Policy

The governor and lawmakers propose closing a state budget deficit in part by taxing large website and cloud computing providers. The state Senate minority leader questioned how the economy can grow if innovation is stifled.

Contrary to promises that the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) would not be affected by cuts, the data-collecting agency was stripped of the vast majority of its workforce.

The Loveland City Council has approved a new technology fee on building permits that will generate enough revenue to pay annual maintenance costs and a new IT employee to support it.

A Request for Information in February on the federal “Development of an Artificial Intelligence Action Plan” has garnered responses from a variety of industry and public-sector stakeholders offering recommendations.

Enrollment in state work release can rise above 350 during the year. It now stands at 166 people, 12 of whom work remote. Lawmakers are considering a monthly fee for the laptops provided.

Like other state legislatures around the country, the Illinois General Assembly in the last couple of years has grappled with how to address a rapidly evolving technology that replicates human intelligence.

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy conditionally vetoed a bill Monday that would criminalize the production and dissemination of deepfakes, which are deceptive, AI-generated images and videos.

The Georgia Senate is considering a bill that would ban cellphones in elementary and middle schools. Lawmakers say restrictions for high schools may follow once today's younger students are used to going without phones.

The new venture is designed to cut fraud from local government vendor payments and give agencies more insights into their finances. Participants in the program paint this gov tech push as fitting into the "DOGE era."

The Gen Z representative who authored the bill, which would give local district leaders some control over their own policies, told colleagues she remembered how distracting phones were when she was in school.

Evan Feinman, director of the federal Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment program, has stepped down. He offered advice to stakeholders to mitigate any impacts on states from its pause.

Minnesota lawmakers are once again debating whether the state should lift a three-decade ban on new nuclear power plants in the state as a way to work toward a clean energy future.

Plus, Vermont has started work on its Digital Empowerment Plan; a new bill aims to prevent FCC from censoring broadcasters; Sonoma County, Calif., has approved offering some residents free Internet; and more.

Ohio lawmakers last year passed a bill requiring schools to limit phone use during the day, but Gov. Mike DeWine called on them to finish the job and pass a bill banning phones from use during school hours altogether.

The American Federation of Teachers and two other labor unions have sued the Education Department for violating federal privacy laws by granting DOGE access to the agency's data systems.

This comes at a time when getting a vet appointment can be a lengthy process due to a shortage of veterinary services nationwide, the retirement of older veterinarians, high turnover and increased demand.

ED laid off nearly half of its employees this week. Sources say the cuts have dismantled the Office of Educational Technology, which produced the National Education Technology Plan, among other resources.

Plankey briefly served the first Trump administration as a National Security Council director, and is a former deputy CIO to the U.S. Navy. His experience aligns with the agency’s mission to protect critical infrastructure.