Policy

The country’s long-simmering tension between security and privacy is ratcheting up this year in statehouses, as mass data collection and surveillance technology become ubiquitous.

Oregon counties say they’re opposed to recent economic development legislation because it doesn’t provide them financial help to offset the rising costs of administering tax breaks.

A bill headed to Gov. Kay Ivey's desk would limit the amount of screen time allowed for children in licensed child-care facilities and state-funded preschool and kindergarten programs, though teachers can still use them.

Research from the Center for Long-Term Cybersecurity at UC Berkeley shows that those states passed a total of 99 bills, with the majority of them passing between one and three pieces of legislation.

Ed-tech leaders and advocates this week talked to the U.S. House subcommittee on early, elementary, and secondary education about the need for clear direction on AI from the federal government.

Officials have formally named Bryce Bailey the state’s chief information security officer, elevating him from the interim role after nearly a month in place. Cybersecurity, he said, “is a long game.”

States have until April to meet the federal mandate established under the Americans with Disabilities Act, requiring all digital products be accessible for people with disabilities. Readiness levels vary.

Two proposed laws now under consideration have differing approaches to the technology campuses. One would have a state authority certify projects. The other would require new renewable energy sources.

The bill would ban large language models from making “independent therapeutic decisions” or generating “therapeutic recommendations or treatment plans” without review from a licensed therapist.

Public records requests reveal that more than 20,000 public comments submitted in opposition to a proposal around gas appliances were generated by a company called CiviClick.

Under state law, New Jersey public school students must be in classrooms for the day to be counted, with exceptions for when schools are closed more than three consecutive days due to a declared state of emergency.

The newly proposed Senate budget would ditch the state sales tax exemption for data centers, adding more than $1 billion in tax revenue that could fund tax cuts and critical spending priorities.

City Council members are mulling policy for the devices that lines up with neighboring local governments and state law, too. The goal, the police chief said, is to ensure their safe, responsible use.

The Trump administration plans to sue states for their artificial intelligence laws, but how the push is affecting work on future legislation depends on a state’s politics.

Plus, New Mexico is increasing access to affordable Internet, federal legislation has advanced in Congress to better track funding, Indiana residents have expanded access to fiber broadband, and more.

The move places the state among a growing group of governments using the shared authorization framework to reduce duplicative vendor security assessments. GovRAMP evolved from StateRAMP last year.

If enacted, a bill that cleared its final Senate committee hurdle this week includes provisions for parent notifications and consent regarding instructional AI tools, as well as responsibilities for ed-tech vendors.

A new report by CALSTART indicates transitions to electric trucks are facing some of the same headwinds as the light-duty vehicle market. In certain states, however, their numbers are stronger than expected.