California

The Chula Vista City Council last week approved creating an advisory commission that will be tasked with reviewing and recommending best practices on city technology use policies.

A growing number of lookout cameras stationed across California to locate and monitor wildfires will soon be equipped with artificial intelligence technology to speed response to fires and other natural disasters.

California State Parks has added navigation technology to support both visitors and staff, which will help both to aid in rescue efforts and to improve the overall experience for park visitors.

A new ed-tech tool prompts students to stop and take a deep breath at different intervals, and allows teachers to time classroom activities so they can compare participation and productivity in different environments.

The state is on the cutting edge of a larger movement to hold social media companies financially accountable for the news that they use on their platforms. Lawmakers are taking some of their cues from similar Australian legislation.

The lawsuit seeks class-action status for California residents whose data was stolen, alleging that the companies did not maintain reasonable security measures or adequately protect California residents’ privacy.

Porat, who was named chief technology innovation officer for the California Department of Technology in December, will be transitioning to oversee the Office of Technology Services as the state's new chief technology officer.

The nation’s two largest public pension funds, CalPERS and CalSTRS, have provided more details about their actions after a data breach exposed the personal information of 1.2 million government retirees and beneficiaries.

Plus, one Florida city is launching a new digital navigators program; Nebraska names a new state broadband director; a Texas city is launching a digital inclusion art contest for students; and more.

A new report ranks states for their transition to electric vehicles. California leads the list, followed by New York, largely because of the Empire State’s robust plans to transition all of its school buses to zero-emission vehicles.

Gov. Gavin Newsom this week signed Senate Bill 101 omnibus, formalizing the approval of the $310.8 billion state budget. The legislation outlines hundreds of millions for broadband expansion and IT efforts in the state.

California State Treasurer Fiona Ma urged the chief executive officers of the nation’s two largest public pension funds to hold special board meetings on a recent data breach that exposed sensitive info.

Twice-a-month paychecks for state employees is still likely several years away, but tucked inside a recent state budget package is a green light to change how California’s more than 285,000 state employees are paid.

Three Los Angeles departments recently announced a joint plan to tackle the digital divide with a focus on IT upskilling, digital literacy through library technology and remote digital accessibility utilizing the public park system.

The names, social security numbers, birth dates and other confidential information of around 769,000 retirees and beneficiaries was stolen when hackers exploited a vulnerability in a CalPERS vendor’s system.

Forum Mobility is developing a charging depot to support up to 96 electric drayage trucks serving the port of Oakland in the California Bay Area. Projects like this one are essential to meeting the state’s electric trucking requirements.

Plus, the White House directs more funds toward rural Internet, Michigan announces statewide campaign to increase Affordable Connectivity Program enrollment, and more.

The state published the 2023-2024 Budget Act earlier this week and, if approved by lawmakers, it will fund IT projects at the Department of Social Services, the Department of Motor Vehicles and other state entities.