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broadband California Governor Signs $6 Billion Broadband Bill
California Governor Gavin Newsom signed legislation July 20 to help bridge the digital divide in the state by investing $6 billion in expanding broadband infrastructure and services for unserved and underserved communities.
Recent News
  1. Fort Worth School District Turns to Parents, Students to Develop Technology Plan
    Texas’ Fort Worth Independent School District (ISD) is seeking feedback from parents, students, and educators to help design the district’s Technology Plan.
  2. Houston Launches Cloud-Based 311 Platform to Improve Citizen Services
    The City of Houston announced the launch of its new 311 platform that will enable citizens to more easily access city information and report non-emergency issues.
  3. House Passes $500M State and Local Cybersecurity Improvement Act
    The House of Representatives on July 20 voted to approve the State and Local Cybersecurity Improvement Act as part of a slate of cyber bills that passed under suspension of normal rules. The bill would create a $500 million-per-year grant program run by the Department of Homeland Security to help state and local governments improve their cybersecurity.
  1. Bicameral Legislation Introduced to Extend Program to Close Homework Gap
    New bicameral legislation was introduced July 22 by various members of the House and Senate that would provide $40 billion over five years to extend the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) Emergency Connectivity Fund that was created under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021.
  2. Make Way for StateRAMP, Cloud Cyber Standards for SLGs
    With the increased adoption of cloud services by governments and organizations of all sizes, there’s a new kid on the block for the state and local government market that is looking for consistent approaches on cybersecurity standards from cloud providers that they want to do business with.
  3. Raleigh, N.C. On Route to Serve Constituents Better Online 
    After the COVID-19 pandemic led to an uptick in demand for digital services, the city of Raleigh, N.C. responded with a series of IT service management transformation steps to better meet the needs of its constituents.  Beth Stagner, the city’s Director of Enterprise Applications and Data, talked about the challenges and next steps in that transformation during a virtual webinar hosted by Government Technology on July 22.
  4. California State University Turning Tech Into Student Equity, Achievement
    The California State University (CSU) has launched the first phase of its California State University Connectivity Contributing to Equity and Student Success (CSUCCESS) initiative.
  1. Witnesses Ring the Alarm on Water Infrastructure Cybersecurity
    Recent hacks on localities’ water supply have shown the importance of cybersecurity in the water infrastructure. Witnesses sounded the alarm about water infrastructure cybersecurity and called for training and funding investments at a July 21 Senate Environment and Public Works Committee hearing.
  2. FCC Partners With Feds, SLGs to Assesses Wireless Emergency Alert Systems
    Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel announced that the FCC is entering into partnerships with 11 Federal, state, and local agencies to assess the delivery of Wireless Emergency Alerts in areas across the country during a planned nationwide test on August 11.
  3. Kansas Creates Cybersecurity Task Force to Protect State’s Digital Infrastructure
    In the face of increasing ransomware attacks, Kansas Governor Laura Kelly announced the creation of a bipartisan cybersecurity task force to protect the state’s digital infrastructure.
  4. N.Y. Higher Ed CISOs Break Down Cyber, Ransomware Threats
    New York-based university chief information security officers (CISOs) broke down a range of cyberattack threats that their schools are facing at the New York State Chief Information Officers (NYSCIO) 2021 Conference on July 14, including how to prepare for attacks from different quarters, and respond to them.
  5. Virginia Pledges $700M to Achieve ‘Universal Broadband’ by 2024
    Virginia Governor Ralph Northam announced that the commonwealth will use $700 million in Federal funding to achieve “universal broadband” by 2024.
  6. FCC Acting Chairwoman: Future of 5G Goes ‘Far Beyond’ the Smartphone
    Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel outlined the future of 5G technologies today and how 5G will help bridge the digital divide, saying the possibilities of the technology extend “far beyond just the smartphone.”
  7. Pandemic Proved SLGs Can Digitize Services ‘Faster Than They Ever Thought Possible’
    The past 18 months have placed a massive burden on state and local governments (SLGs) as they have had to shift from delivering citizen services in-person to delivering services almost entirely online.
  8. Rep. Houlahan on the Inequitable Impact of the Pandemic on Student Learning 
    Rep. Chrissy Houlahan, D-Pa., emphasized the significant national and international generational learning loss from academic disruption due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the role of the government in combatting this issue during a July 15 webinar hosted by Axios.
  9. DHS, DoJ Launch StopRansomware.gov Resource
    The Department of Justice (DoJ) and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) have launched a one-stop shop at StopRansomware.gov for individuals, businesses, and organizations to help combat the increasing trend of ransomware attacks, the DoJ announced today.
  10. West Point Seeks Cloud-Based Common Application Platform for Student Data
    The United States Military Academy at West Point (West Point) is searching for a cloud-based common application platform to collect application data and provide the information to open files on candidates applying to the school.