Policy

Lawmakers in Arkansas and Missouri are considering legislation that would bolster cyber reporting and data privacy standards for businesses; and, in Texas, tighten cybersecurity standards for water utilities.

Created by gubernatorial executive order, the state’s new Department of Governmental Efficiency team will work to “promote efficiency, maximize productivity and eliminate waste in state and local government.”

In her State of the State address this week, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is expected to call for state legislation to address smartphone distractions in schools, but local control remains important to many superintendents.

A bipartisan group of senators in the state Legislature is currently pushing for more restrictions on convincing computer-generated sexually explicit images of real people.

While many teachers and administrators have reported positive changes after phone bans, students found ways to bypass those rules by slipping calculators or dummy phones into pouches, or switching to smartwatches.

State decision-makers continue to grapple with a series of questions raised in many of the 20-plus other AI-related memos and bills submitted in the Pennsylvania Legislature in the last two-year session.

With ed-tech resources removed from the U.S. Department of Education website, experts said state and district leaders may have to rely more on each other and national education groups for future guidance.

Watchdogs and regulators are concerned new data centers could weigh heavily on residents’ power bills without proper curbs. One utility’s request to tweak an electric rate comes in part to confront those concerns.

State and federal government agencies have been taking action to appoint a dedicated staff member to lead on artificial intelligence. Is it necessary for cities and counties to create a similar role?

From Oklahoma to Mississippi to New Hampshire, nearly a dozen states are putting their imprint on the government efficiency movement in the form of committees and task forces, looking to improve operations.

Plus, a report found the Affordable Connectivity Program pays for itself, the BEAD program funding dispute continues, a bill aims to reduce barriers for broadband deployment, Oswego County, N.Y., gets a broadband grant and more.

Hundreds of technology partners focused on the public sector gathered outside Washington, D.C., for the annual Beyond the Beltway event, an industry-focused forecast of what 2025 looks like for state and local IT.

The state’s House of Representatives has passed a bill that would regulate virtual currency kiosks — licensing operators and capping the amount someone can put into a kiosk daily. It has moved to the state Senate.

If it comes to fruition, local leaders expect the Massachusetts Green High Performance Computing Center's plan to build a $16 million quantum computing complex in Holyoke to produce durable, well-paying jobs.

A funding freeze for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is holding up an estimated $500 million allocated to clean energy projects, and federal officials are ignoring court orders to restore access to the funding.

The state’s House of Representatives advanced legislation this week that would create a task force dedicated to reviewing state programs and identifying areas in which officials could improve efficiency.

The Delivery of Government Efficiency Committee aims to improve the state government’s efficiency through emerging technologies like AI, modernizing existing processes while both innovating and saving.

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.