California

Senate Bill 707 mandates that larger cities and counties provide options for remote participation in public meetings by July 1, among other requirements related to translation and teleconferencing for elected officials.

The California Cradle-to-Career Data System, already used to track education and career markers, will now connect with CalKIDS and community college data to connect students with scholarship opportunities.

Lea Eriksen, who has been serving as director of the Department of Technology and Innovation for the Southern California city, will become the next senior assistant city manager in Culver City.

Public records requests reveal that more than 20,000 public comments submitted in opposition to a proposal around gas appliances were generated by a company called CiviClick.

The Secretary of State seeks $9.8 million from the state budget for the ongoing project. A request for proposals is expected this spring to refresh the legacy platform used by more than 146,000 notaries.

Called Civiq, the platform assembles in one color-coded place voter registration info, past election results, campaign finance totals, census details and other public data sets related to elections.

With the exception of UC San Diego, the University of California system is seeing a downward trend in undergraduate computer science majors amid looming questions about AI and traditional career paths in the field.

Amy Tong, the former director of the California Department of Technology and state CIO for more than five years, was most recently senior counselor to Gov. Gavin Newsom. Her last day in the role was Jan. 31.

The Woodland City Council renewed a $300,000 contract with Flock Safety for automatic license plate readers this week, despite concerns from residents about privacy and data security.

As part of a statewide push to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, California launched a voucher program aimed at helping residents purchase e-bikes, but there have been problems.

If the measure is placed on the ballot and voters OK it, it would require companies to adopt a set of requirements aimed at protecting minors from potentially harmful effects associated with AI use.

The impending departures on the same day in March, of Alameda County’s CIO and assistant CIO, will close a chapter in the local government’s technology history. Both have been in place since 2012.

A recent promotion through the state-funded CalKIDS initiative highlights how the state of California is using education savings accounts to address technology access for students.

Having notched early success in piloting generative AI, leaders at the California Department of Transportation are realizing the need for a comprehensive approach to a massive storehouse of data.

The Marin County Digital Accelerator takes an agile approach to gov tech, moving fast to get work done. A recent project found a “single source of truth” to modernize planning and permitting.

A group of 20 California state lawmakers sent a letter before the executive order was signed, asking their congressional counterparts to push back against pre-emption or other efforts to limit flexibility.

A presidential executive order on AI could challenge a number of laws already in play. One in California, state Senate Bill 53, set safety disclosure requirements for companies operating AI models.

Panelists at the California IT in Education conference said school IT leaders will face myriad budgeting challenges in the years ahead, but careful planning, partnerships and consultants could help get them through it.