Date Published: 2/1/2012

Description: Ethics training educates legislators and staff on ethics laws and rules and demonstrates to the public that these officials realize that ethical behavior is integral to holding their trust. Now that ethics training is so prevalent, how can states ensure it is the best it can be?

Date Published: 9/1/2011

Description: Privatization is one option state legislators have to make government less expensive yet more responsive to citizens.

Date Published: 11/1/2010

Description: Ombudsmen, appointed by an agency or state legislature, represent the interests of the public by investigating citizen complaints.

Date Published: 11/1/2009

Description: Under an agreement with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, some state and local law enforcement agencies now help with immigration enforcement.

Date Published: 4/1/2009

Description: Tribes and states have been creating entirely new structures for communication and collaboration, solutions and agreements have been created for the ever-changing range of issues, and older tribal-state institutions have been strengthened and revived.

Date Published: 2/1/2008

Description: Help for legislative staff to draft effective legislation that is designed to reduce health disparities, specifically cardiovascular disease, in communities of color.

Date Published: 2/1/2008

Description: Help for legislative staff to draft effective legislation that is designed to reduce health disparities, specifically cardiovascular disease, in communities of color.

Date Published: 11/1/2007

Description: States govern the primary elections that determine a party's candidates for office in general elections. Four basic primary systems—closed, partially closed, open and partially open—are used; a few states have experimented with decentralized blanket primaries, where voters can choose any candidate, regardless of party.

Date Published: 9/17/2007

Description: Tribes rely on states to give them Homeland Security funds to stop the flow of illegal immigrants onto their lands that touch the U.S. borders. This often is not enough to close border gaps, but tribal patrols help meet the challenge.

Date Published: 7/31/2007

Description: Sustainable development, often considered to pertain only to the environment, also includes societal and economic factors. A handful of states and American Indian tribes have experimented with implementing sustainable development practices to ensure a better future for their citizens.