Oregon

Legislation headed to the state Senate floor would let police statewide use drones to respond to 911 calls in progress, at crash scenes ahead of arriving officers and to chase fleeing suspects.

The Oregon House of Representatives will vote on a bill to restrict K-12 students from using cellphones between the first and last bells of the school day and spells out consequences for those who violate the rules.

State lawmakers are considering a bill that would empower energy regulators to make sure homes and small businesses aren’t burdened with those financial obligations. It would create a new class of utility customer.

A pilot project to introduce a shared electric scooter program in Eugene, Ore., eased the devices into the community, with considerable public outreach to address concerns around parking and cluttered sidewalks.

The Oregon State Government Artificial Intelligence Advisory Council, which was established by a 2023 executive order, has just released an action plan to guide government use of the technology.

Oregon’s new version of federally mandated report cards on schools and district performance includes online data visualizations, but not the ability to compare the average student’s growth across multiple years.

Plus, Oregon announces more than $100 million in funding for broadband, more states have been awarded federal funding, a new report aims to support nonprofit organizations in their digital equity work, and more.

Transit providers in rural areas are experimenting with data-sharing technology to improve services, by introducing modern features like trip planning to form more coordinated, regionwide systems. One system is already seeing results.

Central Oregon Pathology Consultants has a backlog of at least 18,000 claims and its billing system has been down since Feb. 21. U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden said the cyber attack’s aftermath is one of his most important issues.

Cities are no longer seeing their miles of streetscape as cheap parking spaces. Curbs are now considered some of the most in-demand pieces of urban real estate, and technology is stepping up to help manage them.

The devices came online Monday in the city’s Central Precinct. Plans are for all patrol officers to be wearing them by the end of July. They will turn on automatically when cars’ emergency lights come on, or when guns or stun guns are drawn.

The Oregon Department of Motor Vehicles is using a new real-time customer management system known as Next in Line in 59 field offices, helping to improve wait times for more than 3 million.

Mark Decker, the current chief information officer and technology director, has a second role as county chief information security officer. To aid in the transition, he will remain in the latter position part time through August.

Gov. Tina Kotek addressed Oregon’s Artificial Intelligence Advisory Council Tuesday at its first-ever meeting. She created the council Nov. 28 by executive order; it has 12 months to deliver a final recommended action plan.

The Biden administration awarded Intel $8.5 billion in subsidies this week and promised it $11 billion in loans to go toward financing new semiconductor factories.

Unemployed Oregonians are lighting up online message boards and the state Employment Department’s phone lines with complaints about a new system that was recently launched for their benefits.

The department went live Monday with Frances Online, a claims processing solution replacing a COBOL-based legacy system. Officials acknowledged some callers have experienced long hold times but said the replacement is “working well” for most.

The Oregon Employment Department’s new technology system will go live March 4, about 15 years after the state received federal funding to replace its obsolete technology.