Jul 05 Pedestrian deaths are up nationwide, fueled by people who walk while drunk By Jenni Bergal, Stateline When alcohol impairment factors into a pedestrian death, it’s more often the pedestrian than the driver who is drunk. But nationwide, little has been done to address drunken pedestrian deaths. Continue reading
Jul 02 Does palliative sedation ease suffering during end-of-life care? By Michael Ollove, Stateline While aid-in-dying, or “death with dignity,” is now legal in seven states and Washington, D.C., medically assisted suicide retains tough opposition. Palliative sedation, though, has been administered since the hospice care movement began in the 1960s and is legal everywhere. Continue reading
Mar 05 Nobody knows how many kids get caught with guns in school. Here’s why. By Jen Fifield, Stateline In the past few years, school and state officials have not properly tracked deadly school shootings in Arizona and Colorado, and firearm-related school incidents in Maine. Continue reading
Feb 08 Why taxpayers pay when legislators are accused of sexual misconduct By Jen Fifield, Stateline Lawmakers in at least five states — California, Illinois, Iowa, New York and Pennsylvania — have proposed banning the use of public dollars for settlements or payouts related to sexual harassment allegations against state lawmakers. Continue reading
Jan 02 Felony conviction rates are up nationwide. These states are reconsidering how they classify crimes By Tim Henderson, Stateline In recent decades, every state has seen a dramatic increase in the share of its population convicted of a felony, leaving more people facing hurdles in finding a place to live and prompting some states to revisit how they classify… Continue reading
Jul 27 How states are working to reduce recidivism among ex-offenders By Rebecca Beitsch, Stateline To ease prison crowding and rein in corrections spending, state legislatures are trying to help ex-offenders re-enter society with the goal of ensuring they don’t return to prison. Continue reading
May 24 What happens when states go hunting for Medicaid fraud By Jen Fifield, Stateline Faced with growing Medicaid enrollment and tight budgets, Republican lawmakers in several states are taking steps to ensure that people receiving welfare benefits are eligible for them. Continue reading
May 16 Here’s how states are working to curb food waste By Jon Frandsen, Stateline As much as 40 percent of all food in the United States is thrown away, about 38 million tons annually. This waste occurs while 1 in 7 Americans are food insecure. Now, states are working to reverse the food waste… Continue reading
May 13 Lawmakers in 10 states push to raise marriage age By Rebecca Beitsch, Stateline Most Americans think of child marriage as a vestige of a bygone era. And yet in every state, people under 18 are allowed to marry. Continue reading
May 10 Cities, states move to calm fear of deportation By Tim Henderson, Stateline Some city and state officials are trying to calm immigrants’ fear with legislation to prohibit arrests in courthouses, schools, workplaces and other spots where immigrants gather. Continue reading