Governing: State and local government news and analysis
Twenty-seven states allow capital punishment, but public support for it has declined over the decades. Fifty-five percent of Americans support the death penalty for convicted murderers, the second-lowest support since 1972.
Remote work presents myriad fiscal challenges to cities as well as employers. Business tax incentives are also in peril. Are “15-minute cities” the ultimate remedy?
Pandemic assistance to families at risk of food insecurity has ended. As a “hunger cliff” looms, programs in public libraries can fill gaps.
Focusing just a small fraction of our economic development resources on supporting entrepreneurs can benefit all communities. And it’s good politics.
The idea of secession did not originate with Marjorie Taylor Greene. It has been tried before. The question we need to ask is whether we are really ready to see what a Red and Blue America would look and act like.
Before 2020, they seldom voted against certifying results. But in 2022, conservative officials in North Carolina, Arizona, Nevada, Pennsylvania and New Mexico refused to do so.
The plans have a strong financial incentive to keep their members enrolled because states pay them per member, per month: The more people they cover, the more money they get.
Nearly a dozen counties in Oregon have voted to leave Salem behind and join Idaho. Local secession movements have sprung up in multiple states due to the urban-rural political divide.
Before COVID-19, just 1,400 city restaurants had outdoor permits. Today there are 13,000 of the structures scattered across the five boroughs, and many are showing wear and tear from life on the street.
Blue states have played key roles in all the recent GOP primaries. Plus, rejecting ranked-choice voting, the Pennsylvania House has already had two speakers this year, the seats for St. Louis Board of Aldermen are particularly competitive and Mississippi considers restoring its initiative process.
A new report from the Nowak Metro Finance Lab at Drexel University examines the phenomenon of wholesale real estate investors targeting vulnerable homeowners in poor neighborhoods in Philadelphia.
It would be a dereliction of duty for public treasurers and other institutional investors to ignore climate change, environmental degradation, water shortages and poor company governance.
Lawmakers in some states are pushing to make it harder for defendants to avoid pretrial detention. There are better ways to protect public safety that don’t conflict with the presumption of innocence.
As an attorney, Elizabeth Tanner was frustrated by how hard it was to create and run businesses in Rhode Island. As the state’s commerce secretary, she’s leading a technology-driven program to change that.
When a police officer exhibits courtesy and empathy, it brings into focus the nuanced, complex relationship between law enforcement and the African American community.
With its residents upset by crime, homelessness and high taxes, it’s become a depressed and discouraging place. Can it once again be a shining exemplar of modern urbanist success?
Amid changing travel behavior, many transit agencies are projecting bus and rail passenger growth based on a range of best-case and worst-case scenarios.
More than 30 states have laws classifying assault on transit operators as a special category of misdemeanor. Incidents are increasing, and transit workers and their unions are pushing for action at all levels of government.
With a life-long love of government and politics, Sarah McBride is starting her second term in the Delaware Legislature.
Seared in America’s collective memory and pilloried in popular culture, Jimmy Carter delivered a speech 44 years ago that chose to tell the American people the truth, rather than sing the Song of America.
New federal funding presents opportunities to help families in affordable housing gain high-speed internet and all the benefits that come with it.
For years, countries in Europe and Latin America have out-innovated the U.S. in providing quality bus service. Now, Many U.S. cities are coming around to the idea that buses are the future of public transit.
For decades, America dropped the ball on teaching students about democratic governance processes. Now it’s being seen as essential to repairing a battered democracy.
The river’s Lower Basin states need a water-sharing agreement. It’s time for them to check their historical grievances at the door, make difficult compromises and be open to new and innovative solutions.
Local opposition has blocked towns from building utility-scale solar installations. But there is an unexpected and newly incentivized alternative — thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act — the dump.
It has put the ability to deliver essential services at risk, and when government fails, people can die. There are real solutions that will make the public sector more competitive to attract and retain talent.
Cook County Commissioner Brandon Johnson will run against former Chicago Public Schools CEO Paul Vallas for mayor. The final matchup was a stunning blow to Lightfoot who became the first full-term incumbent to fail to win reelection since 1983.
The gap between Black and white homeownership rates in 2022 was wider than it had been in 1960. Habitat for Humanity is leveraging a generous donation and government assistance to expand the number of homeowners in priority markets.
Lawmakers in several states are pushing legislation banning the use of a new credit-card merchant code for firearms retailers. But its use to flag unusual purchases might have prevented some mass shootings.
BART and other transit agencies are budgeting the last of their pandemic-era federal relief and looking ahead to big, ongoing deficits. Solutions are still hard to find.
