Budget & Finance
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Negotiations have stalled over a state Senate proposal to repeal a sales tax exemption on data center equipment. Gov. Abigail Spanberger raised the possibility of a data center electricity consumption tax. -
The program, designed for water and wastewater systems, builds upon plans released last year by Gov. Kathy Hochul. The move comes amid increasing worries about cyber attacks linked to the ongoing and widening war in Iran.
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Plus, Maine is looking for partners for its middle-mile network, New Mexico has enacted a law establishing a broadband affordability program, fiber infrastructure expansion is continuing, and more.
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State lawmakers are assigning $25 million to help police departments replace their drone fleets after Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration forced local governments to stop using drone technology made in China.
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More than three dozen former election officials, members of Congress and Cabinet secretaries are calling on lawmakers to make at least $400 million in election security grant funding available for fiscal 2024.
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The Polis administration has made it a goal to get 99 percent of the state connected to reliable broadband by 2027, but nearly 194,000 households and businesses remain unconnected to the Internet.
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Crawford County commissioners are expected to ratify a contract to expand broadband service to 2,000 homes in the next three years. The county has committed $3 million of its American Rescue Plan Act funds to the project.
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The Placer County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved $31 million in funding to bring broadband infrastructure to Sheridan, Newcastle, Loomis, North and South Auburn, Meadow Vista and a neighborhood in Granite Bay.
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The U.S. Department of Transportation announced the release of a new $848 million funding program designed around hardening transportation infrastructure in the face of climate change.
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Cowlitz County has tightened its cybersecurity and payment policies after two losses of public funds, including $184,000 later recovered from a phishing scheme. The 2021 and 2022 incidents were reviewed in the county's annual accountability audit.
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As programs funded by the American Rescue Plan Act come to a close, several local governments share how the funding — and the technology that helped them distribute it — helped people in their communities.
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The proposed Mid-Continent Clean Hydrogen Hub (MCH2) – a partnership between Iowa, Nebraska and Missouri – would be competing with other regional proposals for $7 billion available to establish six to 10 green hydrogen hubs.
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Officials with the Douglas County Public Utility District are collecting input on proposed changes to the energy rate structure for cryptomining operations and low-tier data centers.
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Plus, more states announce new broadband deployment funding, the White House launches a $1.5 billion innovation fund related to the telecommunications supply chain, and more.
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County commissioners have approved a $2.5 million grant application to the Appalachian Regional Commission to help incentivize the buildout of broadband infrastructure in the region.
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The Spokane County Commission and Spokane City Council have dedicated nearly $5 million to the project. Both governments used money they received through the American Rescue Plan.
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The city’s website hasn’t seen an update since 2012 and officials believe that might be why more than half of visitors to the website leave before clicking another button. Brazil-based CI&T will lead the overhaul.
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Roughly 150 deputies – especially those who regularly interact with the public – will soon be outfitted with the devices as part of the department’s investment in body camera technology.
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Over the past few months, the city of Birmingham has helped enroll hundreds of residents in the Affordable Connectivity Program, while increasing digital skills expertise and expanding tech device accessibility through its CONNECT99 campaign.
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The construction phase of a multiyear project to provide high-speed fiber-optic Internet to more than 16,000 rural residents in Lowndes County has begun. The project will connect around 96 percent of the unserved county census blocks.
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Officials with the Oakland police union filed a claim asking for monetary damages of up to $25,000 per affected employee nearly two months after a ransomware attack that released 12 years of city employee data.
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