Public Safety
Smartphone data helps Ohio ‘be smarter’ about reducing distracted driving
The Ohio Department of Transportation is leveraging data from smartphones and sensors to inform the state’s strategies to tackle distracted driving.
Artificial Intelligence
How is AI being used by state employees in Iowa? Senate bill seeks to define uses
An Iowa Senate bill that advanced from a subcommittee Tuesday would limit the uses of artificial intelligence in state agencies.
Artificial Intelligence
Utah bill requires AI companies to share safety plans for children and the public
The legislation would increase company transparency but wouldn’t ‘micromanage algorithms,’ sponsor says.
Sponsor Content
Beyond compliance: Emerging lessons from H.R 1’s impact on benefits delivery
H.R. 1 imposes strict compliance requirements and financial penalties, but provides an opportunity to transform the public benefits experience for constituents and caseworkers alike.
Management
Report: States strengthen shield laws to protect abortion and gender-affirming care data
As patients seeking reproductive and gender-affirming care increasingly are using telehealth to do so, states are increasing protections for patients’ and providers’ health care data.
Artificial Intelligence
Most workers at risk from AI can transition, report finds
Recent research from the Brookings Institution warned that while most workers exposed to AI can pivot, millions in administrative and clerical roles may struggle.
Artificial Intelligence
Amid the AI-driven boom in energy demand, rural Texans fight a high-voltage transmission line
Texas’s most powerful transmission line threatens pristine river basins and family ranches. Locals and conservationists are fighting to reroute it.
Finance
Surveillance pricing ban among affordability bills proposed by Colorado Democrats
State lawmakers unveiled bills aimed at affordability, including a second try at outlawing the use of personal data to set prices.
Artificial Intelligence
AI preemption ‘top of mind’ for state, local tech leaders
Observers called for an intergovernmental working group as well as better collaboration, one month on from President Donald Trump’s executive order targeting “cumbersome” state AI regulations.
Artificial Intelligence
As AI-generated fake content mars legal cases, states want guardrails
"Hallucinated" material has made its way into hundreds of court cases.
Cybersecurity
Virginia to consider joining states creating volunteer cyber civilian corps
A proposed volunteer group would help local governments fend off cyber attacks and security breaches.
Featured eBooks
Artificial Intelligence
Modernizing government: The role of AI and automation in government innovation
COMMENTARY | The tech is vital in governments’ modernization efforts, but a fundamental rethinking of how services are delivered in the digital age is also required.
Sponsor Content
Building AI-powered interactions in the public sector with Amazon Connect
Public sector leaders face mounting pressure to use AI to improve service delivery while reducing costs.
Artificial Intelligence
AI improvements to Medicaid must account for needs of eligibility workers, experts say
Improving the efficiency and accuracy of Medicaid programs is a big challenge for states. A good place to start is by designing solutions with eligibility workers front and center, experts say.
Digital Government
Report card finds ‘room for improvement’ in states’ school cell phone policies
Just two states — North Dakota and Rhode Island — have implemented what several groups described as a “gold standard” bell-to-bell policy. Others have more work to do.
Digital Government
Removal of LGBTQ+ option from 988 hotline is straining overburdened Texas crisis centers
The groups that operate Texas’ 988 system face a convergence of challenges this year, from expiring federal money to heavier workloads since the Trump administration eliminated the special option for LGBTQ youth.
Artificial Intelligence
Predatory AI, social media addiction targeted by new legislation from Michigan Senate Democrats
A bill package includes protections for data privacy, rampant online targeting and potential exploitation of minors.
Artificial Intelligence
Sensors in Utah’s roads aim to improve commercial vehicle safety and efficiency
The Utah Department of Transportation has adopted artificial intelligence-enabled tech that spots unsafe tire conditions before they become a safety hazard.
Infrastructure
Rural Wisconsin has become a hotspot for data centers. State’s unique tax instrument explains why
Concerns over transparency, tax policy, and data centers’ utility usage drive many rural residents to oppose planned developments.
Artificial Intelligence
‘I think about Jurassic Park’: DeSantis-backed AI Bill of Rights clears first committee hurdle
A key proposal from Gov. Ron DeSantis aimed at shielding Floridians from the growing power of artificial intelligence unanimously cleared its first committee hurdle Wednesday.
Digital Government
As budgets tighten, states double down on efficiency and tech innovation
Government efficiency means different things to different states, but a common thread is a deliberate effort to rethink key systems and processes, optimize services and cut costs.
