the pandemic led to dramatic reductions in child poverty.
Success in the coming years will require sustainability, adaptation and perseverance, especially as AI both enhances and disrupts government. Professional leaders need to look beyond the short term, facilitate change where needed, and reinvent themselves.
Zohran Mamdani’s promise to raise taxes on New York City’s richest residents set off a chorus of warnings about tax flight. But when millionaires do move, it’s rarely for tax reasons.
AI companies can’t grow at speed without electricity to power their data centers. A new report argues that this isn’t just a matter of adding more power plants.
Their minority contracting programs and others are under federal attack, and the consequences reach into the tens of billions of dollars. The souls of our communities should not be for sale.
Private-sector entrepreneurs know how important it is to prototype, even at the risk of failure. For local governments, testing, learning and adapting is a path toward reimagining core municipal services.
A runoff election to replace Miami’s outgoing Republican mayor has taken on national significance ahead of the 2026 midterms. And a progressive blocks a former governor’s hoped-for comeback in Jersey City.
Over 2,100 schools in 26 states have adopted shorter weeks, mostly in rural districts seeking teacher retention and budget relief.
Higher education battles around the country are beginning to look like a sports competition.
In one form or another over decades, this urban improvement program and its predecessors have found bipartisan support. But their record is mixed at best.
The only viable path to a national standard is one built on the foundation that our laboratories of democracy are laying. Congressional efforts to freeze state oversight over AI companies would leave Americans exposed.
The federal government ended funding for an organization that gave election officials free help managing physical and cyber threats against election workers and operations.
They’re an important pipeline of skills, products and innovation for larger industries, but they’re reeling from tariffs. There’s a role for grants and tax breaks, and states need to track who these businesses are and what they do.
Program and tax changes in the massive budget reconciliation bill are reshaping states’ short- and long-term fiscal pictures. How will policymakers respond?
A committee of judges and attorneys recommends piloting a program allowing non-attorneys to provide legal support.
After decades of bipartisan reforms that prioritized rehabilitation over punishment, states are moving back toward prosecuting younger teens as adults. It contradicts decades of research, and it doesn’t make communities safer.
States are having doubts about whether their sports betting programs — legalized in a rush of legislation over the last several years — are generating the promised benefits.
State and local financial managers face the impact of federal aid cutbacks, plus new rules and even some opportunities. It’s time to focus on what’s practical and necessary, both near and longer term.
They need a lot more support than they get. Their success is crucial to building the workforce our economy needs.
Reduced revenues and rising costs leave municipalities tightening their budgets, per a new National League of Cities report.
It’s easier than ever to send out a survey instrument, and they’re an important tool for governments. But with so many of them out there, it’s harder than ever to reach a critical mass of respondents.
