State Government

Rich Heimann, the state’s first-ever director of artificial intelligence, lauds its pragmatic approach to AI strategy and adoption. South Carolina’s chief information security officer will be part of the center's team, too.

The rising use of artificial intelligence in search functions and the 24/7 needs of cryptocurrency mining are expected to take the Internet’s demands on the energy grid from predictable to exponential.

In a high-level view of the 2025-2026 fiscal year state budget, Gov. Gavin Newsom highlighted technology work and reforms by the Office of Data and Innovation, which is helping lead California’s tech evolution.

The state’s previous CIO resigned late last year after an "ethics violation." Cronin’s tech experience stretches back to 1998 with Microsoft, and he most recently worked for hotel operator Marriott International.

The Texas-based government technology behemoth has appointed and promoted several new executives in recent days. The moves reflect how the company is growing and larger trends in the industry.

The 2024 Republican platform declares the intent to repeal the AI Executive Order President Joe Biden enacted in October 2023. The technology sector foresees increased opportunities for innovation, but risks remain.

Collaboration and partnership with other agencies was central to the redesign of the WaTech Service Catalog, to better understand the needs of state departments and deliver a more obtainable product.

Bob Ferguson, the state’s incoming governor, will keep Bill Kehoe, its CIO and director of Washington Technology Solutions for more than four years, in place. Kehoe was previously CIO for Los Angeles County.

The data breach last year by an outside entity resulted in the accessing of files that included Social Security numbers. Separately, hackers obtained the public assistance account information of more than 1 million people.

Forty-eight states took part in a review, but only 22 reached or surpassed recommended minimum system security levels. Results for local governments showed they, too, have room for improvement.

As the frequency of climate-related natural disasters increases, CIOs are uniquely positioned to build resiliency within state government and across internal agencies.

This year, local and state governments increased access to digital services for people with disabilities, in part due to a new ruling from the DOJ.

The state recently launched BEACON, driven by artificial intelligence and capable of transforming written emergency updates into real-time, multilingual audio message broadcasts on multiple platforms.

The state’s chief information officer will serve through Dec. 31, the state said in announcing her retirement. Gov. Andy Beshear picked her to lead the Commonwealth Office of Technology at the start of his first term.

After more than four years in his position as state CIO, Tracy Barnes is preparing for his January departure, when a new governor will take the reins from Gov. Eric Holcomb. Barnes has been with the state nearly a decade.

A massive car-charging plaza is being developed in California, while Colorado is moving forward with a high-speed charging network. And the electric vehicle industry is gravitating toward a single charging standard.

The company and the Ohio governor’s office announced the plan, which will enable Amazon to enlarge its data centers outside of central Ohio to new sites around the state. Locations of new data centers have not been finalized.

The Alaska Department of Revenue will work with Saige Consulting to modernize the Dividend Application Information System, by which qualifying residents receive their annual stipend. The new solution is expected in 2026.