News
What to Know:
- Frank Barker became CIO of the Texas Office of Court Administration in January.
- He brings about 30 years of technology experience, including public-sector leadership roles at the Employees Retirement System of Texas and the Texas Department of Public Safety.
- Barker succeeds Casey Kennedy, who retired after 15 years leading judicial technology for Texas courts and judicial branch agencies.
What to Know:
- UT Dallas received a $700,000 Texas Semiconductor Innovation Fund grant for a training cleanroom project on its Dallas campus.
- The cleanroom will support hands-on instruction in cleanroom operations, safety and semiconductor processing for students and new hires.
- The award adds UT Dallas to a growing list of Texas institutions receiving semiconductor funding for workforce training and research infrastructure.
What to Know:
- Parker County commissioners approved using seized asset funds to buy Flock Safety license plate reader cameras, which the sheriff’s office says will help investigations and case-solving.
- The cameras do not track speed, but they do capture plate data and use artificial intelligence to log vehicle details such as make, model, color, stickers and temporary plates.
- Flock’s tools are spreading quickly among law enforcement agencies, even as critics raise concerns about surveillance, data sharing and legal scrutiny.
What to Know:
- DIR has awarded 154 contracts under its current deliverables-based IT services solicitation, while the previous solicitation resulted in 99 awards.
- DIR’s February notice revealed that it was seeking vendors to provide deliverables-based IT services for agencies, local governments and other eligible customers through the Cooperative Contracts program.
- Industry Insider — Texas has compiled the contracts into a searchable table, including the service categories each vendor was approved for.
What to Know:
- Layla Young has left the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) to become chief information officer for the Office of the Texas Secretary of State.
- She served as THECB’s CIO from December 2023 through March 2026.
- Before THECB, Young held multiple IT leadership roles at the Texas Department of Insurance, including director of software development and IT development manager.
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