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What to Know:
- The new agency is scaling from 48 full-time employees toward an anticipated workforce of 122.
- Proposed functions include threat intelligence, incident response, digital forensics, statewide reporting and 24/7 monitoring.
- Capital planning areas include managed cybersecurity services and a transition to post-quantum encryption.
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What to Know:
- Members can use the combined portfolio through Civic Marketplace without signing separate interlocal agreements.
- Civic Marketplace lists the shared catalog at 279 contracts, 504 vetted suppliers and 14 service areas.
- The arrangement also extends access to participating COGWORKS agencies through the East Texas Council of Governments’ existing TXShare membership.
What to Know:
- The Fort Worth Zoning Commission voted 7-4 to recommend against adding data centers to the city’s zoning code.
- The proposal includes setbacks from homes, screening requirements for outdoor equipment, limits on lighting and a prohibition on cryptocurrency mining.
- The Fort Worth City Council is expected to consider the zoning rules, along with related water, noise and economic development regulations, on Aug. 11.
What to Know:
- Amarillo has not announced an interim or permanent replacement for CTO Rich Gagnon.
- City financial documents and the Texas Municipal League directory list Missy Laird as chief information officer, but neither identifies her as Gagnon’s successor.
- Gagnon’s work with Amarillo included cybersecurity, broadband modernization, infrastructure security and creation of the city’s digital human employee.
SeeClickFix is a digital 311 program that allows residents to submit non-emergency issues directly to the city through Midland's website or app.
What to Know:
- County users may not submit protected or confidential data to public AI tools.
- AI tools may not independently make final governmental, legal, personnel, procurement, financial, enforcement or policy decisions.
- Inputs and outputs may be subject to the Texas Public Information Act and county records retention rules.
What to Know:
- Huffines will replace Acting Comptroller Kelly Hancock, with his service scheduled to begin Aug. 1.
- The appointment fills the vacancy before the November general election, when voters will decide who holds the elected statewide office going forward.
- Huffines is a Dallas-area businessman and former state senator who represented District 16 from 2015 to 2019.
What to Know:
- Use of the Texas Open Data Portal has grown alongside broader demand for centralized digital access to state information and services.
- Published data assets have grown from 488 to 1,348 since 2022, while participating agencies increased from 26 to 36.
- DIR says the portal can help reduce routine public information requests by giving users direct access to already published data sets.
What to Know:
- U.S. Rep. Nathaniel Moran, R-TX 1, introduced a bill to create a federal reporting framework for critical AI incidents involving advanced models.
- U.S. Rep. Brian Babin, R-TX 36, is backing legislation that would authorize a federal center focused on AI security and innovation.
- The proposals point to potential new expectations around risk reporting, testing and documentation for AI systems.
What to Know:
- The chief data officer will report to the director of the Office of Strategic Integration and serve as HHSC's principal authority on enterprise data governance.
- The role will coordinate data strategy with the CIO while partnering with legal, privacy, security, finance and audit leaders.
What to Know:
- Shared information includes camera status, incidents, roadway hazards, closures, work zones, travel times and environmental sensor data.
- The agencies are considering future additions such as truck parking availability, freight routing data, special event traffic coordination and evacuation route information.
Industry Insider — Texas will not publish a newsletter Friday in observance of the Independence Day holiday. The newsletter will resume on Monday morning.
Government entities are using GIS technology and predictive analytics to manage an influx of fans amid the FIFA World Cup 2026 tournament, which is drawing crowds in host cities across the U.S.
What to Know:
- The sheriff’s office filed a catastrophe notice suspending public information request deadlines from June 22 through June 28.
- The notice said the office could not access records systems.
- The notice does not say whether personal information was accessed.
What to Know:
- DIR's latest strategic plan, new this month, calls to expand AI guidance, training, pilot programs and sandbox work.
- Cloud adoption, website modernization and broader use of texas.gov, TxT and identity access management are listed as priorities.
- DIR is seeking procurement threshold changes and plans a procurement-as-a-service pilot.
What to Know:
- Spikes brings nearly 25 years of Texas state government experience, primarily supporting health and human services technology and large-scale transformation initiatives.
- His background includes enterprise agency consolidation, Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance Program modernization and early biometric technology pilots.
- In his expanded role, he will focus on public-sector partnerships, AI, cybersecurity and accessibility solutions.
What to Know:
- The Texas Office of the Attorney General entry says the affected information included names, Social Security numbers, driver’s license numbers, financial information and medical information.
- The district provided notice to consumers by U.S. mail, according to the state’s breach reporting site.
- The disclosure follows the district’s March confirmation that the ransomware incident disrupted systems across the district.
What to Know:
- Sunset staff cited delayed, scaled-back and prematurely deployed systems.
- Recommended changes include a two-year IT modernization plan, revised procurement framework, program-led launch criteria and a unified data model.
- The report also flags technology-related needs in multiple areas.
What to Know:
- The Public Utility Commission has approved a new ERCOT process to sort through more than 438,000 megawatts of large-load interconnection requests.
- Projects will face higher requirements as ERCOT works to identify legitimate demand and determine where transmission upgrades may be needed.
- ERCOT will notify developers in the first study group, known as batch zero, in August.
What to Know:
- The chief technology officer will oversee more than 130 employees, six direct reports and a technology budget exceeding $60 million.
- The deputy CIO for customer engagement will lead business relationship management, service portfolio management and the Project/Program Management Office.
- Both positions are based at the city's Grove Campus, with first review of applications beginning July 20.
What to Know:
- The governor’s website is intended to serve as Texas’ central online source for New World screwworm information.
- The portal brings together state and federal resources, including identification guidance, sample collection procedures, case dashboards and zone maps.
- A separate Texas Department of Agriculture map adds detection and reporting functions.
What to Know:
- TPWD has not publicly named the vendor involved, though public contract records and Gordon-Darby’s website identify the company as tied to the agency’s license sales system.
- The agency says Social Security numbers, dates of birth and financial information were not obtained.
- TPWD has already moved boat registration services onto TxT, but hunting and fishing license sales remain on Texas License Connection.
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