Elections
Covering topics such as governors, legislatures, local government, redistricting and voting.
After a February special legislative session gave gun-rights groups sweeping wins, bills to expand firearm-free zones have stalled. Expansion of the zones seems unlikely this year.
After more than 20,000 voters in New Hampshire received a deepfake phone call asking them to skip the state’s January primary, at least 39 states are considering measures to ensure transparency of artificial intelligence used in political ads.
Though Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham has said she wants to keep the July special session narrowly focused on public safety, a group of Republican state senators has proposed packages that aim to secure a porous border.
As several states propose child marriage bans, Missouri state Sen. Holly Thompson Rehder hopes that she can use her experiences to encourage a shift in her state’s legislation.
Secretary of Transportation Monica Tibbits-Nutt suggested constructing toll booths at state borders to help address the state’s tight budget. But on Monday Gov. Maura Healey said she is not proposing border tolls.
A lot of communities are experimenting with this costly, ineffective approach to fighting poverty that disincentivizes work. Iowa lawmakers are right to ban localities from creating guaranteed income programs.
Earlier this month, Mayor Cherelle Parker announced her administration’s plan to end the Kensington neighborhood’s open-air drug markets by arresting people for low-level offenses that the city hadn’t targeted in years.
Gov. Tim Walz appointed Theodora Gaïtas and Sarah Hennesy to the state’s highest court on Monday. When Gaïtas and Hennesy join the court, Walz will have selected four of the seven justices.
This year’s relatively snowless winter followed the record-setting season last year, when 93 inches of snow fell onto the city. The city budgets based on average snowfall, but the average is changing, forcing officials to revisit plans.
Currently, the state controls the local speed limits but a proposal folded into the state budget would change that. The current speed limit in New York City was set in 2014, the first citywide reduction in a half-century.
In November, Madison County voters will be asked whether Cook County, which includes Chicago, should separate and form a new state. Madison County has a history of proposing non-binding referendums.
The County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a new climate action plan on Tuesday that will set updated standards for phasing out oil and gas production, construction of zero-carbon buildings and reducing driving trips.
Seattle’s mayor wants to revive the city center by opening much of it to businesses that have long been forbidden. It’s a move toward more lenient zoning that has been gathering steam in other places.
Gov. Kathy Hochul says she and lawmakers have a “conceptual agreement” that includes both tax breaks for developers and some new tenant protections. She failed to win approval of an ambitious housing package last year.
Other countries have dealt with similar challenges in different ways. The Danish model has some elements state and local governments in the U.S. could adapt.
The tech giant’s announcement is pushback against pending legislation that would require companies such as Google to pay a “journalism usage fee” when they sell ads next to new content.
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