2024 posting by NewsNation reports New York farmers fear new overtime laws will adversely impact business. READ MORE
AI Is Driving a Silent Cybersecurity Arms Race
Alcohol Deaths Soared 60 Percent in Four Years in Colorado, but Policy Response Is Subdued Alcohol killed 1,547 residents last year, not much fewer than the 1,799 who died from drug overdoses. While the state increased penalties for fentanyl possessions, voters expanded access to alcohol in grocery stores. READ MORE
As Winter Starts, NYC Gives Snowplows a Digital Kick
At a Glance: Digital Cities Awards 2023 (Infographic) From budget priorities and emerging tech to workforce needs and top concerns, here's a by-the-numbers look at the 56 most digital cities in the nation. READ MORE
Bay Area Office Space Vacancies Continue to Grow Silicon Valley ended 2023 with more than one-fourth of the region’s office spaces empty, a record high. San Francisco ended the year with its own all-time record: 36.7 percent vacant. READ MORE
Best of 2023: The Threats from an Electromagnetic Pulse This is one of two "Best of 2023" podcasts. READ MORE
Boost Email Security with AI Learn how artificial intelligence and machine learning can turn the tide against attackers who use spear phishing and other advanced social engineering tactics to compromise government systems and data. DOWNLOAD PDF
California State Senator Introduces AI Accountability Act
Can video replace the court reporter?
Chicago Matures Its Cyber Posture Amid IT Transformation CISO Bruce Coffing on recruiting a more diverse cybersecurity workforce and the unique challenges of locking down systems in a city the size of Chicago. READ MORE
Digital Transformation ‘Supports Everything’ in a Modern City Those at the helm of city technology offices often have to make the case for introducing digital innovation into processes and services. Their advice: Start with the projects people care about and that can show cost savings. READ MORE
FBI Disrupts BlackCat Ransomware, Releases Decryption Tool The U.S. Department of Justice reports that it has seized several websites operated by the group BlackCat. The group has targeted schools, health care, local governments and other victims across the U.S. READ MORE
Georgia CIO Shawnzia Thomas Looks to Keep IT Momentum in 2024 With a new year underway, Georgia Technology Authority CIO Shawnzia Thomas is focused on keeping the pace the agency set in 2023. New technologies and initiatives promise to enhance citizen services and how the state does business. READ MORE
Gov Tech Is Having a Moment — With Private Equity GovTech 100 companies are likely to have an outsized role in making government better. Many now come with deep pockets thanks to investments from private equity. READ MORE
Guaranteed-Income Programs Pick Up Steam Dozens of cities are running pilot programs to show that direct cash assistance is an effective way to address poverty. Critics warn that offering money without work requirements or any strings attached will backfire. READ MORE
Hot, hotter, hottest: 2023 Expected to be the Hottest Year on Record
How Many Electric Buses Does Your City Have? (2023 Edition)
Idaho's Near-Term Mission: Consolidating and Modernizing State IT Information Technology Services Administrator Alberto Gonzalez joined the relatively new agency a little more than a year ago and quickly set his focus on building a stronger foundation to support agencies across the state. READ MORE
Illinois Schools Face Financial Cliff as Pandemic Aid Ends More than $5.8 billion of the $7.8 billion in federal funds awarded to Illinois schools since March 2020 has been spent. In Chicago, the school system faces a $391 million shortfall for the 2024-25 school year. READ MORE
Joint Counter-Terrorism Drills conducted across New York State in ’23 READ MORE
Kansas Court Records Back Online After October Cyber Attack
Malware Attack on Texas Appraisal District Falls Short An investigation into a malware attack against Tarrant Appraisal District computers found that no taxpayer information was compromised. Officials say two pieces of malware failed upon launch. READ MORE
Market for Disaster Management Tools Expands to Meet Need As hurricanes, wildfires and earthquakes grow in strength and frequency, first responders are increasingly adopting new digital tools like drones and integrated dispatch systems to improve response. READ MORE
More Cities and States Crack Down on Homeless Individuals Many jurisdictions have shifted toward supporting the rights of local residents and businesses that must contend with encampments and other problems, rather than the rights of homeless people. READ MORE
More Than Stenography: Exploring Court Record Options (Part 3) In Kentucky courts, the video recording is the official record with no written transcript. CIO Charles Byers discusses what led to this approach and the features vital to meeting the court's needs. READ MORE
Newark Will Permanently Keep Its e-Scooter Program During the trial period, which began in August 2021 and ran for 18 months, city residents have taken 1.45 million scooter rides over 2 million miles. The program will undergo a few changes to appease some concerns. READ MORE
North Dakota Appoints Tech Vet as New Chief Data Officer Kimberly Weis previously handled data analytics for North Dakota Information Technology. Her background includes experience in epidemiology and helping to oversee public health in the state. READ MORE
Rain Storms Now Producing Prodigious Amounts of Rain
Safeguarding Democracy from Artificial Intelligence AI can generate vast numbers of public comments masquerading as citizen input. Other methods of public consultation can improve confidence in government. READ MORE
Sparking Investment: The Gov Tech Market Grows in 2024 With the release of the 2024 GovTech 100, our January/February issue dives into the rise of private equity, what state and local government looks for in a vendor, and the hottest segments of the market. READ MORE
States Warn of Band-Aid Fixes If Road Funds Run Dry Across the nation, state transportation agencies are warning that public safety is at risk if lawmakers don’t overhaul how road maintenance gets funded. Some states are proposing new taxes and fees. READ MORE
The 2024 GT100: Our 9th Annual List of Who's Who in Gov Tech GOVTECH TODAY's annual look at the top 100 companies serving state and local government IT tracks the rise of private equity's investment in the market, poised for continued growth in 2024. READ MORE
The Future of Priority-Based Budgeting — ICYMI ResourceX CEO Chris Fabian and Tyler Technologies President of ERP Chris Webster discuss the benefits of priority-based budgeting for the public sector. READ MORE
The New Money Powering Gov Tech New and growing GovTech 100 companies are likely to have an outsized role in making government better. Many now come with deep pockets thanks to investments from private equity. READ MORE
The Rise of Heavy-Duty Electric Trucks Is Driving a Training Rush An apprenticeship program at Velocity Vehicle Group in the Los Angeles metro area is training workers to service heavy-duty electric vehicles. The training is partnered with similar educational opportunities at Rio Hondo College. READ MORE
Three Steps to Pave the Way for the EV Revolution Lawmakers should make charging convenient for everyone and minimize the environmental impact of electric vehicle batteries. READ MORE
Trends Shaping the Future of Public Sector Digital Service
Two Robots Monitor Denver’s Downtown Parking Garages Since LoDoMus Prime and Dave, two autonomous robots, have been deployed in two of Denver’s downtown parking garages, car thefts and vandalism have decreased by more than 70 percent. READ MORE
Virginia County Offers Small Businesses a Technical Boost A newly launched program in Fairfax County, Va., is offering small businesses technical assistance in a range of areas, helping them enhance their website, e-commerce capabilities, digital presence, and more. READ MORE
What Founders Need to Know About Gov Tech Exits — ICYMI Former CityGrows CEO/co-founder Catherine Geanuracos provides a framework for exiting the gov tech landscape and shares what she learned during the life cycle of her startup. READ MORE
What unexpected accessory can you now add to your iPhone? READ MORE
What’s It Like to Be the Victim of Cyber Crimes? A pair of new studies take an in-depth look at the experiences of residents and businesses in Virginia who have fallen victim to cyber crimes, hoping the findings can inform strong cybersecurity moving forward. READ MORE
What’s New in Digital Equity: Colorado to Streamline Connectivity Along Roadways Plus, the federal government is strengthening its digital accessibility rules, the California Public Utilities Commission is investing in digital literacy, and more. READ MORE
What's New in Digital Equity: Meet the 2023 Digital Inclusion Trailblazers