The COVID-19 crisis has drawn increased attention to government data, and to the ability to quickly link important data sets across diverse sources. Certainly, there have been some disappointments in
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Nevada state Sen. Pat Spearman, a Democrat and chief majority whip, successfully shepherded legislation in 2020 requiring pharmacists to honor 12-month doctors’ prescriptions for birth control pills, over the objections
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The debate over COVID-19 aid for state and local government revealed a broad range of opinions that were only partially informed by the facts. Lacking complete information about the history
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As America’s counties prepare for a historic federal investment to help mitigate the virus and aid the nation’s economic recovery through the American Rescue Plan, the National Association of Counties
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The federal government spends trillions of dollars each fiscal year, affecting the lives of all Americans. This spending and the revenue raised to support it are distributed differently across the
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A recently enacted federal law, the Grant Reporting Efficiency and Agreements Transparency Act, offers a unique opportunity for Americans to learn more about their state and local governments as well as
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To date, 42 cities in the United States have instituted minimum wages above the state or federal level. Of these cities, 22 have a minimum wage that is $15 per
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The educational opportunities available in a community, both in and out of school, are reflected in students’ average test scores. These test scores are influenced by opportunities to learn at
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State and local governments are a major piece of the U.S. economy, accounting for about 13% of all employment. However, unlike the federal government, state and local governments typically have
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DONALD F. KETTL, OCTOBER 15, 2020 The crippled response to COVID-19 is just one example of why we need to revive our ability to sort out the roles of the
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Municipal governments in the United States generate revenues from their own sources (their authority to charge for services and collect taxes); other governments (intergovernmental revenue); and, by issuing debt or
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In the mid-1970s, the Joint Economic Committee of the U.S. Congress (JEC) commissioned biennial reports to inform Congress about the fiscal shifts and changes among America’s municipalities. Called “Trends in
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