Government Experience

As use of new technology by government continues to increase, experts and advocates in the space say that public servants should be keenly aware of the potential to exacerbate long-standing biases.

From state errors that caused overpayments to limitations that have prevented some people from getting benefits, many citizens in Michigan are facing a bureaucratic nightmare with the state unemployment system.

The city of Gainesville, Fla., has selected a platform to manage the progress of its strategic vision. The new tool will help the city make informed decisions and increase transparency, officials say.

Florida is seeing many new apps that pledge to make it easier to pay highway tolls, but transportation officials say sticking with the pre-existing SunPass and E-PASS is still the best way to pay.

Former Boston Innovation and Technology Department chief of staff Alex Lawrence returns to city government — and to the department — as interim CIO on the heels of David Elges’ departure.

In Nevada, Elko County commissioners have asked the county clerk to consider alternatives to Dominion voting machines, the election technology that the county has been using since 2004.

In the near future, residents of Mercedes, Texas, may be able to pay their utility bills using a form of cryptocurrency. The Mercedes City Commission voted for city staff to research the issue further.

The amount of floating junk in space is increasing. The pieces of debris may pose issues for companies like SpaceX, Amazon and Boeing, all of which plan to launch new satellites for broadband connectivity.

Yesterday, Mississippi announced two new types of digital identification. The first is an app that allows Mississippians to use a digital driver's license. The second is a digital certificate of COVID-19 vaccination.

According to the findings of a state audit, an error in Michigan's unemployment insurance system led to $3.9 billion in overpayments to applicants who didn't qualify for the benefits.

How virtual will courts be after COVID-19? In Oregon, Multnomah County Circuit Court is the only court with a fully virtual jury selection process. Stakeholders continue to examine the merit of other virtual court ideas.

This week, the city of Philadelphia released its Open Data Dashboard, a platform that displays recently published data sets to increase transparency and to serve as a resource for other organizations.

Benton County, Wash., residents can now go to a new $14 million, 23-acre building for a variety of services, including marriage license applications and property tax payments. The building opened yesterday.

Yesterday, a fire that started near an overpass in Los Angeles damaged fiber-optic lines used by Spectrum. The company said outages were concentrated in South L.A., but other customers were affected.

As part of a project that affects multiple departments, Ohio is requiring unemployment insurance filers to create an account with the state's OH|ID platform. The ID will allow access to other state programs.

Plus, Kansas City, Mo., launches new phase in digital equity work; Wisconsin unveils new broadband grants; Philadelphia debuts an online tax center; and a data map tackles chain restaurants.

A partnership between the Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services, Google Cloud and MTX will expedite the occupational licensing process through automation with the MavQ AI platform.

A report by Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson's office says 6.3 million notices of data breaches have been delivered to state residents in 2021. This number eclipses the previous record of 3.5 million in 2018.