Know What's Happening in GovTech
Know What's Happening in GovTech
San Bernardino County Fire District is rolling out a Florida‑based Fire Neural Network (FNN) lightning‑detection system across its stations, delivering real‑time wildfire risk alerts within 40 seconds. The platform fuses lightning strike data with NOAA weather feeds to calculate a risk score that guides dispatch decisions. Early use of the network helped coordinate response to the September 2024 Line Fire, which burned over 43,900 acres. The technology aligns with the district’s 2030 plan to integrate predictive analytics, drones and cameras for faster suppression.
Blockchain technology actually fixes fraud. Put any type of government money on the Blockchain and watch all fraud disappear.
The Vulnerability Exploitability eXchange (VEX) is a machine‑readable format that lets software vendors declare whether a CVE actually affects a product. By delivering exploitability data—affected, not affected, fixed, or under investigation—VEX enables state and local government IT teams to filter...
Reform UK launched a competition offering a year’s energy bills to participants who disclose their past and intended voting preferences. The Open Rights Group argues the scheme breaches UK data protection law by collecting special category data without a clear...
NOAA’s National Geodetic Survey announced a comprehensive overhaul of the National Spatial Reference System, the first update in 40 years. The modernized NSRS incorporates real‑time GPS technology and a new gravity‑based geoid model, delivering finer horizontal and vertical positioning. These...
Albuquerque Public Schools will now have a full‑time police officer monitoring every campus from the city’s Real Time Crime Center, using live camera feeds, drones and gunshot detection technology. The move adds an immediate visual layer of security, allowing officers...
The European Commission, under its Democracy Shield initiative, is committing to create a European Civic Tech Hub to strengthen societal resilience, citizen engagement, and digital sovereignty. A joint effort between TICTeC and Finland’s innovation fund Sitra is mapping the hub’s...
The European Council’s first compromise on the Digital Omnibus has stripped out the most controversial GDPR amendments, including changes to personal data definitions, scientific research scope, and Article 22 safeguards. However, the draft still contains provisions that could dilute transparency obligations,...
OpenAI has signed a partnership with Amazon Web Services to sell its generative‑AI models to U.S. government agencies, covering both classified and unclassified workloads via AWS GovCloud and Classified Regions. The deal follows a Pentagon contract that lets the military...
The Centre for Finance, Innovation and Technology (CFIT) has moved its Digital Company ID blueprint from concept to a live, interoperable prototype, showcasing practical deployments for UK businesses. Over 18 months, a coalition of industry leaders—including UK Finance, Mastercard, Monzo...
Norfolk Constabulary will deploy live facial‑recognition cameras in Norwich, marking the first UK city‑wide rollout of the technology. Police argue the system will help identify suspects quickly and improve public safety. Civil‑rights group Big Brother Watch has condemned the move...
Washington’s legislature has cleared HB 2320, an intent‑based bill targeting the illegal manufacture of 3D‑printed weapons, and it now awaits the governor’s signature. A companion proposal, HB 2321, which would have mandated online database checks and firmware controls on all printers, stalled...
The European Central Bank’s digital euro proposal aims to cement Europe’s digital sovereignty and foster fair competition ahead of a potential 2029 launch. Advocates argue that the CBDC must be sovereign, public, and inclusive to win trust from citizens and...
Utah lawmakers have passed a suite of education technology bills that would make a bell‑to‑bell ban on personal smartphones the default policy in K‑12 schools, introduce parent‑approved whitelist filtering for school‑issued Chromebooks, fund Wi‑Fi installations on rural school buses, and...
Qualcomm announced it will focus its 5G sidelink efforts on the critical‑communications sector, letting public‑safety stakeholders drive development rather than the commercial market. At IWCE 2026, Brittany Haile detailed performance standards agreed with U.S. and European groups and stressed that successful...
SecurityInfoWatch and SecureXperts have unveiled Cybersecure, a training initiative that launches with an NSA‑backed Commercial Solutions for Classified (CSfC) Trusted Integrator Workshop at ISC West. The program targets the chronic shortage of qualified integrators capable of designing CSfC‑compliant architectures for federal...
The European Commission released a manual detailing how the forthcoming EU Digital Identity (EUDI) Wallet will perform age verification through selective disclosure. Users can prove they meet age thresholds—such as over‑18 for social media—without revealing birthdate or name, using a...
Bhutan’s National Digital Identity (NDI) wallet is now integrated into the passport application process, allowing citizens to log in, scan a QR code, and have their photo, e‑signature, and security‑clearance data auto‑populated. The automation replaces manual document collection and form...
The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) canceled a $349,000 National Endowment for the Humanities grant intended for HVAC replacement at North Carolina's High Point Museum after feeding the proposal into ChatGPT, which flagged the project as DEI‑related. Plaintiffs allege that...
In this episode, Dallas County Clerk John Warren discusses the county’s journey from paper‑based record keeping to a fully digital, AI‑enhanced clerk’s office. He explains how early resistance was overcome by demonstrating efficiency gains, such as simultaneous access to documents,...
European policymakers have launched the EURO-3C project, a pan‑European sovereign cloud backed by Telefónica, other firms and the European Commission. The initiative seeks to reduce the EU’s reliance on U.S. hyperscalers, which currently deliver about 70 % of cloud services in...
The U.S. Navy has signed a five‑year IDIQ contract with Pittsburgh‑based Gecko Robotics, starting with a $54 million award and a $71 million ceiling. Gecko’s autonomous inspection robots will crawl inside 18 Pacific Fleet vessels to generate detailed digital twins and feed...
The Indian government will mandate QR‑code‑based digital certification for every retail shop, linking each outlet to a central compliance database. Shoppers can scan the code with a smartphone to see real‑time status on pricing, weights, and past violations. The scheme,...
The EU’s Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) has launched a call to fund the deployment or major upgrade of backbone networks, including submarine cables, terrestrial routes, and satellite links. Projects must connect at least two Member States, islands, outermost regions, or...
Elon Musk created the "Doge" initiative in early 2025, positioning himself as head of a new "department of government efficiency" to overhaul federal technology and budgeting. The project framed government reform as a video‑game challenge, using speed‑run language, leaderboards, and...
West Yorkshire Police has launched a live AI system that records, transcribes and categorises more than 20,000 emergency calls each week. The Post‑Call Analysis tool, built on a model trained solely on police data, creates instant summaries and flags hidden...
Singapore is bolstering its energy security by pairing advanced digital technologies with a diversified supply mix. The city‑state is expanding natural‑gas infrastructure, adding a second LNG terminal and creating GasCo to source fuel globally. Solar capacity is set to reach...
A University of Queensland review of 230 international studies found telehealth consultations clinically effective and operationally robust, even for sensitive care such as voluntary assisted dying (VAD). Australian federal law still classifies certain remote counselling as unlawful, creating legal uncertainty...
Hong Kong’s government‑backed HKGAI is set to launch ClawNet, the world’s first open‑source human‑AI agent collaboration network, alongside consumer‑focused AI tools for school selection, horse‑racing analysis, and public‑service assistants. The platform assigns each AI agent a distinct social identity and...
The White House released a seven‑page cyber strategy that prioritizes offensive capabilities, zero‑trust architecture, AI security, blockchain protection, and deregulation, but it stops short of outlining a national digital identity framework. The plan frames cyberspace as a geopolitical battleground and...
The FDA has shed roughly 20% of its workforce after the DOGE cuts, prompting a rapid rollout of artificial intelligence tools to offset the expertise gap. Among its centers, CDER is beginning to stabilize, CDRH remains relatively insulated, while CBER...
South Korea’s National Human Rights Commission has asked the Ministry of Science and ICT to reconsider its plan to mandate facial‑recognition authentication for all new mobile phone numbers, set to launch on March 23. The watchdog recommends three fixes: a...
The General Services Administration’s latest Section 508 assessment reveals that fewer than half of federal agencies’ public‑facing ICT—webpages, documents, hardware and software—meet accessibility standards, with only 37% of top‑viewed sites fully compliant. The report highlights a testing bias toward websites and...
The UK government’s consultation on a national digital identity system omits private Digital Verification Service (DVS) providers, prompting the Association of Digital Verification Professionals (ADVP) to warn of data‑ownership and market‑distortion concerns. Simultaneously, a security breach at Companies House exposed...
My article in the Winter 2026 Issue of The Journal of Appellate Practice and Process—“Democratizing the Judiciary: Why Judges Should Engage ‘We the People’ Through Social-Media Platforms”—is now available at this link. I hope you enjoy reading it as much...
The San Diego County Sheriff’s Office launched an AI‑driven system to field non‑emergency calls, routing callers to the appropriate service without tying up 911 dispatchers. The pilot diverted about 20% of roughly 400,000 annual non‑emergency calls, cutting average hold time...
The Office of Personnel Management’s HR 2.0 platform is the most ambitious federal HR‑IT overhaul in decades, but its success depends on more than technology. OPM must adopt a human‑centered change strategy that tackles agency anxiety, loss of flexibility, and fear...
The Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Industry Partnerships (OIP) has formalized a pipeline that awarded over 1,400 contracts worth $845 million to more than 6,800 firms for AI‑driven biometric and video‑analysis tools. Leaked records show projects ranging from smartphone‑based fingerprint...
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced a new centralized platform, the IDR Gateway, to manage independent dispute resolution (IDR) operations under the No Surprises Act. The system will replace the current single‑use web forms, allowing users to initiate...
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has closed a major request for information (RFI) to gather public input on speeding AI adoption in clinical care. The initiative follows the OMB’s AI guidance and HHS’s own AI Strategy,...
The U.S. House Judiciary Committee sent letters to ten major tech firms, demanding they preserve and produce all communications with European Commission officials related to the EU Digital Services Act, including auto‑deleting messages. The subpoena, issued in February, targets companies...
The U.S. Census Bureau upgraded its OnTheMap for Emergency Management tool (v4.26.1), adding the latest 2020‑2024 American Community Survey five‑year estimates and 2023 LEHD Origin‑Destination data. The platform now overlays disaster‑event boundaries with up‑to‑date population, housing, and workforce information, letting...
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis championed an AI Bill of Rights that would require disclosures and ban AI in mental‑health counseling, but the measure stalled as the Florida House declined to act. President Donald Trump publicly opposed state-level AI regulation, urging...
The Department of Defense introduced its new chief information officer, Kirsten Davies, at the inaugural Power Breakfast of 2026. Davies outlined a roadmap for IT transformation, cyber resilience, and aligning the CIO office with the Pentagon’s “Arsenal of Freedom” strategy,...
Congress reauthorized the Technology Modernization Fund (TMF) through September 30, 2026, allowing the board to keep selecting high‑impact federal IT projects. The fund operates as a revolving vehicle, requiring agencies to repay investments so the same dollars can finance future...
Florida lawmakers approved CS/CS/SB 422, prohibiting airports from using ADS‑B surveillance data to calculate landing fees or related charges for Part 91 aircraft weighing 12,499 pounds or less. The bill, cleared by both chambers, heads to Governor Ron DeSantis and would...
The Sonoma Valley Unified School District Board unanimously approved a comprehensive artificial‑intelligence policy that outlines expectations, guardrails, and nine guiding principles for students, staff, vendors and volunteers. The policy emphasizes ethical, transparent use, equitable access, and the need for security,...
The Department of Homeland Security awarded a potential ten‑year, $178.6 million task order to Netizen, a service‑disabled veteran‑owned small business, for enterprise IT delivery and operations support to the Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers. The contract covers service‑desk functions, Microsoft 365 deployment,...
Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport announced the rollout of Enhanced Passenger Processing for U.S. citizens arriving on international flights. The system, developed with U.S. Customs and Border Protection, uses photo‑matching technology to accelerate the CBP inspection process. Airport officials highlighted...
Fort Bragg, California’s municipal fiber project has encountered significant setbacks after the city dismissed its original construction‑management partner, GHD. The budget has ballooned from an initial $14.7 million to $18.9 million, driven by added fiber‑flower‑pot enclosures and street‑restoration costs. Direct city oversight...
