Know What's Happening in GovTech
Know What's Happening in GovTech
New York school districts that adopted electric buses report soaring costs and operational headaches as the state pushes a diesel‑to‑electric mandate by 2027 and a fully electrified fleet by 2035. The average EV bus costs more than twice a diesel unit, and districts face $1‑plus million in charger and infrastructure upgrades, plus a 23% jump in electricity bills. Winter “Turtle Mode” throttles speed and range, leaving up to 10% of routes unfinished on a single charge. Lawmakers are now debating whether to soften or repeal the mandate.
Governments are rapidly increasing AI spending, with the United Kingdom allocating about $1.5 billion in 2025—double the previous year. U.S. federal agencies have committed $5.6 billion to AI projects between 2022 and 2024. The Open Contracting Partnership (OCP) launched a “Buying AI”...
UpCodes introduced UpCodes Specifications, an AI‑native solution that ties building codes directly to construction project specifications. The tool aims to surface compliance risks earlier, reduce costly rework, and streamline documentation for architects, engineers and contractors across the United States.
The UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has opened a consultation on draft guidance for automated decision‑making (ADM) in recruitment, urging 16 firms to act on its recommendations. The move follows a year of engagement with over 30 employers and aims...
Unico, the Brazilian digital‑identity specialist, opened a new global headquarters in Menlo Park, marking its first U.S. base after a two‑year expansion that included acquisitions in Mexico, the UAE and the United States. The firm’s platform combines face‑biometrics with machine‑learning...
EU lawmakers criticised the European Commission for planning a dialogue with the United States on the Digital Services Act and Digital Markets Act, fearing it could open a back‑door for U.S. influence. Greens and liberal MEPs warned the move might...
The European Commission ordered senior officials to shut down a Signal group chat after fearing it could be targeted by hackers. The directive follows a series of recent cyber incidents, including a website breach and a mobile‑device infrastructure attack that...
Suffolk County, New York, completed a migration of its financial management system to the CGI Advantage cloud platform, marking a major upgrade of its public‑sector ERP. The cloud‑based solution promises faster processing, higher data accuracy, and automated updates, while strengthening...
CanarySat, backed by Spain’s Arquimea, unveiled its Magec constellation – a planned 264‑satellite Ka‑band LEO network aimed at sovereign, secure communications for governments, critical infrastructure and essential enterprises. The company, less than a year old, leverages five years of design...
A new Socure‑sponsored report warns that federal fraud controls are lagging behind rapidly evolving identity‑theft tactics powered by AI and automation. The Government Accountability Office estimates annual federal fraud losses between $233 billion and $521 billion, with pandemic relief programs alone losing...
Rubrik Security Cloud offers state and local governments a zero‑trust, immutable backup platform that combines data‑observability with rapid cyber‑recovery. Its architecture stores unalterable backups, detects anomalies across on‑prem, cloud and SaaS workloads, and automates restoration of clean data. The solution...
In this episode, host Ken Miller talks with Dana Goward, president of the Resilient Navigation and Timing Foundation, about the pervasive reliance on GPS and other GNSS for everything from military targeting to financial transactions and everyday timing. Goward explains...
Australia Post is shutting down its Digital iD service, the first privately accredited digital identity platform, by April 30, 2026. Launched in 2017 and accredited in 2019, the app let users verify identity via selfie and access banking, postal and...
Union County, New Jersey, is overhauling its fragmented benefits enrollment by introducing a single “common application” that feeds into Medicaid, SNAP and other programs. The 10‑person call center currently fields about 3,000 calls per day, leading to long wait times...
The White House’s 2026 Cyber Strategy for America adopts a more aggressive tone, explicitly urging the private sector to identify and disrupt adversary networks. This language is interpreted as an endorsement of “hack‑back” – allowing companies to conduct offensive cyber...
The San Diego Police Department issued a memo in December 2025, formally prohibiting officers from using any artificial‑intelligence tools to draft police reports unless the department grants explicit approval. The directive, obtained by CBS 8 and released publicly in April 2026,...
Senator Edward Markey’s Commerce Committee report uncovers a stark lack of transparency among autonomous‑vehicle makers about their use of Remote Assistance Operators (RAOs). The investigation revealed that companies such as Waymo employ overseas RAOs, often without U.S. driver’s licenses, and...
Guillaume Delépine founded San Francisco‑based Longeye to use AI for sorting massive digital evidence, aiming to boost police case‑closure rates. The platform, now negotiating 20 contracts, ingests data such as phone records, emails and GPS to deliver searchable case summaries,...
The Indian central government has shifted 1.66 million official email accounts to Zoho’s cloud platform, incurring a total outlay of roughly $22 million. Monthly pricing ranges from $2 to $4 per account, depending on mailbox size. The move is framed as a...
Minnesota high‑school senior Mary Jensen testified before the Senate Education Policy Committee, backing a bill to create a state‑wide “Civic Seal” that requires media‑literacy coursework. The proposal, championed by students and supported by DFL senators, aims to formalize digital‑citizenship education...
Esri Ireland’s ArcGIS platform has automated NIE Networks’ map‑request workflow, allowing citizens and contractors to obtain proximity maps for electricity infrastructure within an hour instead of up to ten days. The new online portal handles roughly 6,000 annual requests, cutting...
Louisiana lawmakers have withdrawn roughly one‑third of the nearly 20 AI‑related bills they introduced after President Donald Trump warned that states regulating artificial intelligence could lose federal broadband funding. The scrapped measures included limits on AI use in health‑insurance decisions,...
PQShield has completed an external evaluation of the NIST‑approved ML‑KEM algorithm for Japan’s CRYPTREC body, clearing the way for its inclusion on the national Ciphers List. This milestone accelerates the adoption of quantum‑safe encryption across Japanese government, infrastructure, and technology...
The Building Safety Regulator’s batching pilot, launched in September 2025, is delivering faster assessments, averaging four weeks across new‑build, remediation and refurbishment applications. In the latest 12‑week Gateway 2 update, 284 decisions were made with a 67% approval rate, covering 12,975...
Miovision will roll out its generative‑AI traffic‑engineering agent, Mateo, on April 7, allowing transit authorities and private firms to ask natural‑language questions of sensor data. The tool promises to cut diagnostic time by up to 90%, turning multi‑day investigations into roughly...
Johns Hopkins Medicine and the American Telemedicine Association have launched the LIFTT Initiative, a three‑year effort to push federal legislation that eases state licensure barriers for telehealth. The program seeks tailored federal pathways that complement, not replace, state oversight, aiming...
The U.S. Navy’s free high‑speed Wi‑Fi initiative for unaccompanied housing has reached 86% completion, now covering 827 of 952 buildings. Service was launched this week at installations in Naples, Italy; Sigonella, Italy; and Souda Bay, Greece. Adoption is strong, with...
New York City announced a major expansion of its public electric‑vehicle charging network, adding roughly 200 fast‑charging stations across boroughs and bringing the total public chargers to about 1,500. The rollout is funded by a $50 million city allocation combined with...
The UK’s Emergency Services Network (ESN) is back on schedule, with data‑only services potentially available to first responders as early as 2024. Full mission‑critical voice capability is slated for the second quarter of 2028, and a mass migration of users,...
North Carolina has allocated nearly $26 million in stop‑gap broadband grants to bring high‑speed internet to 5,161 homes, businesses and community institutions across 66 rural counties by the end of 2026. The program, funded through the federal American Rescue Plan Act...
Nearly 200 exhibitors and sponsors will converge in Detroit from June 9‑12 for the ITS America 2026 Conference & Expo, hosted at Huntington Place. The showcase spotlights AI‑powered traffic management, autonomous mobility platforms, and introduces a dedicated Cybersecurity & Data Zone....
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has lifted the 2023 ban on TikTok for government use, allowing agencies to operate on the platform under strict guidelines. The new policy requires dedicated government devices, designated staff, and agency‑managed credentials to address...
The Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development awarded a $235,000 grant to the McCandless‑Franklin Park Ambulance Authority. The funds will purchase six LUCAS mechanical chest‑compression devices and a LIFEPAK 35 heart monitor‑defibrillator, which costs about $65,000. Each ambulance will receive...
Kenya’s National Assembly ICT committee conducted on‑site visits in Garissa County to evaluate connectivity projects funded by the Universal Service Fund (USF). MPs met directly with residents to gauge how the initiatives are being rolled out. The USF‑backed deployments are...
Academics, advocates, and policymakers have long advocated for a new digital regulator (NDR) to oversee AI and technology markets. On February 25, 2026, GWU’s Institute for Data, Democracy and Politics and Vanderbilt Policy Accelerator convened a summit of leading experts to examine...
The Office of Management and Budget issued a memo requiring chief information officers at large federal agencies to report every IT contract they approve each month from May through October. The directive, signed by OMB director Russ Vought, also obliges...
U.S. regulators are reviewing NextNav’s proposal to repurpose the lower 900 MHz band for high‑power terrestrial PNT services, a move that would displace billions of low‑power, unlicensed IoT devices. Industry groups warn that even intermittent interference could degrade or disable life‑safety...
Google has partnered with Brazil’s government to produce the nation’s first high‑resolution satellite imagery map of its 2008 forest landscape. By processing thousands of historic images and removing clouds, the map delivers detail up to six times finer than previous...
Indonesia’s Ministry of Communication and Digital Affairs summoned senior officials from Google and Meta on Monday, accusing them of violating a new law that bars users under 16 from social media. The move underscores mounting regulatory pressure on tech firms...
South Africa's revenue agency SARS unveiled Modernisation 3.0, a digital overhaul that will issue every taxpayer a biometric, two‑factor digital identity. The programme adds AI‑driven case management, instant payments with the Reserve Bank, and automatic VAT assessments. In FY 2025/26...
Ghana’s National Identification Authority has embedded a digital wallet into the Ghana Card, allowing holders to withdraw cash from ATMs, pay in stores and online, and conduct international transactions in over 200 countries. Cardholders can activate the wallet through the...
South Africa’s Parliament has launched ParliMeter, a civic‑tech dashboard that consolidates years of committee minutes, budget review reports and other parliamentary records into a searchable, visual platform. Developed by OUTA, OpenUp and the Parliamentary Monitoring Group with co‑funding from the...
El Salvador’s central bank launched Pay, a free 24/7 digital payment platform aimed at informal workers and small businesses. The system, already serving about 10,000 users, enables QR‑code payments, interbank transfers, and records income for future credit access. Users must...
The European Commission, Parliament and Council have banned staff from using fully AI‑generated videos or images in official communications, allowing AI only for tasks like image‑quality enhancement. Officials say the rule protects authenticity and citizen trust. Experts argue the blanket...
Recreation.gov announced that starting in 2027, applicants for its most competitive permit lotteries must submit a video audition. The 90‑second to five‑minute clips will showcase outdoor experience, certifications, and wilderness skills for sites such as the Grand Canyon, Half Dome,...
A new Ernst & Young survey shows 88% of federal leaders consider AI a critical tool for agency modernization, yet half of AI projects remain in pilot or planning phases. The chief obstacles are budget limits, outdated IT infrastructure, and...
Twelve additional biometric e-Channels began operating at the arrival halls of Hong Kong International Airport on Tuesday, allowing eligible Hong Kong residents to complete clearance procedures without presenting identity documents or a QR code.
Michigan approves 1.3 GW BESS portfolio, including contested Oracle data center assets #energysky -- via pv magazine usa: https://t.co/SXEfi3Pp5u
The NHS has approved a six‑month extension of its Digital Document Solutions (DDS) framework, a £6 billion (≈ $7.6 billion) contract that now runs until 31 March 2027. The framework, operating since October 2021, engages 46 suppliers across nine lots covering internal and external print, scanning,...
U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick announced a new agreement between the NTIA and AT&T that will reduce FirstNet’s costs by roughly $1 billion while securing an additional $1 billion in network investments. The deal, valued at about $2 billion in total, aims to...
