Policy

A frequent criticism by San Francisco officials as driverless robotaxis became common on city streets has been that California's laws and regulations have been slow to catch up to the new reality.

A state Senate committee backed legislation — which has already passed the House — to suspend sales tax breaks on new data centers that lawmakers say aren’t giving the state financial return on its investment.

CIO Bob Osmond said prioritizing system modernization, financial optimization and infrastructure enhancement is essential to providing the best tech resources to agencies and residents.

Following a massive cyber attack against health-care providers across upstate New York, U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer is calling for financial relief for providers impacted by the attack.

The National Association of State Chief Information Officers released a report Wednesday examining data literacy in state government. All state employees must have a “certain minimum level of understanding of data,” it said.

The legislation would create an Artificial Intelligence Task Force to convene technology experts and other stakeholders, and address areas of concern around AI. It’s expected to head to the governor’s desk this week for a signature.

Amendments to the Utah Social Media Regulation Act would allow lawsuits if it can be proven that “addictive social media algorithms” contributed to the worsening of a child’s mental health. Related laws have been stopped in two other states.

A legislative push that would have given local governments more power to regulate e-bikes and scooters appears dead for the legislative session, but the lawmaker who led the issue says she will try again.

Gov. Gavin Newsom’s proposed state budget lacks funding for the Telework Compliance Office. The office’s future, and that of the telework data dashboard — a comprehensive picture of remote work at the state — are uncertain.

Sen. Joey Hensley said his legislation allows public K-12 districts and universities to make their own choices regarding if and how artificial intelligence should be used for learning, pending state approval.

State Superintendent of Education Cade Brumley sees an opportunity in emerging artificial intelligence tools to give students personalized, high-dosage tutoring at far lower expense than well-trained human tutors.

With an executive order Thursday, Rhode Island Gov. Dan McKee called for creation of an Artificial Intelligence Task Force and centers of excellence for AI and data. Goals include operational efficiencies and improved service delivery.

Congress must stop dithering on AI and set up a regulatory structure as soon as possible to govern its development and use, and stop leaving it to profit-driven modern tech companies.

State Sen. Adrienne Southworth said schools should balance teacher-student interaction with digital instruction. Her bill also calls for regulation of third-party ed-tech tools that access student data.

Hundreds of UF professors have petitioned university leaders to undo restrictions from a state law that effectively blocks universities from recruiting researchers from seven countries “of concern."

The state's information technology chief executive worries that any legislation crafted now may become obsolete and leave state regulators unable to deal with rapid societal advances brought by AI.

A new survey of Affordable Connectivity Program users detailed the financial hardships recipients face in affording broadband, and found more than half access government services online.

The Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program’s redesign of its marketplace is focused on smoothing navigation. The update to FedRAMP, first launched in 2011, followed dialog with users on pain points.