Government Experience

Gov. Greg Abbott has approved establishing the Texas Regulatory Efficiency Office, with a projected budget of $22.8 million. It joins the legislative Delivery of Government Efficiency Committee, created earlier this year.

Plus, Idaho will soon end its digital navigator helpline, an Illinois county is distributing software licenses for digital skills training, Cleveland State University supports digital skills and more.

A simulated election and vote count test was a success this week — among the final steps before the county’s board of elections will propose buying new equipment. Current systems are aging but secure.

Officials at the Florida city have elevated its chief digital officer to acting chief information officer. Tamecka McKay, the now-former CIO and director of the IT Services Department, has stepped down.

Jeff Baer, the city’s longtime chief technology officer and director of the Bureau of Technology Services, has retired. As officials seek his replacement, the job’s working title has been updated to CIO.

A transit network in Seattle has introduced technology to reduce “bus bunching” and space vehicles evenly on a route. And a suburban bus company in Chicago is taking steps to transition its fleet to zero-emission vehicles.

Visitors to the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment’s workforce centers and vocational rehabilitation centers can now access free American Sign Language interpreting services through a new pilot.

A new suite of technology will enable real-time text updates to 911 callers on response times and delays. It will also let callers critique and review police officers, the city’s interim police chief said.

The kiosks dispense health-related items for free, such as condoms, Narcan nasal spray, emergency blankets, tampons and pads, COVID-19 rapid antigen tests and other laboratory tests.

In remarks Tuesday at the California CIO Academy in Sacramento, state CIO Liana Bailey-Crimmins highlighted the response to this year’s Los Angeles wildfires as an example of a human-centered response to a crisis.

The Southern California city added $1 million to its cybersecurity budget during a 16-month investigation into a 2023 network breach that exposed sensitive data. Officials are now notifying people who may have been affected.

The city piloted a tool with artificial intelligence to gather more than 1 million responses from residents in just 33 days. Their feedback will help shape the direction of a 25-year strategic vision project.

Lawmakers in several states are considering bills that would give residents more control over their data. A measure under consideration in Texas would formally recognize global privacy controls.

Kerry Goode, who had served as chief information officer and director of the city’s Technology Solutions Department since 2010, has moved on. Officials have looked within to find Durham’s new interim CIO.

The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality has reported a cyber attack that is affecting communications and operations including vehicle inspections. Some services will be shuttered through the weekend.

The governor has promised to update a half-century-old computer system that has contributed to delays and disruptions at Office of Motor Vehicles sites and public tag agents across the state.

A report from the Center for Democracy and Technology provides suggestions for government in building an inclusive artificial intelligence ecosystem, to help ensure its tools serve people equitably.

State officials made an improvement late last week to the design of the mainframe behind Office of Motor Vehicles sites. In the three days following, the system experienced no outages.