2024 and Beyond: How to Find the Right Cloud Service Provider Now Facing growing cyber threats, governments are looking to cloud service providers to help increase efficiencies, reduce complexity and secure their networks. Utilizing StateRAMP or FedRAMP can help streamline the CSP selection process. Here’s what else to prioritize. READ MORE
8 Features of the Best Audit Management Software for Public Sector The shift to electronic working papers in the audit community fosters collaboration but inadvertently generates dark data. Audit management software offers solutions to access, analyze and maximize audit data's value. READ MORE
Active Shooter Drill Shows the Difficulties of Response Even with months of planning for an active shooter drill at a high school in Conneaut, Ohio, with an emphasis on interoperability, the drill showed how ingrained in police departments is the inability to communicate. READ MORE
Albany Law School's Goverment Law Center's Legal Director Richard Rifkin authored an explainer about the New York Early Mail Voter Act, a new law which permits any registered voter to cast their ballot early by mail, and ongoing constitutional challenges to the statute. This week, New York State Supreme Court Justice Christina L. Ryba [ALS ’01] ruled that the law is constitutional. Notice that the decision will be appealed to the Third Department has already been filed.
Annual Report: The 2024 State of Online Payments Few utility and local government customer touchpoints are as operationally important as billing and payments. To help understand the preferences of their customer base in 2024, over 2,000 American billpayers were surveyed for insights on trends and general bill payment behaviors. DOWNLOAD PDF
Artificial Intelligence Testifies at Pennsylvania House Hearing In a hearing titled “Navigating the Future of Artificial Intelligence,” lawmakers heard testimony from experts at IBM, TechNet and Harrisburg University — as well as testimony directly from ChatGPT. READ MORE
Atlanta’s Pilot Literacy Program Aims to Improve Equity The initiative will run in eight schools and hopes to boost performance, especially among Black and economically disadvantaged students. More than 40 percent of Atlanta third graders were reading below grade level last year. READ MORE
Automating Permit Applications This thought leadership paper explains how agencies can use new technology to automate and streamline the creation and approval of permit applications. DOWNLOAD PDF
Better Planning Could Help States Avoid Perilous Deficits An analytic tool known as a long-term budget assessment can help states anticipate the fiscal challenges that lie ahead and change course in time to avoid them. Unfortunately, only a minority of states do this. READ MORE
Boosting .Gov Adoption: Can a New, Quicker Process Help? According to a Government Technology analysis of CISA data, only 42 percent of counties have registered .gov domains. Now that the federal government is making it easier than ever to get a .gov domain, will more agencies make the change? READ MORE
California Agrees to Spend $2B for Kids Harmed by Remote Learning The state has settled a lawsuit filed on behalf of low-income students of color from Oakland and L.A. They claimed the state offered insufficient support for remote learning. READ MORE
CivStart Calls on Startups to Best Local Government Challenges The 2024 Government Innovation Challenge and Pitchfest puts gov tech startups in touch with potential local government partners to address pressing public-sector issues. The event will be held in Kansas City, Mo., on April 30. READ MORE
Climate Change Prompts New Question, Should There Be a Category 6 Hurricane? A new report studied 197 Category 5 tropical cyclones between 1980 and 2021 and it identified five storms that hypothetically could be classified as Category 6, including a cyclone that had wind speeds up to 215 mph. READ MORE
Connecting First Responders with Mental Health Expertise Harris County, Texas, uses a strategic approach to law enforcement's role in crisis intervention. Read the case study to explore how the county uses technology to drive forward-thinking mental health and public safety solutions. DOWNLOAD PDF
CYBERSECURITY New Book Offers Approachable Guide for Teaching Cybersecurity Looking for a handbook for teaching the cybersecurity body of knowledge in a conventional classroom setting? Read this book by Daniel Shoemaker, Ken Sigler and Tamara Shoemaker. READ MORE
Data and AI: Reinventing Government Services and Operations Numerous pilot projects in recent years have proven the value of artificial intelligence (AI) in government and paved the way for wider adoption. At the same time, state and local agencies are managing ever-growing volumes of data, with the intention of making more informed decisions and improving operations and services. READ MORE
Data Index Tool Offers Glimpse at School Success Boundaries The Open Data Index for Schools, a new data tool programmed by an education nonprofit, offers a buffet of federal data within school attendance boundaries. Here's how local government agencies can use it. READ MORE
Disaster Zone Podcast: The Emergency Management Workforce and Training Training is fundamental to emergency management. READ MORE
Emerging Trends in State and Local Government IT for 2024 Innovation and disruption have always been part of the government technology landscape. But the pace of change is escalating rapidly. Here are five emerging trends will impact organizations in 2024 – and how to prepare. DOWNLOAD PDF
Fact Sheet: Emergency and Routine Mass Notifications Expedite critical alerts, warnings, instructions, and routine updates so that you can keep citizens informed and safe in an emergency. Download the Fact Sheet
Feds Issue Warning Over Ivanti Cybersecurity Vulnerabilities Ivanti, which has verified the cybersecurity issues with its own investigation, is working to release patches and mitigations, but in the meantime there are precautions that users can take. READ MORE
Five Policy Issues to Watch in 2024 What you need to get up to speed in terms of how state lawmakers are addressing education, energy, health, housing and even international affairs. READ MORE
Forum Questions Future of Digital Identity, Path Forward Panelists at a recent policy forum said passkeys with detection-enabled biometrics make for a more secure online future, but accessibility and digital equity concerns must be addressed. READ MORE
From roads to bridges to drainage systems, a successful civic infrastructure project requires communication among all stakeholders. But communication challenges can arise throughout the life cycle of any infrastructure asset. READ MORE
Fulton County, Ga., Cyber Attack Causing Major Outages Currently, residents cannot get new marriage certificates, election offices are closed, property transactions cannot be processed and online court record systems are unavailable. READ MORE
Georgia Joins List of States Looking to Limit AI in Health Decisions As artificial intelligence integrate across almost all sectors, lawmakers are working to safeguard their constituents against potential biases and set ethical standards around the technology. READ MORE
Government’s Untapped Talent Resource: Its Own Retirees There are millions of them, many of them still want to work, and they have a lot to offer. It’s time to rethink laws and pension rules that prevent them from contributing. READ MORE
Groundwater Is Vanishing, but It Can Be Rescued Aquifers that were shrinking are being replenished in places as varied as Tucson and Bangkok. It’s a matter of “water consciousness.” READ MORE
How Are Chatbots Being Used in Government Agencies? A University at Albany research team conducted a study on how 22 state government agencies are harnessing chatbot technology, uncovering valuable insights into the challenges faced and lessons learned. READ MORE
How GenAI and Custom GPTs Could Impact Government in 2024 New generative AI tools are poised to make an even bigger impact in state and local government in the year ahead. Jurisdictions need to understand their potential uses and how they will impact resident services. READ MORE
In 2024, SLED IT Spending Takes a Whole-of-State Focus An analysis of state and local government and education budgets for 2024 suggests collaboration and an emphasis on looking at statewide priorities and outcomes will drive spending. READ MORE
Los Angeles County Looks to Correct Racist Housing Records The county has hired a company to redact racially restrictive covenant language from millions of county records, dating back to 1850. It will take at least seven years to complete the process of reviewing 130 million documents. READ MORE
Medicate, Mitigate and Rejuvenate: An Agenda for States in 2024 Mental health, climate and workforce are at the core of a complex cluster of issues confronting lawmakers this year. READ MORE
Most Overdose Deaths Today Involve Synthetic Opioids Synthetic opioids are fast and deadly, hiding in many street drugs. Learn about a different emergency tool for opioid overdose rescue. NP-OPV-US-00036 LEARN MORE
New Summits Aim to Strengthen Cybersecurity for U.S. Courts Cyber attacks continue to threaten U.S. courts, but an event series slated for later this year aims to help judicial officials prepare for and recover from cyber incidents. READ MORE
Observability for Hybrid IT Environments State and local governments use many digital tools to accomplish their goals, but the complex mix of different solutions can make it hard to spot inefficiencies, fix problems or even know if applications are working properly DOWNLOAD PDF
Oklahoma Governor Says AI Can Eliminate Government Redundancy On the heels of a recent report from the state’s AI Task Force, Gov. Kevin Stitt is advocating for the removal of human workforce redundancies in favor of artificial intelligence systems. READ MORE
Private Equity’s Growing Footprint in Home Health Care Draws Scrutiny The home health-care industry is lucrative — but lightly regulated. READ MORE
Public Sector Tech Trends: A Modernization Guidebook Learn how to build a more resilient, data-driven organization so you can meet demands like remote work, digital services, and risk management. GET THE GUIDE
Remote Work Gap Between San Antonio and Nation Continues to Grow Companies are still trying to get their workers back into offices across the nation, while the percentage of San Antonians working from home continues to decline. By comparison, more than twice the share of workers are still remote in Austin. READ MORE
Special: Securing America's Digital Infrastructure A round up industry best practices on topics such as security, threats, and privacy. See how companies are helping state and local agencies tackle and prepare for all things cybersecurity. NEWS, CONVERSATIONS AND RESOURCES
The Biggest Finance and Management Issues to Watch in 2024 State budgets are on track for modest growth even as federal fiscal recovery funds wane, pension underfunding persists and AI promises (or threatens) to change everything. READ MORE
The End of Federal COVID Money Means Shortfalls for States and Schools Washington provided $800 billion in pandemic relief. With most of that money spent, states now face major funding gaps for Medicaid, while school districts, child-care providers and transit agencies are also struggling. READ MORE
The Future of Sustainable Cities: A Whole-of-Government Approach to Electric Vehicle Implementation EVs drive urban resilience: harnessing cross-government strategy and funding for sustainable transformation. READ MORE
The Public Sector’s Guide to Modernization Struggling to keep up with tech trends? This guidebook will help you meet the growing demand for modernization. DOWNLOAD THE GUIDE
These States Are Maximizing Federal Investment in Safe Drinking Water The Biden administration wants to help remove all lead service lines in the U.S. within the next decade. A new report from the Center for American Progress highlights progress in states like Wisconsin and Pennsylvania. READ MORE
They’re a complex tangle of technology and services with multiple stakeholders, so regulation is messy. There is a particular decision-making process that could help. READ MORE
Too Many Security Cameras, Not Enough Safety Do cameras on our porches, at traffic lights, in our parks and along our streets really contribute to our overall security? The data are unpersuasive. READ MORE
Tyler and Amazon Expand Public-Sector Cloud Partnership The two giants have extended their cloud relationship in a new deal. It comes as Tyler Technologies continues to grow and embrace AI, and works to move more public-sector tech programs to the cloud. READ MORE
Washington Senate Approves Requirement for All Public Schools to Have Naloxone The overdose reversal medication is only required in larger high schools under current law. The bill is a response to rising opioid-related deaths among young people. READ MORE
We Could Benefit from More Options to Fight Synthetic Opioids The threat from illicit fentanyl and other synthetic opioids is evolving. The time for additional options is now. NP-OPV-US-00036 LEARN MORE
What's Behind the Push Toward Privatizing Water Systems? About a dozen states have passed legislation to promote sales of water and wastewater utilities. Although private money can fund upgrades, environmentalists say drinking water shouldn't be a for-profit enterprise. READ MORE
Where Are All the Primary Care Providers? The nation currently has more than 1,000 federally designated primary care shortage areas. More than 180 areas have had a primary care shortage for at least 40 years. READ MORE
Will AI-Powered Deepfakes Sow Chaos During Election Year? Election watchers and technology experts say the rise of publicly available artificial intelligence will present a great threat to the ability of voters to separate truth from fiction as a vital election draws closer. READ MORE