Government Experience

Plus, a Florida city is expanding public Wi-Fi in parks, Connecticut released its biannual broadband report, libraries around the country will offer digital literacy training, and more.

Confronting post-pandemic challenges, leaders and planners in local government and philanthropy reshape their landscapes through partnerships and innovation. Mayors serve as critical connectors.

The state’s chief information officer will serve through Dec. 31, the state said in announcing her retirement. Gov. Andy Beshear picked her to lead the Commonwealth Office of Technology at the start of his first term.

The state has committed to replacing its current campaign finance reporting system with a solution that may be easier to use than its current one. Like the old system, the new one will enable disclosure of campaign contributions and related details.

Justine Tran, recently named technology leader, served as deputy CIO for the city of Dallas for nearly four years. She brings with her years of technology work in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

The Alaska Department of Revenue will work with Saige Consulting to modernize the Dividend Application Information System, by which qualifying residents receive their annual stipend. The new solution is expected in 2026.

Several recent initiatives from the Beeck Center are intended to assist the public sector in digital service delivery, including FormFest 2024 and the Digital Government Hub, an innovation-focused fellowship.

In a pivotal year, governments enacted AI laws, strengthened defenses, bridged the broadband gap, and prioritized accessible, user-friendly digital services. As 2025 nears, most jurisdictions still lack fully mature AI frameworks.

The state DMV plans to make available a new smartphone app that allows West Virginia residents to store driver’s licenses and other identification credentials on their phones to verify their identities.

Mayor Randall Woodfin writes about how collaboration between cities helped shape the Birmingham Talks program, which was inspired by work in other cities that used tech to help children with language.

Many organizations have incorporated technology into their hiring processes. The Center for Democracy and Technology studied how one hiring technology — digitized assessments — impacts job seekers with disabilities.

As a new federal administration prepares to assume control, the GovAI Coalition Summit showed the local promise of artificial intelligence, from solutions available to the leaders ready to make them work.

Matt Mahan, mayor of San Jose, Calif., politely pushed back on calls to slash government and cautiously answered a question about the planned federal Department of Government Efficiency, during the GovAI Coalition Summit.

The biggest news in artificial intelligence, accessibility, cybersecurity, ed tech, government experience and public safety. Our annual review of the top headlines from 2024 also looks at what’s in store for state and local IT next year.

Gov tech officials have joined the GovAI Coalition, formed late last year, to collectively shape policies and best practices for introducing AI-enabled tools. They're looking to flank the fast-moving technology.

Officials in Austin, Texas, received a racially targeted public comment during a recent City Council meeting, generated by artificial intelligence. They are now working to ensure this time is reserved for actual constituents.

The report examines how the once-beleaguered state Department of Motor Vehicles has, under the leadership since 2019 of Director Steve Gordon, transformed many processes, migrated transactions online and eased public interactions.

The endeavor, on the University of California, Los Angeles campus, is intended to make charging seamless. Its infrastructure, to be in place by the 2028 Summer Olympic Games, could be used by numerous transit operators.