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The California State Treasurer’s Office and the California Health and Human Services Agency are both recruiting for executive-level technology expertise.
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What to Know
- The Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) is preparing to release a solicitation for the second phase of its Enterprise Asset Management System project, estimated at $1.5 million.
- The first phase involved replacing the legacy Ellipse system with INFOR, and details about the second phase will be very limited until an RFP is published later this month.
Cyber threats don’t discriminate. From large state agencies to small-town departments, every public entity is a potential target. However, for many local governments the necessary staffing, infrastructure and expertise needed to protect their information assets and data is out of reach. The stakes are high, which is why California’s Security Operations Center as a Service (SOCaaS) is delivering around-the-clock security and protection to public entities across the state.
The Department of General Services is seeking a partner to outsource the Office of Energy Infrastructure Safety's cloud-based workflow automation platform.
What to Know
- Modesto’s $639.2 million FY 2025–26 budget includes major IT investments; $15.8 million is allocated to the IT Department.
- Planned tech projects include a citizen service portal, a new procurement and billing system, smart city infrastructure, and cybersecurity upgrades.
What to Know
- Sacramento will avoid layoffs while closing a $62 million budget gap, instead eliminating vacant roles and raising fees.
- At-risk employees were reassigned to new positions, marking the first time since 2013 that the city has averted layoffs during a budget crisis.
What to Know
- Yolo County was awarded a $15,789 state grant to enhance election technology and security, with funds to be used by July 1, 2026.
- The grant must support federal election improvements such as cybersecurity, physical security, training, and incident response.
Under the leadership of Managing Editor Eyragon Eidam, Industry Insider will continue covering the news, hosting industry briefings and providing the platform for thought leadership that has kept California’s SLED sector in the forefront nationally.
What to Know
- Senate Bill 243 would create new reporting and audit requirements for operators of so-called "companion chatbots."
- The legislation, authored by Sen. Steve Padilla, was approved in a 28-4 vote and sent to the Assembly for review June 4.
What to Know
- The departments are in search of an information security analyst, an agile delivery manager and a modern development branch chief.
What to Know
- Under Executive Order N-22-25, many state workers are expected to return to physical offices as of July 1.
- A letter from a bipartisan group of lawmakers seeks to postpone the return until an impending audit is received and can be studied.
What to Know
- A police spokesperson said the gift would "supercharge" a unit that in 2024 assisted in over 500 arrests and helped drive a 40 percent drop in auto thefts over a one-year period.
- Many San Franciscans have embraced the advancements as an overdue response to its stubbornly high rate of car break-ins and other property crimes.
What to Know
- The incumbent will oversee building out the independent audit function of the first agency in the United States created for the sole purpose of protecting the privacy rights of consumers.
- Desirable qualifications include five or more years’ experience in conducting research, auditing, testing or forensics on systems that impact consumer privacy; and specialized technical expertise in technology research, technology policy, software engineering or security.
What to Know
- More than $2.3 million was allocated to upgrade the regional justice information system with AI tools, cloud migration, and enhanced infrastructure.
- Significant funding has been earmarked for toll tech upgrades, including $14.5 million for system maintenance and over $5 million for improved customer service.
- More than $1.8 million will be invested in transportation modeling, regional forecasting, GIS tools, and research tools.
"This shift means more employees can do specialized tasks that used to require experts," writes Steve Monaghan. "For example, creating detailed reports or maps often took an IT specialist. Now, an employee can describe what they need, and the AI agent does the rest."
What to Know
- The State Bar of California reportedly disclosed in April that some questions on the exam were the products of artificial intelligence — an assertion denied by Kaplan, the company that provided the test.
- The bar, which licenses nearly 200,000 practicing lawyers in California, says it will resume using questions from the National Conference of Bar Examiners, used by more than 40 states, for its next exam in July.
What to Know:
- Gov. Gavin Newsom wants the sprawling Business, Consumer Services and Housing Agency split into a Housing and Homelessness Agency and a Business and Consumer Services Agency. The Little Hoover Commission largely agrees.
- A key goal is to bring more focus to the state's housing problems: availability and affordability.
- Newsom submitted the reorganization plan to the Legislature on May 5, and the commission must now submit its report to him and the Legislature by June 4.
What to Know:
- San Diego faces a $258 million deficit in the coming fiscal year, driving tough and programmatic shifts.
- The IT department’s proposed $139.4 million budget appears to be a slight increase over the previous fiscal year.
- Guided by its FY25–FY29 strategic plan, city IT is focusing on resilience, security, digital equity and service modernization.
What to Know:
- The instrument that makes it possible, known as an interrogator, enables seismic researchers to effectively hijack fiber-optic cables for use as thousands of seismometers.
- The interrogator’s level of detail could also help seismologists identify smaller, “hidden” fault lines and fractures in buildings and bridges that might be at risk during a large quake.
What to Know:
- LinkedIn, Chegg and Hewlett Packard Enterprise have disclosed their intentions to reduce staffing in the Bay Area.
- Employers added 1,600 tech jobs in the South Bay but slashed 1,200 tech positions in the East Bay and chopped 400 tech jobs in the San Francisco-San Mateo metro area.
- The puny increase in net tech hiring in the Bay Area was a reminder that rather than being the primary engine for Bay Area employment, the tech industry has become a drag on the region's job market.
The California Student Aid Commission is seeking a chief information officer, and the Department of Health Care Services is seeking a modern development branch chief.
What to know:
- Veritone signed an agreement with the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office to provide its AI redaction software.
- The software, Redact, will help the sheriff’s office automatically blur or hide sensitive details in digital evidence.
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