In a letter to congress, the Executive Director for the National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO) wrote to express “strong concern” over efforts to federally preempt state measures establishing effective AI safeguards. According to the letter, the congressional efforts, bundled with child online safety bills, actually take away a state’s ability to address AI risks and provide protection for children. NASCIO ED Doug Robinson explains that “NASCIO believes that effective governance of rapidly evolving technologies like AI demands a layered, collaborative approach that preserves state autonomy while encouraging coordinated federal-state cooperation. Preempting state authority before a federal framework is even in place would undermine that balance and jeopardize public safety, privacy and equity.” The letter asks congressional leaders, including Majority Leader John Thune and Minority Leader Chuck Shumer, to oppose federal preemption of state AI actions in the National Defense Authorization Act.
In a post published on December 2, GovRAMP lays out their 2026 strategic roadmap, covering initiatives ranging from best practices adoption to AI security and transparency. In addition, the organization lists the many program enhancements coming in early 2026; these include: Progressing Security Snapshot program updates, GovRAMP High Impact Level and the Updated CJIS-Aligned Overlay. GovRAMP also aims to integrate AI security and trustworthiness with their AI Security Task Force and Advisory Council identifying updates to address the role of GenAI in cloud products. The GenAI Significant Change and AI Self-Reporting Addendum, for example, “improves transparency by helping governments understand where and how generative AI capabilities are used, supporting more informed risk decisions,” according to GovRAMP.
At a symposium organized by the Public Technology Institute, speakers recommended that public sector employers emphasize employees’ sense of civic duty to remain appealing as workplaces. Miguel Guardado, IT director for Manhattan Beach, California, said “Government work brings purpose, but we have to find out how we can do flexibility and growth within the organization so that they still are stimulated,” Route Fifty reported on November 25. Beyond civic duty, other experts at the symposium shared additional tactics for attracting workers, such as offering a strong culture and removing barriers to entry, like education requirements. Mary Gleich-Matthews, deputy CIO of St. Paul, Minnesota, for example, said the city no longer requires a bachelor’s degree for many jobs.
