Governing: State and local government news and analysis
One county in Kentucky is typical. Formerly run exclusively by Democrats, it gave three-quarters of its vote to Donald Trump due to cultural and economic concerns.
State and local finance teams need game plans for two divergent outcomes of the Federal Reserve’s efforts to wring inflation out of the economy: a soft-landing slowdown or a more severe downturn.
In the end, we don’t know what kind of treatment might change the behavior of disturbed young people who believe society is out to get them.
State abortion bans clash with FDA approval of the pills, which have been deemed safe and effective since 2000 and were used by more than 3.7 million patients across the nation in 2018.
Our mass shootings confuse and dismay international observers. A journalist and scholar explains why Europeans cannot understand our inability to control gun violence and how that makes them uncomfortable with America today.
Since the 2020 election, 26 states have enacted, expanded or increased the severity of election-related criminal penalties; the vast majority of them were enacted in 18 Republican-controlled states.
The 52 top jurisdictions in this year's Digital Counties Survey from the Center for Digital Government are using new strategies for cybersecurity, workforce and digital services to move toward the future.
The enormous energy demands of Bitcoin mining are prompting some U.S. municipalities to impose moratoriums or outright bans on cryptocurrency facilities. Bitcoin mining activity, critics warn, is leading to electricity price hikes and a revival of dirtier sources of power.
Expansion of its Medicaid health-care program was just the latest milestone in the social safety net for 2.3 million undocumented immigrants that includes driver’s licenses, tax breaks and pandemic relief.
Local government meetings may be open to all, but too often little attention is paid to them. Equipping everyday people to document what goes on is a way to make the most of these opportunities for civic participation.
Shooters have targeted members of particular groups, including Black, Hispanic and gay people. A few may have been motivated by politics as well as bigotry.
New funding is providing unparalleled opportunities to invest in climate resilience by building natural infrastructure to protect vulnerable communities.
The federal minimum wage has been stuck at $7.25 since 2009. In the absence of action from Congress and state legislatures, local governments are adding capacity to their programs to support workers.
A new law requires the state’s pension system to divest from fossil fuel companies, but making that happen while considering a constitutional requirement to pension members will complicate the process.
It’s an opportunity for governments to dramatically improve access to critical services, guiding people step by step through what too often is an unnecessarily arduous process.
New York City’s newest mayor has made several key moves to speed up bus service and open lanes to more bicycles. But transit advocates are asking for bolder policies while reckless driving becomes a serious problem.
Purchasing cyber defenses, training and insurance are budgeting decisions — and financial officers need number-driven risk models that show them how far each investment may go toward reducing risks of financial losses from cyber incidents.
America’s third-largest city has a plenitude of problems. But it has great advantages as well.
During the pandemic, sparse crowds on transit systems gave way to uncivil behavior and crime. Today, debates are breaking out around the best policy to fix the problem while figuring out the role of law enforcement.
Since John Roberts was confirmed as chief justice in 2005, the court has ruled in favor of religious organizations 83 percent of the time, chipping away at the "wall of separation" envisioned by Thomas Jefferson.
Security concerns and the inability to provide a paper trail have all but eliminated the once-popular devices which stored votes directly on electronic memory. Ballot marking devices have largely replaced them.
Elected and other officials gathered in Birmingham, Ala., to announce a new U.S. Department of Transportation pilot program aimed at addressing past infrastructure projects that have harmed and divided communities.
Chronic absence soared during the pandemic, and graduation rates dropped for the first time in 15 years. The first step out of this dangerous trend is knowing more about who’s missing.
America has plenty of genuine heroes, people who have put everything on the line for our freedom and safety. Those who did no more than stand up to a defeated president’s lies don’t qualify.
Sen. Mitt Romney warns about “cataclysmic” dangers, New York’s Gov. Kathy Hochul will face no minor party challengers this fall and abortion has emerged as one of the top political issues of the year.
They once numbered in the thousands. Now, only a fraction are left, mostly abandoned and falling apart. But Kathy Wilner is determined to find every remaining one-room school in her state.
Overly broad “reform” jeopardizes the public and disadvantages hardworking professionals. There is a better path toward balanced, rational and methodical licensing.
What seems like a narrow point of law could have profound consequences for American elections — including the race for the White House in 2024.
On indicator after indicator, health care lags in the states that ban abortion or are likely to in the wake of the Supreme Court’s ruling. Will the abortion-ban states be able to catch up?
Neighborhood change is unsettling. Whose fault is that? Maybe nobody’s.
