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Carl Smith

Senior Staff Writer

Carl Smith is a senior staff writer for Governing and covers a broad range of issues affecting states and localities. For the past 30 years, Carl has written about education and the environment for peer-reviewed papers, magazines and online publications, with a special focus on conservation and sustainability. He has guest-edited special issues of the International Journal of Occupational and Environmental Health focused on the Precautionary Principle and the human rights dimensions of environmental degradation. Carl attended the University of Texas and the University of Georgia. He can be reached at carl.smith@governing.com or on Twitter at @governingwriter.

Much has been said about the health consequences of severe Medicaid cuts. A new analysis from the Commonwealth Fund considers the jobs and revenue that states could lose.
A record amount of electricity came from renewable sources in 2024, with both red and blue states leading the way.
Trust in local government has declined in recent years. Liberty Lake, Wash., has found ways to assure residents their voices will be heard.
Health departments across the country rely on manual processes, like phone calls and fax machines, to get access to crucial data, a new study finds.
There's bipartisan agreement that immigration reform is essential. But mass deportation brings its own risks to communities.
Over the last decade, Wisconsin's largest county has made dramatic progress in reducing its homeless population.
A memo from the Office of Management and Budget freezing federal grants to states was canceled. But funds are still being kept back, and budget officers are looking for answers.
State and local public health departments rely on federal funding to operate. With those dollars at risk amid the Trump administration’s federal funding freezes, they’re bracing for the future.
The Eaton Fire consumed a home and community I had loved for decades. I went from writing about homelessness to living it.
States face a tricky year, with their own revenues stalling and federal aid running low.