ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE [AI] IS NOT USED, IN WHOLE OR IN PART, IN PREPARING NYPPL SUMMARIES OF JUDICIAL AND QUASI-JUDICIAL DECISIONS
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May 31, 2025

New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli issued the audits described below on May 30, 2025

The New York State and agency audits summarized below were posted on the Internet on May 30, 2025.

Click on the text highlighted in color to access the complete text of the audit.


Empire State Development – COVID-19 Pandemic Small Business Recovery Grant Program (2023-S-10)
Empire State Development (ESD) was charged with administering the COVID-19 Pandemic Small Business Recovery Grant Program (Program) designed to support small businesses or for-profit independent arts and cultural organizations impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic that either did not qualify for federal assistance programs or that received inadequate federal COVID-19 support. ESD awarded the entirety of the $760 million allocated for small businesses to 40,842 applicants, with an average grant amount of $18,608. Auditors found ESD awarded almost $4.1 million to 101 businesses that were ineligible because they had already received assistance from federal business assistance programs. Additionally, ESD did not consider business type, need, or factors established in the original goals of the Program when awarding grants, instead favoring a first-come, first-served methodology to awarding grants, which resulted in tens of thousands of businesses that went unfunded and certain types of businesses—most notably sole proprietor transportation businesses without employees (i.e., rideshare drivers)—receiving a significant percentage of the total dollars spent.


State Education Department (Preschool Special Education Audit Initiative) – Jackson Child Development Center, Inc.: Compliance With the Reimbursable Cost Manual (2022-S-21)
Jackson Child Development Center, Inc. (JCDC), a New York City-based not-for-profit organization, is approved by the State Education Department (SED) to provide preschool special education services to children with disabilities ages 3 to 5. For the three fiscal years ended June 30, 2020, JCDC reported approximately $24 million in reimbursable costs for its SED preschool cost-based programs. Auditors identified $3,020,800 in reported costs that did not comply with requirements.


Department of Health and Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Services – Oversight of Water Supply Emergency Plans (Follow-Up) (2024-F-32)
The State Public Health Law requires community water systems that supply drinking water to more than 3,300 people to prepare and submit a Water Supply Emergency Plan to the Department of Health (DOH) for approval at least once every five years. Plans must include an Emergency Response Plan, a Vulnerability Analysis Assessment, and a Cybersecurity Vulnerability Assessment. A prior audit, issued in June 2023, found several instances where it had been more than 10 years since the last Emergency Response Plan or Vulnerability Analysis submission, and some water systems had never submitted a Cybersecurity Vulnerability Assessment. Further, there was limited participation by Local Health Department staff in calls and site visits where the Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Services (DHSES) communicates recommendations to water systems. DOH and DHSES officials have made significant progress in addressing the problems identified in the initial audit report, implementing four recommendations and not implementing one.


Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance – Monitoring of Homeless Data (2023-S-38)
The Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance (OTDA) supervises homeless shelters and related programs through 58 local departments of social services (Local Districts). While reports from Local Districts provide aggregate data to OTDA, Local Districts typically also collect and submit client-level data on the populations they serve to Homeless Management Information Systems (HMISs). In New York, federally funded regional or local planning bodies—Continuums of Care (CoCs)—that coordinate housing and services funding control access to the HMISs but are not required to share this data with OTDA or provide open access to the Local Districts that submit this data. Auditors found OTDA does not have access to the client-level data collected in the various HMISs—data that could be analyzed and used to help identify the root causes of homelessness, gauge progress toward achieving permanent housing, and better determine what programs are used or needed by the homeless population. OTDA asserts that it has no oversight of the HMIS data controlled by the CoCs and, consequently, has acquired permission to access the data from only seven of 24 CoCs, which represent approximately 7% of the State’s homeless population based on the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s point-in-time count.


New York State Health Insurance Program – UnitedHealthcare Insurance Company of New York: Overpayments for Physician-Administered Drugs (Follow-Up) (2024-F-35)
The Empire Plan is the primary health insurance plan for the New York State Health Insurance Program (NYSHIP), providing over one million members with health insurance coverage. The Department of Civil Service, which administers NYSHIP, contracts with UnitedHealthcare Insurance Company of New York (United) to administer the Medical/Surgical Program of the Empire Plan and to process and pay claims submitted by health care providers. Medical/surgical benefits cover a range of services, including physician-administered drugs, which are drugs (other than vaccines) that are administered by a health care provider in a physician’s office or other outpatient clinical setting. A prior audit, issued in September 2023, identified over $5.5 million in actual and potential overpayments for physician-administered drugs. United officials made some progress in addressing the problems identified in the initial audit, recovering about $501,000 of the overpaid claims, and were taking steps to make more recoveries. Of the initial report’s eight audit recommendations, one was implemented, six were partially implemented, and one was not implemented.


May 15, 2025

New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli posts audits of New York State local governments on the Internet

On May 14, 2025, New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli announced the following local government audits were issued.

Click on the text highlighted in color to access the full audit issued.


Town of Sherburne – Budgeting (Chenango County)

The budgets adopted by the board underestimated revenues and overestimated expenditures. In addition, officials appropriated fund balance to balance the budgets because purported revenues were not sufficient to fund operations. However, operating surpluses occurred which resulted in an unplanned increase in fund balance. Furthermore, the board did not have written multiyear capital or financial plans or a written fund balance or reserve policy in place to guide the board’s decisions regarding appropriate fund balance and reserve fund levels. As a result, more taxes may have been levied than were needed to fund the town’s operations.


Yates County – Court and Trust Funds  

The treasurer delayed turning over $44,940 of abandoned property to the State Comptroller for three years. In addition, the county clerk’s register did not include one court and trust action totaling $38,253 identified in the treasurer’s records. Lastly, the surrogate’s court register did not include an action ordering the deposit of $6,867 with the treasurer during 2017.


Town of West Seneca – Audit Follow-Up (Erie County)

The purpose of this review was to assess the town’s progress, as of December 2024, in implementing recommendations in a March 2020 audit. The audit determined that the board did not properly plan and manage a certain capital project and was not fully transparent on the anticipated project costs. As a result, original estimates of $9.8 million were increased by more than $3.6 million after competitive bids were received. In addition, town officials did not ensure an itemized project budget outlining revenues and expenditures was maintained in the accounting records. The audit included four recommendations to help officials monitor and improve the town’s capital project management, none of which were implemented.


Town of Perth – Conflict of Interest (Fulton County)

A board member was the sole proprietor of an automotive company that did business with the town. Therefore, the board member had a prohibited conflict of interest, which means they did not follow state law and the town’s code of ethics. The prohibited interest occurred when the board member’s business repaired a town dump-truck and was paid $13,183 for the repair. The board member with the prohibited conflict of interest, the town supervisor, and another board member approved the $13,183 payment. According to the board member with the conflict of interest, he approved the claim because two board members refused to approve the claim due to their concerns with his prohibited conflict of interest. The town supervisor stated he approved the claim because the repair work was completed so the town had an obligation to pay. Although the town supervisor, who is a member of the town’s board of ethics, had concerns with the payment, he was unable to provide a reasonable explanation for why he did not bring this matter to the board of ethics. The remaining board member approved the claim because the town supervisor had approved it.


Town of Perth – Supervisor’s Records and Reports (Fulton County)

The supervisor did not maintain complete, accurate and timely accounting records or provide adequate financial reports to the board. For example, as of March 31, 2024 the general fund was overstated by $584,018 and the highway fund was understated by $123,066. As a result, the board lacked reliable records and reports to manage the town’s financial operations. The supervisor also did not prepare any monthly bank reconciliations during our audit period and the adjusted bank balances did not agree with the cash balance from the accounting records. The general fund and the highway fund cash balances as of March 31, 2024 were overstated by a combined total of $460,952. The issues identified may have been detected had the board annually audited the supervisor’s records as required by state law.


Montauk Fire District – Payroll – Advanced Life Support (ALS) Employees (Suffolk County)

The board overpaid its 13 ALS employees a total of $9,386. A lack of oversight and inadequate controls led to the overpayments occurring. The district’s inconsistent time records and the secretary-treasurer not reconciling time records before processing payroll enabled three ALS employees to overlap their shifts at the district and the neighboring Amagansett Fire District. Had the chairman of the board, who was responsible for reviewing the payroll, checked the calculations or verified that ALS employee hourly rates were correct before certifying the payroll each pay period, the payroll calculation errors may have been identified and corrected.


Town of Wawayanda – Financial Operations (Orange County)

The board and town officials did not properly manage financial operations, and the board did not provide adequate oversight. The board adopted unrealistic budgets. For example, the board continuously adopted budgets that underestimated revenues by approximately $5.2 million and appropriated $2.2 million of fund balance that was not needed to fund operations during the audit scope period. The board did not effectively manage the town’s fund balance over the last five fiscal years, resulting in operating surpluses that increased unrestricted fund balance from $4.3 million for all funds to $7.7 million as of the end of 2023 or 118% of the 2024 appropriations. The board also did not adopt a fund balance policy. Therefore, no rationale was established for maintaining this level of unrestricted fund balance. As a result, real property tax obligations for town residents were likely higher than necessary.


Auburn Industrial Development Authority (AIDA) – Project Approval and Monitoring (Cayuga County)

The board and AIDA officials did not properly approve and monitor projects. The board and AIDA officials did not review all supplemental documentation for project approval or properly monitor the 16 active projects. AIDA officials did not require project owners to submit supporting documentation for capital investment and job data with applications and ensure project owners submitted the required annual reporting form and supporting documentation needed to monitor project goals, including job retention and creation. In addition, AIDA officials did not conduct policy-required site visits in 2023 and 2024. As a result, the board and AIDA officials did not adequately monitor job creation and retention and did not determine the reasons for all of the variances between 2023 year-end jobs and project goals or document their assessments.


Village of Hudson Falls – Information Technology (IT) (Washington County)

The village board and officials did not establish adequate controls to safeguard IT systems or develop adequate IT policies or procedures. In addition, the board did not develop and adopt an IT contingency plan to help minimize the risk of data loss or suffering a serious interruption of services, periodically test backups or provide IT security awareness training. As a result, village officials cannot be assured that village IT systems are secured and protected against unauthorized use, access and loss, and there is an increased risk that officials could lose important data and suffer a serious interruption in operations.


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May 7, 2025

New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli Releases Audits

 On April 30, 2025, New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli announced the following audits of state departments and agencies have been issued.

Click on the text highlighted in color to access the complete audit

Department of Motor Vehicles – Language Access Services (Follow-Up) (2024-F-33)

New York State Executive Law expanded the State’s language access policy requiring translation of vital documents into the 12 most common non-English languages and Executive agencies to publish a Language Access Plan (Plan) to ensure meaningful access to services for Limited English Proficiency New Yorkers. The Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), one of the agencies required to develop and follow a Plan, operates 31 public-facing offices and 100 public-facing office locations operated by the County Clerks (County DMVs). A prior audit, issued in October 2023, found that some offices were not using Language Line for interpretation services, as required by the Plan. Auditors also determined that, due to gaps in the law, DMV did not have sufficient authority to enforce its language access policies at County DMVs despite these offices accounting for over 75% of the total customer-facing DMV offices. DMV officials made some progress in addressing the five recommendations in the initial audit report, implementing two and partially implementing three.


New York City Department of Transportation – Street Construction-Related Permits (Follow-Up) (2024-F-20)

The New York City Department of Transportation’s (DOT) issues 150 different types of sidewalk and roadway construction permits. A prior audit, issued in June 2022, found that DOT did not perform all required inspections, did not set a time frame for inspectors to return to reinspect after issuance of Corrective Action Requests or Notices of Immediate Corrective Action, and did not ensure that applicants complied with registration and permit application requirements. DOT officials made some progress in addressing the initial report’s nine recommendations, implementing two, partially implementing six, and not implementing one.


Metropolitan Transportation Authority – Management and Maintenance of Non-Revenue Service Vehicles (Follow-Up) (2024-F-16)

Under the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), New York City Transit (Transit) is responsible for operating the subways and most of the public bus service throughout New York City, and MTA Bus Company (MTA Bus) provides bus service in portions of the Bronx, Queens, and Brooklyn, and express routes from those boroughs to Manhattan. Transit and MTA Bus are responsible for the acquisition, maintenance, disposition, and preventive maintenance of the non-revenue service vehicles in their fleet. A prior audit, issued in January 2023, found that Transit and MTA Bus did not always adhere to their own guidance or practice to provide annual service and service based on mileage intervals as part of preventive maintenance on their vehicles. The MTA made some progress in addressing the 11 recommendations in the initial audit report, implementing four, partially implementing two, and not implementing five.


Empire State Development – Oversight of Select High-Technology Projects (Follow-Up) (2024-F-19)

Empire State Development (ESD) is the chief agency responsible for the coordination of the State’s economic development programs. ESD supports high-technology (high-tech) sectors—highly valued targets of economic development—by providing loans and grants and administering tax credit programs. A prior audit, issued in August 2020, found that, while ESD had effective practices for monitoring specific programs, it had not adequately monitored other high-tech projects within the SUNY Polytechnic and/or Buffalo Billion portfolio to ensure that taxpayer money was effectively spent and was producing the intended results. Despite millions of dollars of State funding, selected high-tech projects had yet to create the expected number of jobs. ESD officials made progress in addressing the initial report’s three recommendations, implementing one and partially implementing two.


Hudson River–Black River Regulating District – Security Over Critical Systems (Follow-Up) (2025-F-5)

The Hudson River–Black River Regulating District (HRBRRD) is a New York State public benefit corporation that regulates the flow of streams or rivers when required by public welfare. HRBRRD must adhere to the Office of Information Technology Services’ (ITS) policies, including ITS’ Information Security Policy and Acceptable Use Policy, for its IT assets and abide by Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards (PCI DSS). A prior audit, issued in January 2024, found that HRBRRD could improve in some areas to better meet PCI DSS requirements, including documenting certain policies and procedures. HRBRRD officials made significant progress in addressing the issue identified in the initial audit report, implementing the one recommendation from the initial report.


Apr 26, 2025

Items selected from blogs posted on the Internet during the week ending April 25, 2025

 

The State of Digital Identity 2025 This report presents findings from a national survey of 231 state and local government officials and higher education leaders on digital identity. DOWNLOAD

Making Better Use of Data to Navigate Budget Uncertainty With federal cuts coming, states, cities and counties need to step up their understanding of the programs they run and the priorities they hope to preserve. READ MORE


Public Funds Wasted on Waste? Government agencies saved millions by optimizing waste contracts without service disruption. Watch the Masterclass


For a Model of Bipartisan Governance, Look to Alaska Its electoral system, bolstered by strong economic and social institutions, enables lawmakers to vote their consciences in bipartisan coalitions. READ MORE

As Trump Shifts Cybersecurity to States, Many Aren't Ready Only 22 states meet recommended security standards. But some states have come up with new approaches on their own. READ MORE

San Francisco’s New Mayor Seeks to Restore City’s Image A hundred days into the job, Daniel Lurie has been aggressive about stepping up services and addressing downtown woes. He’s won over some critics, but the city faces major challenges including a billion-dollar budget shortfall. READ MORE

Utah Gov. Orders Agencies to Prepare for Recession, Cuts Republican Spencer Cox said he hopes the president’s gamble on tariffs will pay off but acknowledged they’re causing short-term pain. READ MORE


A Rich County Turns to Data to Boost Affordable Housing Montgomery County in Maryland, part of the Washington, D.C., metro area, is in the midst of a five-year push to improve housing. A housing executive explains how new technology is helping to achieve that goal. READ MORE

Funds Committed to Broadband Builds in Patrick County, Va. Many millions have been allocated to high-speed Internet endeavors. A more than $3 million project is nearly complete, while several others remain to be done. One initiative required “quite a bit of engineering work.” READ MORE

Pennsylvania County Looks to Fill AI Advisory Council The Montgomery County, Pa., council aims to bring up to 15 people with experience in different sectors together to aid the county’s usage of artificial intelligence in an ethical and responsible fashion. READ MORE

Procurement Officials Wait to See How Tariffs Could Affect IT Markets around the world have been reactive to recent U.S. tariff announcements and rollbacks. State officials are concerned trade friction with other nations could lead to equipment shortages and contract turbulence. READ MORE

What Agencies Want in Modern Identity Protection Systems Get insights into how public institutions perceive and respond to the risks associated with digital identity. DOWNLOAD

How To Choose a Web Provider Learn how the right web provider can amplify your impact and elevate resident experiences. Learn More

What’s New in Digital Equity: BEAD Program Changes Forthcoming Plus, Idaho will soon end its digital navigator helpline, an Illinois county is distributing software licenses for digital skills training, Cleveland State University supports digital skills and more. READ MORE

Texas Governor Signs Regulatory Efficiency Office Bill Gov. Greg Abbott has approved establishing the Texas Regulatory Efficiency Office, with a projected budget of $22.8 million. It joins the legislative Delivery of Government Efficiency Committee, created earlier this year. READ MORE

Seminole County, Fla., Fire Dept. Builds App for Wilderness Rescue To drastically cut response times to people needing help on remote trails, the Seminole County Fire Department created an internal app using lay-of-the-land expertise and countywide collaboration. READ MORE

Cyber Attack in Long Beach, Calif., May Have Included Sensitive Info After Long Beach was hit with a cyber attack in November 2023, most of the city’s systems were briefly taken offline and replaced with a stripped back version of the government website, longbeach.govREAD MORE

Iredell County, N.C., Eyes $314,000 Voting Equipment Upgrade A simulated election and vote count test was a success this week — among the final steps before the county’s board of elections will propose buying new equipment. Current systems are aging but secure. READ MORE

Creating More Than Just Pretty Websites Local government websites should be resident engagement tools, not digital brochures or org charts. We use intuitive navigation, smart search, and more for optimal self-service. Learn More

Want More Housing?: States and Cities Must Cut Red Tape. To address the housing crisis, we need to pick up the pace of development without sacrificing commitments to low-income residents and environmental protections.  READ MORE 

From Company Town to Incorporated City Starbase, the Texas home of SpaceX, will likely vote to become a city next month. Then the work of creating a government from scratch will begin. READ MORE

L.A. Homeless Programs Run by Bewildering Mix of Oversight Boards Over the years, Los Angeles voters have approved billions in homeless funding — and created layer upon layer of independent institutions. READ MORE


Protecting Government Websites and the Critical Systems Behind Them Complimentary Webinar Duration: 60 minutes Get instant access here.

New Jersey Advances AI Through an Economic Development Lens
Officials in the Garden State have unveiled two new artificial intelligence initiatives, the Next New Jersey Program — AI and the AI Innovation Challenge Administration Grant Program. Both encourage private-sector investment. READ MORE

Accela Adds to Its Permitting Power via Acquisition The government technology heavyweight has bought ePermitHub. That company’s technology will help Accela customers further streamline and automate public agency permitting tasks, including via the use of AI. READ MORE

Motorola Solutions Combines AI, Voice and Video for Police The company’s newest device for law enforcement combines body camera technology with a microphone that can record different vocal tracks. A company executive explains the appeal of the new AI-backed offering. READ MORE 

Pennsylvania County Looks to Fill AI Advisory Council The Montgomery County, Pa., council aims to bring up to 15 people with experience in different sectors together to aid the county’s usage of artificial intelligence in an ethical and responsible fashion. READ MORE 

Indiana Data Center Could Bring Significant Power Use The $11 billion data center campus going up outside of Northwest Indiana will have a 2,250-megawatt capacity. It will be able to use as much electricity as 1.5 million households, or up to half the households in the state. READ MORE 

Colorado Bill Would Give Tax Breaks to New Data Centers The proposed legislation, a bipartisan proposal, would create a certification system offering tax incentives to entities that build data centers. Critics worry about lost revenue and power demands. READ MORE 

Pa. Lawmakers Look to Set Guidelines on Safe AI Development A new Communications and Technology Committee in the House will play a part in reviewing most artificial intelligence-related proposals. Legislators have set a series of policy hearings in which to hear from AI leaders. READ MORE

Invest in your workforce's skills and knowledge to adopt AI Skill your public sector workforce and drive productivity and innovation. Explore the Public Sector Center for Digital Skills

[Live Webinar] Tech-Powered Project Efficiency: From Waste to Productivity Struggling with project delays and inefficiencies? It's time to simplify, streamline, and succeed! Join industry experts on April 29th to discover how technology is eliminating redundant work, automating tasks, and driving smarter decisions. Save My Seat

Philadelphia’s New Tools Illustrate Expansion of Free Wi-Fi The Pennsylvania city has recently launched two new interactive devices, a dashboard and a free Wi-Fi locator. They’re intended to help expand awareness of the free Internet service available to residents. READ MORE

Interim in Place, Portland, Ore., Mounts Search for Next CIO Jeff Baer, the city’s longtime chief technology officer and director of the Bureau of Technology Services, has retired. As officials seek his replacement, the job’s working title has been updated to CIO. READ MORE  

Fort Lauderdale Picks Exec for Acting CIO as McKay Departs Officials at the Florida city have elevated its chief digital officer to acting chief information officer. Tamecka McKay, the now-former CIO and director of the IT Services Department, has stepped down. READ MORE

Abilene, Texas, Continues Investigation of ‘Network Outage’ Officials in the city of about 129,000 residents are probing a server outage detected Friday. They’re working with cybersecurity experts and have disconnected “affected and critical assets to secure our systems.” READ MORE

Alabama Is Bringing Forests Into Schoolyards Most of Alabama may be covered in forests, but asphalt still reigns on school playgrounds. The Alabama Forestry Foundation wants to change that. READ MORE

[Free Toolkit] Building a Homelessness Prevention System Santa Clara County has proven homelessness prevention works. Learn how to replicate the solution. Learn more

What to Do About Rural America’s ‘Ambulance Deserts’ The causes of these alarming gaps in equitable access to emergency care are complex. Fixing the problem won’t come from patchwork efforts or temporary fixes. READ MORE  

Ohio Got Into the Pharmacy Business and Saved $140 Million By dealing with pharmacies directly and cutting out middleman companies, Ohio’s Medicaid system saved money even as it dramatically increased payments to pharmacists. READ MORE  

Transit Programs Approved by Voters Are Drawing Lawsuits Voters approve most transit funding requests put before them, but after passage the measures have drawn legal opposition in places like Austin, Texas; Nashville, Tenn.; and Phoenix. READ MORE  

Maryland Gov. Signs Several Criminal Justice Reform Bills The new laws will make it easier for long-term inmates to apply for parole and for ex-inmates to expunge their criminal records after serving time. READ MORE 


How Santa Clara County Prevented Homelessness for 17,000 Families At Risk Santa Clara County has proven homelessness prevention works. Learn how to replicate the solution.

Smarter Digital Identity in Government Services State and local governments are under pressure to deliver digital services that are secure, easy to use, and trustworthy. This guide breaks down how identity and access tools--designed specifically for the public sector--can cut down on fraud, simplify service delivery, and build public confidence. DOWNLOAD  

How to Ease the Tax-Time Pressure for Your Team and Constituents Tax season doesn't have to strain your staff or frustrate your constituents. Learn how departments of revenue are using smart CX strategies to simplify support, reduce call volumes, and make the tax experience more manageable on both sides of the line. DOWNLOAD 

State of Grants Management and Technology Report 2025 Grants teams are facing tighter deadlines, higher compliance stakes, and growing workloads—but rarely more resources. This report breaks down how local governments are navigating these challenges and where purpose-built technology is helping them work more efficiently, reduce risk, and secure critical funding with confidence. DOWNLOAD  

Wireless Broadband: A Strategic Approach Drawing on the results of a recent Center for Digital Government survey of state and local leaders, this thought leadership paper covers compelling use cases for wireless broadband and provides tips for developing a 5G strategy for government. Read more to learn how you can propel your agency into the future with wireless 5G broadband! DOWNLOAD

An Identity-first guide to building flexible and secure government services Okta helps governments simplify and protect resident Identity. Download our guide to get started.

Colorado Incorporates Digital ASL Access at Workforce Centers Visitors to the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment’s workforce centers and vocational rehabilitation centers can now access free American Sign Language interpreting services through a new pilot. READ MORE

Bus Systems Make Upgrades to Improve Service, EV Transition A transit network in Seattle has introduced technology to reduce “bus bunching” and space vehicles evenly on a route. And a suburban bus company in Chicago is taking steps to transition its fleet to zero-emission vehicles. READ MORE

AidKit Launches Aid Platform for Local Governments The new tool promises more speed and customization for public agencies that want an “end-to-end” platform to get help into the right hands. The offering follows a recent seed funding round for AidKit. READ MORE

Wake County, N.C., Launches New Land-Use Records Platform The site, which debuted Monday, offers an update system through which property owners can be alerted to fraud. It’s part of an endeavor underway since 2020 and involved moving millions of records to the new platform. READ MORE

 Colorado Bill Would Give Tax Breaks to New Data Centers The proposed legislation, a bipartisan proposal, would create a certification system offering tax incentives to entities that build data centers. Critics worry about lost revenue and power demands. READ MORE

3 principles of a modern Identity strategy Take your Identity program from where it is today to where it needs to be. Learn more.

States Are Trying to Get Rural Health Workers to Stick Around Programs in Colorado and Illinois home in on finding and supporting health-care practitioners willing to work — and hopefully remain — in underserved rural areas. READ MORE 

The Conservative Case for DEI These programs align with core American values. Democrats shouldn’t be the only ones defending them. READ MORE 

Can You Cut Medicaid If It's in the State Constitution? Voters in three states enshrined Medicaid expansions in their state constitutions. Those states could be on the hook if Congress cuts program funding significantly. READ MORE  

California's Big Shift: Asian Population Rising, Latinos Declining The change is most dramatic in Silicon Valley, which is seeing more highly educated immigrants arrive from India and China. READ MORE 

Oregon Gov. Supports Idea of State Payments to Capital City Salem, Ore., is in budget straits, in part because untaxed state buildings make up 8 percent of the property in the city. Tina Kotek is backing a local property tax increase as lawmakers consider ways to help the city directly. READ MORE

Stay Ahead with Resilient Budgeting Learn how to anticipate change, boost flexibility, and build future-ready budgets. Sign Up for the Webinar

Cyber Program Gets Federal Funding Extension, New Home The Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures Program will continue operating with an 11-month continuation of its federal contract. It will ultimately transition to the newly launched CVE Foundation. READ MORE

Why Your Agency Needs Whole-of-State Security Find out how your agency can build a unified response to cyber threats through whole-of-state security. DOWNLOAD

Long Beach Wraps Security Incident Review, Notifies Public The Southern California city added $1 million to its cybersecurity budget during a 16-month investigation into a 2023 network breach that exposed sensitive data. Officials are now notifying people who may have been affected. READ MORE 

Switching to Cybersecurity: Advice for Midcareer Professionals In our emerging age of AI, there are predictions about various careers becoming obsolete. More people are asking about moving into cyber roles. Here are some tips to consider. READ MORE 

Crosswalk Hacks: A Wake-Up Call for Government IoT Security While viral videos of hacked crosswalks displaying faked messages amused many, the pranks highlight a sinister cybersecurity vulnerability lurking within the wireless technologies used by local government infrastructure. READ MORE 

Texas Advances Bill for State Agency to Fight Cyber Threats Texas would establish a new state cybersecurity agency to fend off attacks on sensitive public systems and private data under legislation approved Tuesday in the Texas House. READ MORE  

Maine E-ZPass System Closed to Avoid Possible Security Breach
Officials shuttered the system on the Maine Turnpike for half a day in March to avoid a potential cybersecurity incident. Accounts and their private data were never at risk of being compromised. READ MORE


Smarter Digital Identity in Government Services This guide breaks down how identity and access tools--designed specifically for the public sector--can cut down on fraud, simplify service delivery, and build public confidence. DOWNLOAD

The Escalation of Digital Identity Fraud in State Government Pension Programs As state government pension programs transition into the digital era, the conveniences of technology bring with them a new and alarming challenge — the prevalence of digital identity fraud. READ MORE

Crosswalk Hacks: A Wake-Up Call for Government IoT Security While viral videos of hacked crosswalks displaying faked messages amused many, the pranks highlight a sinister cybersecurity vulnerability lurking within the wireless technologies used by local government infrastructure. READ MORE  

New Jersey Advances AI Through an Economic Development Lens Officials in the Garden State have unveiled two new artificial intelligence initiatives, the Next New Jersey Program — AI and the AI Innovation Challenge Administration Grant Program. Both encourage private-sector investment. READ MORE

Motorola Solutions Combines AI, Voice and Video for Police The company’s newest device for law enforcement combines body camera technology with a microphone that can record different vocal tracks. A company executive explains the appeal of the new AI-backed offering. READ MORE

Switching to Cybersecurity: Advice for Midcareer Professionals In our emerging age of AI, there are predictions about various careers becoming obsolete. More people are asking about moving into cyber roles. Here are some tips to consider. READ MORE

Modernizing Network and Remote Workforce Security Traditional approaches to security are no longer sustainable, leaving agencies vulnerable to advanced threats, compliance risks, and inefficiencies. DOWNLOAD


NYPPL Publisher Harvey Randall served as Principal Attorney, New York State Department of Civil Service; Director of Personnel, SUNY Central Administration; Director of Research, Governor’s Office of Employee Relations; and Staff Judge Advocate General, New York Guard. Consistent with the Declaration of Principles jointly adopted by a Committee of the American Bar Association and a Committee of Publishers and Associations, the material posted to this blog is presented with the understanding that neither the publisher nor NYPPL and, or, its staff and contributors are providing legal advice to the reader and in the event legal or other expert assistance is needed, the reader is urged to seek such advice from a knowledgeable professional.

CAUTION

Subsequent court and administrative rulings, or changes to laws, rules and regulations may have modified or clarified or vacated or reversed the information and, or, decisions summarized in NYPPL. For example, New York State Department of Civil Service's Advisory Memorandum 24-08 reflects changes required as the result of certain amendments to §72 of the New York State Civil Service Law to take effect January 1, 2025 [See Chapter 306 of the Laws of 2024]. Advisory Memorandum 24-08 in PDF format is posted on the Internet at https://www.cs.ny.gov/ssd/pdf/AM24-08Combined.pdf. Accordingly, the information and case summaries should be Shepardized® or otherwise checked to make certain that the most recent information is being considered by the reader.
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