Policy
This coverage will look at how public leaders establish new policies in a range of crucial areas of government – health, education, public safety, for example – and how these policies impact people’s lives through better services, effective regulations and new programs. This will include stories examining how state and local government approaches policymaking around emerging areas, including artificial intelligence.
The state has spent a decade tightly restricting how police can use the technology. Other states are looking to its approach as privacy concerns grow.
New technology can identify vehicles exceeding local noise limits and lead to fines, giving municipalities another automated enforcement tool.
States and the federal government are clashing over whether the markets’ event contracts amount to unregulated gambling.
As incarceration decreased in recent decades, rural prisons began closing. Now ICE detainees are filling prison beds again. West Virginia has a long history of tapping into the federal prisoner pipeline.
New rules will establish when smoke-damaged homes are safe to occupy and require insurers to cover qualifying testing and cleanup.
New rules will restrict retailers from using information about individual consumers to set prices and require disclosures when personal data leads to a higher price.
High-voltage transmission lines that cross private property are difficult to permit and build. Allowing them along highway corridors, as more states are considering, is a simple solution with bipartisan support.
Families will have greater access to medical opinions and the right to seek a second opinion when unexplained injuries lead child welfare officials to investigate possible abuse.
Minneapolis’ proposed cuts to violence interrupters highlight a persistent challenge for cities investing in community-based public safety: proving that prevention programs work.
There’s a movement to push the costs onto the companies that produce it, in hopes of boosting recycling and providing incentives to change the packaging they use. Some states have moved in that direction, but it’s a fragmented landscape.
Six incarcerated women have become the state’s first prison students to earn bachelor’s degrees, part of an expanding higher education program aimed at creating opportunity and reducing recidivism.
Virtual school enrollment has surged since the pandemic, cementing online education as a lasting part of public schooling and raising questions about oversight.
A nearly $17 billion settlement with Meta will impose new limits on how Facebook and Instagram collect children’s data, and target them with algorithms and ads.
States are moving to ban all marriages under the age of 18. There are arguments from the science of cognition for this significant reversal of public policy.
Mississippi’s early-grade reading gains have drawn national attention. Now more states are adopting elements of its approach, including the controversial practice of holding back some students who aren’t reading proficiently.
The Supreme Court limited what federal agencies can do. States could step in, but when it comes to cleaner water there are better ways that don't burden landowners.
Nearly 53,000 families have applied as the state expands access to free preschool, part of a broader effort to make pre-K available to every 4-year-old.
Oregon is among a growing number of states tightening oversight of healthcare deals. New research suggests those laws are already slowing transactions and reshaping investment strategies.
Hospitals that exceed new spending targets could be required to develop corrective plans and invest up to $400,000 in community health initiatives.
The Trump administration is imposing stricter financial tests on Medicaid waivers, potentially limiting states’ ability to use them to expand services and try new approaches.
There have been some promising reforms to occupational licensing, but too many states still erect barriers that don’t reflect today’s economy and labor market.
New restrictions will dramatically shrink the number of vaping products legally available, creating a potential test case for states searching for ways to curb youth nicotine use.
A decades-old law requires psychics to get government approval before charging for their services. An effort to loosen the rules is reviving a debate over the state's abundant outdated regulations and red tape.
Matt Tuerk, the mayor of Allentown, is one of 200 mayors across the country asking the Senate to reverse or delay federal food assistance cuts via this year's Farm Bill. He spoke with Governing about the effects of the cuts on residents.
The state will require platforms to limit potentially addictive features and strengthen privacy protections for children.
There’s been an explosion of local governments engaging in international affairs. Not everyone thinks that’s a good thing.
Small-town law enforcement agencies are adopting automated license plate readers, bringing new crime-fighting tools and new privacy debates to rural communities.
After expanding Medi-Cal to cover nearly all low-income residents, California is scaling back benefits as budget pressures and federal cuts threaten the state's healthcare safety net.
A new program provides one-time assistance to households that became ineligible for federal food benefits, highlighting how states are responding to recent SNAP cuts.
Federally regulated prediction markets are allowing Hawaiians to wager on elections despite one of the nation's strictest gambling bans.
A new state law treats gambling disorder like substance use disorders, expanding opportunities for treatment, prevention and public awareness.
