Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton has signed an Executive Order that requires the Commissioners of the Department of Natural Resources and the Pollution Control Agency to “move at the speed of commerce,” by accelerating and simplifying their environmental review and permitting processes. The Governor claims that the changes are needed in order to make the state [...]
In this, the first of two pieces on the federal debt and its relationship to state and local governments, Accenture’s David Wilson outlines how the debt crisis should lead to a fundamental reexamination of the way money transfers from federal to state coffers. He also argues for a government processes “Marshall Plan” that looks into [...]
A new study out yesterday by the Pew Internet & American Life Project found that three-quarters of Americans participate in some kind of voluntary group or organization. Moreover, the study found the lines between online and offline participation in group activity is blurring.
Over the last decade, a technology known as customer relationship management (CRM) has slowly crossed over into the public sector. That migration from private to public sector use is about to get a boost with an announcement today from Microsoft that Dynamics CRM will be available online through the cloud.
New York’s Office for People With Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD) is a big operation. OPWDD has 22,000 state employees, 800 not-for-profit partners and an annual budget of just over $8 billion. The Office is responsible for helping developmentally disabled New Yorkers receive care and services that will allow them to live richer lives. This means helping [...]
With 2011 upon us, it is time to look back on some of the highlights of what was a very significant and impactful year for the states. The past year was certainly one of the more active years for the states when it comes to major changes and challenges that I have seen during my [...]
In 2007, Iowa Governor Chet Culver and the state’s General Assembly created the Iowa Climate Change Advisory Council (ICCAC). The group of academic and public sector leaders was charged with forecasting Iowa’s greenhouse gas (GHGs) emissions, identifying ways to reduce GHGs by 50 percent and 90 percent by 2050. Legislation passed in early 2009 codified [...]
In a letter to House Speaker-elect John Boehner, Arizona Governor Jan Brewer highlighted an area of concern for her and other governors when implementing provisions of the new federal health care law. The suggestion offered by Mrs. Brewer to incoming House leadership would allow states to make cuts to their Medicaid rolls without losing federal [...]
According to Rick Webb, former state chief information officer for the state of North Carolina, the fiscal crises besetting state and local governments presents the perfect opportunity for state CIOs to showcase the power of technology to deal with a “perfect storm” of declining budgets and increasing demand for services. “CIOs are feeling enormous pressure [...]
The 2010 mid-term elections saw just over 1600 new state legislators elected to office. The turnover rate reached 30 percent, which represents a 5 percent increase over the 1250 new legislators who took office in 2009. This massive shift adds to the complexities of state policymaking at a time when “new ideas” will have to [...]
