Governing: State and local government news and analysis
Author and federal judge Jeffrey Sutton argues the legislative branch of states should take a larger role in constitutional experimentation, and we should ask less of the judicial branch.
California’s official unemployment rate is 7.5 percent. But a newer method of measuring unemployment reveals a far larger portion of the state is struggling to find full-time employment that pays enough to cover the cost of living.
To fight false narratives and foster trust in reliable information, governments can invest in local news, support empathy-building initiatives, and ensure election processes are traceable, a new report says.
The right to disconnect can be the catalyst an organization needs to review its workplace policies. But what’s really needed is a cultural shift that gives workers more control over how they work.
The best and worst state highway systems have common traits that have little to do with miles of roadway.
Everyone agrees Bryan Hughes is amiable and polite. He's also emerged as one of the most-effective conservative legislators in the country.
The new federal funds should be targeted to projects that protect communities from climate change and promote social and economic mobility. Cities have hundreds of such projects ready to go.
Historian Richard White talks about the greed, ineptitude and economic cost behind the transcontinental railroads of the 19th century, and what that says about the development of infrastructure today.
Aftab Pureval is an ethnic trailblazer in a deeply segregated city. He comes into office with a long list of policy goals — many of which will not be easy to implement.
Building energy use accounts for nearly 30 percent of total greenhouse gas emissions. The latest energy codes can reduce carbon dioxide, but many states continue to use standards that are outdated.
With $65 billion on the way from Washington to expand Internet access, it’s time for businesses, research organizations and others to join with the public sector to shape strategies to make the most of the funds.
It’s shaped politics, government and culture throughout our history. Schools may not be teaching critical race theory as such, but today’s students — tomorrow’s leaders — need to explore why these disparities continue to exist.
Transportation experts say that much of the funds in Biden’s big bill just go towards highways and a carbon-intensive status quo.
Taking public meetings online was supposed to broaden civic engagement, but little has changed: The same vocal residents, interest groups and activists still dominate them. We need to find better ways.
With the passage of the federal infrastructure bill, transportation leaders in Illinois are gaining hope that the high-speed rail project that would connect Chicago to St. Louis can gain momentum.
Our resident humanities scholar has been thinking about whether we can learn to live up to the Declaration of Independence’s aspiration that all of us are created equal.
Research shows there are ways to fight fraud, but the bill contains very little language aimed at doing so.
The state had a fairly good digital response to the pandemic, given the low technology and training capacity that public health departments had prior. But the response wasn't perfect, especially for those with limited English or Internet access.
Ethics rules require judges to recuse themselves from cases involving relatives or their own partisan or political interests. But it doesn't always work out that way.
Too much of the space in our downtowns is taken up by parked cars, and requiring developers to provide so many parking slots inflates the cost of housing. It’s becoming clear that those mandates are irrational.
If Hispanics in the U.S. were an independent country, they’d have the world’s seventh-largest economy. They will also account for the majority of new adults entering the workforce in coming years.
Moderate and centrist Democrats who triumphed in the recent mayoral elections have been too quick to adopt Republican attack points, particularly when it comes to calls for reforming policing.
After a long wait, the federal infrastructure bill is headed toward President Joe Biden's desk. How can states and local areas take advantage of the $65 billion set aside for broadband? Here are some details.
A week after New Jersey’s gubernatorial election, Democrats in the state are maneuvering to shape the ideological tenor of Phil Murphy’s next administration by debating what the relatively close race means.
COP26 convened amid projections that greenhouse emissions were on track to go up, not down, over the next decade, and severe climate impacts have arrived much sooner than imagined. Will the summit change this picture?
Cities spend millions to raze vacant buildings. Why not use that money to repair them instead?
The COVID recession and its fiscal aftermath should remind politicians, advocates and labor that budget reserves are not piggybanks for new discretionary spending. Economic cycles have not been repealed.
As the nation continues to emerge from the worst effects of the pandemic, leaders in suburban school districts are using a range of strategies to restore and strengthen connections with students and communities.
The Western Fire Chiefs Association, a nonprofit that started in California during the 1800s, sees much potential in a new tool that can save substantial time and manpower in wildfire recovery missions.
Robert P. Jones says systemic racism is in the DNA of American Christianity and the communities it helped shape but holds out hope for redemption. The opportunity lies in telling a truer story about the founding of the church.
