Maryland

As Maryland works to fill gaps in Internet access, Gov. Wes Moore and local groups are focused on ensuring residents have digital literacy skills, technical support and broadband, especially in areas like Baltimore.

An annual event in Frederick, Maryland, invites students from area high schools to see how science, technology, engineering and math affect people's everyday lives, and how accessible professions in those fields are.

States are starting to hire experts to navigate both the opportunities and the trickier aspects of AI. Maryland's Nishant Shah says job No. 1 is establishing a set of principles that set the foundation for everything else.

Plus, Missouri is launching a new advisory council related to digital equity; Kansas is collecting more input on its broadband plans; Maryland is dedicating more money to getting people connected; and more.

Plus, Maryland’s governor attends an ACP training session; Seattle has opened applications for its annual digital equity grants; new findings about Internet access; and much more.

The school system in Prince George’s County, Md., suffered a cyber attack on Aug. 14, mainly affecting staff’s user accounts. Now, school officials believe some personal information has been leaked.

The Maryland Department of Information Technology has hired four executives for new tech roles, including its first-ever chief technology officer. The state has also hired a new chief information security officer.

Backers think geothermal could power as much as 20% of the U.S. grid. A handful of states approved laws this year and others are considering measures that would provide money and regulations to help the industry.

The work group, which consists of 12 members from different stakeholder groups, is tasked with preparing a report by Dec. 1 that will inform the county's regulation of the critical digital infrastructure industry.

Plus, organizations urge Congress to support legislation for rural communities; a report explores redundancies in federal broadband programs; and much more.

While states like New York, Illinois and Maryland have forged new legislative roads to regulate AI use in hiring and review processes, more than 20 states have no proposed or enacted AI-related hiring bills.

The state has offered access to digital ID for Apple smartphone users for almost two years. Now, those with Android devices will be able to use their state-issued IDs digitally as well.

The former deputy CIO has been serving as acting CIO since mid-March. Martin stepped up following the resignation of former CIO Rick Napolitano, who led the county's IT operations for eight years.

Virginia and Maryland are utilizing various workforce strategies to create online training programs, empower agencies with a pipeline of skilled workers and provide existing employees with upskill opportunities.

At the NASCIO Midyear Conference, Maryland CIO Katie Savage said the state is still early on in its use of generative AI, gathering and cleaning data and building models to make it an effective tool for government.

The Comptroller had seven bills introduced on her behalf in 2023, including legislation to create a taxpayer advocate division to assist tax filing and address areas that taxpayers struggle with most.

Plus, more states announce new broadband deployment funding, the White House launches a $1.5 billion innovation fund related to the telecommunications supply chain, and more.

The disruption was tied to an aging system — not cyber attack — according to a statement from the state comptroller’s office. The outage reportedly delayed tens of thousands of income tax returns.