States get more time to change licenses
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Bowing to protests from governors and Congress, the Bush administration is giving states another year and a half to comply with new driver's license rules aimed at foiling terrorists.
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The welfare rolls aren't dropping as fast as they used to, and that could pose a big money problem for states from coast to coast after a new federal law takes effect next month.
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Millions of air travelers may find going through airport security much more complicated this spring, as the Bush administration heads toward a showdown with state governments over post-Sept. 11 rules for new driver's licenses. By May, the dispute could leave millions of people unable to use their licenses to board planes, but privacy advocates called that a hollow threat by federal officials.
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Sometimes in Washington it takes a while for issues to ripen. Sometimes decades.
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By Olson, Scott  A redesigned state Web portal unveiled last month should make it easier for Hoosiers to plow through mounds of government minutia.  But, more important, the revamping set to be finished in mid- 2008 represents a major shift in state policy.
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Small additions can lead to big changes.
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Floridians approved at least seven of the eight changes to the state constitution on Tuesday&#39;s ballot, including one that would make it harder for citizens to get initiatives on the ballot.
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Driver shortages and stiff competition have intensified a push for speed - and regulation, too.
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Arizona began allowing voters to register online in 2004. Three years later, Washington became the second state to do so.
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Privacy advocates, security mavens, states' rights renew assault Critics have renewed their offensive on a federal law mandating changes to state-issued drivers licenses after the US Department of Homeland Security on Friday issued final rules implementing the controversial measure.â¦
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Lengthy passport renewal times may be great for stateside travel.
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Frustrated by federal inaction, state and local governments are passing laws at a record pace.
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State public health officials are moving to allow medical clinics to open in retail stores, but are delaying a decision on whether to let CVS Corp. open 20 to 30 "MinuteClinics" in the Boston area.
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A controversial new government program requiring residents to obtain digital identification cards will be delayed to help cash-strapped states implement the plan, federal officials said on Friday.
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Officials from New Jersey and California say life will be easier when we all get government-issued cards mandated by the Real ID Act. Ryan Singel reports from the RSA Conference.
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Michigan will no longer let illegal immigrants get driver's licenses, a practice just seven other states continue to allow.
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(InfoWorld) - Microsoft continues to tweak its volume licensing programs to make it easier for business customers to purchase the company's software in bulk. This week, Microsoft said it was reducing the length of three of its volume-licensing agreements between 10 percent to 50 percent, changes that affect the Enterprise Agreement, Enterprise Subscription, Select License, Open Value, Open Value Subscription and Open License volume licensing agreements. Microsoft also has made it easier for customers to navigate license information and sign up online, the company said. The changes will be implemented in the course of its fiscal year 2008, which began July 1. Microsoft has been amending different aspects of its volume licensing programs over the last several years in an effort to make them less complicated and expensive for customers. Volume licensing is how business customers buy Microsoft products. The company also faces pressure from changing industry dynamics where products are being licensed on a subscription basis rather than through complicated, long-term licenses. Microsoft is keeping up with some of these changes by increasingly offering business software as subscription-based services but still has a history of complex product licensing to contend with. Specifically, Microsoft said it will reduce the number of price points and SKUs for each of its volume licensing programs, which will simplify customers' search for specific product pricing. Currently, Microsoft has more than 8 million price points worldwide, which makes it confusing for customers to navigate through them. To reduce the number of price points, individual product SKUs with the same pricing will change to one term, called "Single Language," the company said. For example, a product like the SQL Server database has versions for different languages. If the product is only for one language, such as English, and is priced the same as other versions for other languages, the products now will be listed as "SQL Server Single Language" rather than with each language version listed individually, Microsoft said. According to Microsoft, just doing this reduces price points in the Select program by 51 percent and the number of product SKUs by 72 percent. In the Open Value program, price points are reduced by 50 percent and SKUs by 51 percent, and in the Open License program, prices points are reduced by 32 percent and the number of SKUs by 33 percent, the company said. Microsoft also has made some content changes to all of its volume licensing agreements to streamline the language used in themÂ and has added a table of contents and summary titles to agreements to make them easier for customers to navigate. In addition to the changes, Microsoft also is launching a Volume Licensing Service Center online that will help customers manage their volume licenses. The service center will provide downloads to software that customers are eligible to receive under their agreements, and also allow them to view and request Volume Licensing Product Keys for software in their agreements. Additionally, customers can calculate license statements on the Web site.