Policy

A new state law, passed with near unanimous support last week from state legislators, has exemptions for special circumstances and doesn’t cover non-instructional times of the school day.

The One Big Beautiful Bill budget legislation that cleared the U.S. Senate Tuesday no longer includes the moratorium on state-level AI regulatory efforts, after a bipartisan vote to amend the bill by removing the provision.

The laws will protect tech customers from shady auto-renewal subscriptions, the sale of stolen goods via online marketplaces and self-cleaning requirements for guests at short-term rentals.

First launched in March 2024, the cloud-based portal is a key part of the state’s effort to implement Proposal 1, which requires elected officials to file annual financial disclosure reports.

The high court preserved the Universal Service Fund, which finds its beginnings in the 1934 Communications Act. It includes E-rate, and is intended to ensure effective telecommunications across America.

The public safety tech vendor has attracted critics opposed to its data and surveillance polices. The company’s CEO has come out in defense of the company and set fresh policies and counter measures.

Plus, learning American Sign Language with AI, the surge in ransomware attacks on governments in 2024, and self-driving cars hit a new speed record.

The federal government has announced plans to end the use of satellite data that hurricane experts say is crucial to tracking storms and spotting the early warning signs of rapid intensification.

A new sales tax on technology services that aims to raise nearly $500 million in its first year is at the center of a slew of Maryland tax changes set to go into effect on Tuesday.

New federal funding cuts are impacting plans for high-speed Internet and digital inclusion work, leaving state broadband directors to explore alternate financing and other ways to move forward.

In addition to the ban on student phone use — which is part of a legislative trend that is sweeping states across the country — Kentucky also ushered in limits on teacher-student communications.

Buried in the federal budget bill moving through Congress is a 10-year moratorium on states regulating the rapidly evolving artificial intelligence industry, and it has drawn ire from state legislators.

Gov. Greg Abbott has signed 10 tech bills recently, including the Texas Responsible Artificial Intelligence Governance Act. In a statement, he addressed the possible federal moratorium on state AI regulations.

City Council members in the Washington city unanimously approved banning a software class that aggregates information on properties and uses it to recommend rental prices to landlords. The mayor is expected to sign it.

The board of directors at The Woodlands, north of Houston, will reexamine usage of electric scooters and bicycles. It could define more specifically vehicles allowed on its pathways — or ban them.

The impacts of President Donald Trump’s proposed budget are still being debated, but the CEO of Euna takes a silver-lining approach to potential funding reductions. Euna sells grant management software to tribes.

Democratic members of the state Senate and House of Representatives have asked the automaker to delay the launch of its self-driving, ride-hailing service until new autonomous vehicle regulations arrive Sept. 1.

Legislation signed by Gov. Greg Abbott last week leaves it up to individual school districts to establish standards for storing cell phones during class and set discipline procedures for those who break the rules.