The federal government appears unlikely to reauthorize funding for the State and Local Cybersecurity Grant Program after fiscal 2025, the final year of the program, says Doug Robinson, executive director of the National Association of State Chief Information Officers. He shared these insights during a recent webinar, State and Local IT: Plotting Your Course Through Shifting Tides, hosted by NASCIO and the Public Technology Institute. “It is unlikely based on current prognostications that it’s going to be reauthorized,” Robinson told webinar attendees on July 15, according to StateTech. During the webinar, Robinson also addressed the challenges facing states related to GenAI adoption.
Indiana ranks number 48 overall for all states and Puerto Rico in the 2024 State Occupational Licensing Index from the Archbridge Institute and the Knee Regulatory Research Center; the score places the state 48th among states for the highest occupational licensing burden. Besides the overall ranking, the report also features a state profile ranking that puts states in one of five quintiles. Indiana ranks five in the quintile system, with one the “most occupational licensing” and five the “least occupational licensing.” The quintile system reviews several factors, including barriers and licenses, along with universal recognition reforms. The licensing index, released in August, contains information on 284 occupations.
See a listing of all state rankings in the latest edition of the State Occupational Licensing Index.
On the July 14 Sharkbytes podcast, GovRamp Five Years Later – Its Mission Has Never Been More Critical, host Alan Shark asked GovRAMP ED Leah McGrath about the complexity of auditing products with AI.
Leah shared that GovRAMP focuses on two things when they assess a cloud product that features AI.
According to McGrath, GovRAMP now includes an AI security task force, along with an AI executive council to guide how GovRAMP plans to address AI; from the AI task force findings, Leah expects updates to their security program related to cloud products that feature AI.
In addition, the discussion covered the impact of the federal government’s modifications to the FedRamp program and what those changes mean for all levels of government. Leah McGrath also addressed the reasons behind the change in the organization’s name from StateRAMP to GovRAMP.
North Dakota version of DOGE to take a slower approach to cost savings
North Dakota’s version of DOGE starts work the week of July 28, but members say it differs from the federal version.
Georgia’s AI Lab Cooks Up Tech Ideas in New Test Kitchen
The state’s technology department launched the Innovation Lab this week to support ethical AI research for better public service.
