5. Under (Federal) Pressure
With the White House enacting a flurry of often dramatic policy changes in the first year of Donald Trump’s second term as president, California felt pressure on a variety of fronts. Aside from decreased federal support for state and local government, one big impact came from rapidly shifting tariff policy: This threw IT contracts and pricing into question, adding uncertainty to technologists’ work. In other areas, rule changes affected IT projects such as the massive CalSAWS benefits project.
4. Amy Tong and Nick Maduros Take on New Roles
Amy Tong has had quite the career in California government. After serving as state CIO from 2016-2021, she took on leadership of the Office of Data and Innovation, then the Government Operations Agency. Then, in 2025, Gov. Gavin Newsom appointed her to a unique role as senior counselor, advising especially on matters related to innovation and efficiency. Replacing her as leader of GovOps was Nick Maduros, fresh off leading the Department of Tax and Fee Administration. In her new role, Tong has been pushing agencies toward three Es: engaged, efficient and effective.
3. Efficiency, California Style
Speaking of efficiency, that’s been a major push in California state government this year. It came amid a national proliferation of efficiency efforts in the wake of the federal DOGE project, which led to very different interpretations in different states and localities. In California, the Office of Data and Innovation had an interesting spin on the concept through the Engaged California initiative. Growing out of the response to the Los Angeles area wildfires, the project sought input from any and all state employees about how to work better and more efficiently, which generated ideas to be passed on to agency representatives and put into action.
2. A Tenuous Budget
With wild swings in the economy and national policy, California was in an odd position with this year’s budget. On the one hand, the picture looked grim, conjuring images of the days of dramatic spending cuts. On the other, the state had substantial reserves for times such as these. In the end, lawmakers dipped into those funds to avoid making larger cuts to the budget, and wound up still green-lighting substantial investments in IT. Going into 2026, the national economic picture remains tenuous — a fact the governor and Legislature will have to grapple with as the budget process begins in January.
1. Artificial Intelligence
Of course, AI continued to suck up oxygen in the IT space in all sectors this year. Like every other state, California has been laboring to get its workers comfortable with the technology and looking for the best ways to use it. That led to, among other things, a series of GenAI “proofs of concept” at the departments of Transportation, Tax and Fee Administration, and Public Health, as well as the Health and Human Services Agency. Meanwhile, the Department of Technology introduced the Project Delivery Lifecycle framework to guide IT projects involving AI.
