This archive collects stories where U.S. states, Canadian provinces, and subnational governments around the world are the driving force behind meaningful change. Across 467 articles, you’ll find accounts of state and provincial lawmakers, agencies, and coalitions enacting policies, launching programs, and achieving results that improve people’s lives. From environmental protections to public health wins, these are the places where regional leadership makes a difference.
The Province has selected Morneau Shepell to develop a free mental health counselling and referral service for post-secondary students throughout British Columbia.
A new spending program approved by lawmakers in 2019 called Lawns to Legumes sets aside $900,000 annually to pay homeowners who replace traditional lawns with bee-friendly wildflowers, clover and native grasses.
The discredited practice of conversion therapy for LGBTQ children is now banned in Utah, making it the 19th state and one of the most conservative to prohibit it.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) on Wednesday announced that the state plans to buy a 20,000-acre section of the Everglades to prevent oil drilling in the area, according to the Miami Herald.
The incentives are up to $9,500 towards the purchase of a new or used plug-in hybrid electric vehicle, fully battery electric vehicle, or fuel cell electric vehicle and will be prioritized for low-income families.
Illinois’ governor granted more than 11,000 pardons for low-level marijuana convictions, describing the step as a first wave of thousands of such expungements.
“I am proud to sign one of the most progressive expungement laws in the nation, which will allow more New Jerseyans the opportunity to fully engage in our society,” Murphy said.
After years of rising opioid-related overdoses deaths among state residents, 2018 finally saw a drop, from 2,170 deaths in 2017, to 1,824 deaths – a 15.9 percent decrease.
Michigan joins California, Washington, Oregon and Rhode Island in adopting a cage-free requirement.
The project aims to provide free high-speed internet to over 22 million below poverty line households by 2020.
