Tennessee’s Chief Technology Officer Jerry Jones shared the state’s first wave of artificial intelligence pilots at the April 2026 Midyear for the National Association of State Chief Information Officers. The strategic technology solutions presentation, entitled Tennessee’s AI Journey – What we’ve done. What we’re doing. Where we’re going. – revealed four AI deployments. Jones shared that they deliberately chose varied focuses for these pilots, including legal, citizen, workforce and back office. In addition, he explained that these pilots move from concept to enterprise-wide deployment, with stages that include concept, pilot, scaling and enterprise.
Legal and compliance: FOIA retrieval and redaction
Spanning multiple departments, the effort helps to reclaim the many hours previously spent by IT staff and state attorneys on public-records requests.
Citizen-facing: State department policy chatbot
Including many departments, the chatbot provides a “conversational front door” to help residents access state services and program rules.
Workforce Augment: IT customer-care resolution AI
Assisting support agents, the feature finds the best resolution from similar customer support issues.
Back office: Boards and commissions management
Tool that streamlines scheduling, vacancy management, and administrative workflows across state boards and commissions.
The Challey Institute at North Dakota State University hosted economist Ed Timmons on May 11 for a research seminar on Occupational Licensing and Opportunity. The Vice President of Policy at the Archbridge Institute discussed occupational licensing and the impact on workers, consumers and communities. At the organization’s Human Progress and Flourishing Workshop, Timmons shared evidence on the costs and benefits of occupational licensing and offered examples of unique licensing requirements across the country.
According to Timmons, “occupational licensing is not the same thing as regulation. Occupational licensing instead is the strictest way that we can regulate a particular occupation.”
He offered other ways to regulate professions, including:
The Sheila and Robert Challey Institute for Global Innovation and Growth is an interdisciplinary research hub at North Dakota State University. According to the organization, they “aim to advance understanding in the areas of innovation, trade, institutions, and human potential to identify policies and solutions for the betterment of society.”
Shifting federal priorities in 2025 created uncertainty around funding for state programs, prompting states to take proactive steps, including revising budgets, analyzing impacts and adjusting policies. According to Pew on April 20, some states, like Vermont, formed task forces to monitor federal changes, while Montana budgeted contingency funds for legislative review. In a comprehensive effort, New Mexico established a subcommittee to evaluate the challenges and opportunities related to the federal funds received by the state. According to Pew, “by making the committee permanent, the New Mexico Legislature would align with Pew recommendations for states to enhance their management practices around federal funds. Specifically, the existence of a permanent Federal Funds Stabilization Subcommittee connects with Pew’s findings that taking proactive steps to better understand federal funding and what it pays for can help state officials manage their funding sources and plan for disruptions or uncertainty around that funding.”
Renee Moseley joined GL Solutions in 2016 with an educational and professional background in research and writing, along with software documentation. At GL Solutions she produces informative content to help regulatory agencies stay current on news and information that supports their success.
