If it’s lack of time holding you back from visiting all the state capitols in the mainland, Randal Olson, a postdoctoral researcher who specializes in artificial intelligence, machine learning, and data visualization, has developed an algorithm to determine the most direct driving route to the state capitols (9.33 days of driving, with no stops).

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We're all about the public policy here at NCSL but once in a while you stumble onto something like "What causes the smell of rain?" while looking up something else and you just have to share it.

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Fraud against the federal government is a problem for the states in particular when the fraud involves money taken from a federal-state program like Medicaid, which is what was alleged to have happened in Universal Health Services v. U.S. ex. rel. Escobar. The Supreme Court adopted a new theory of liability under the False Claims Act in this case. 

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An internet retailer has filed suit against Alabama claiming its new rule requiring that all retailers who sell more than $250,000 in goods annually must collect sales tax—regardless of whether the retailer has a physical presence in the state—is unconstitutional.

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The rapid growth of distributed solar power resources, such as rooftop solar is creating challenges for states and utilities as they determine how to compensate homeowners and businesses that send solar power out onto the grid.

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In Trinity Lutheran Church of Columbia v. Pauley, the U.S. Supreme Court will decide whether Missouri can refuse to allow a religious preschool to receive a state grant to resurface its playground based on Missouri’s “super-Establishment Clause.”   

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NCSL’s new blog series helps clarify evidence-based policy for state leaders.

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It is hard to keep quiet when you have a secret big enough that ABC’s “20/20” is interested in interviewing you. But if you talk too soon will the lawsuit your secret culminates in be dismissed?

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If a state enters a new fiscal year without an enacted budget, it risks limiting its ability to respond dynamically to fiscal challenges.

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“Putting evidence to work” refers to public policy that is informed by scientific evidence about what works.  Many teen pregnancy prevention programs, for example, are evidence-based, and have been shown to have a positive return on investment for states.

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