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What to Know:
- The project is located on a 440-acre site near Lytle just north of Interstate 35 in an unincorporated area of Medina County.
- The data center will provide cloud storage and artificial intelligence services for an unnamed customer described as one of the nation’s top five technology companies.
- Rowan plans to power the campus primarily with hydroelectric, solar and wind generation.
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What to Know:
- The city's IT Services Department would receive $94 million.
- The capital improvement program allocates an additional $32 million for citywide technology infrastructure projects.
- Another $3 million is earmarked for department-level IT capital outlays.
What to Know:
- The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department's digital licensing and tagging program will now cover all hunting, fishing and combination license types.
- A mobile app enables hunters and anglers to purchase licenses online, carry them on a mobile device and tag harvests.
- TPWD CIO Jamie McClanahan has identified the agency’s digital licensing systems as a key candidate for future modernization efforts.
What to Know:
- A forthcoming request for offers will seek solutions that forecast and alert for flood events.
- DIR’s notice comes as demands to expand the state’s flood alert infrastructure have grown in the wake of deadly flash flooding in July.
What to Know:
- The city has proposed a $9.4 million Information Services and Telecommunications (IST) operating fund.
- The IST Department has proposed $300,000 in new funding.
- The Planning Department's proposed contractual services and supplies allocations total $1.2 million.
What to Know:
- The new Capital Delivery Department will focus on new, large-scale projects such as the construction of streets, drainage, parks and city facilities.
- The Capital Delivery Department will lead planning for future bond programs, which will start running on a four-year schedule instead of the current five-year timeline.
- The changes are outlined in the city’s proposed Fiscal Year 2026 budget, which will go into effect Oct. 1 pending City Council approval next month.
What to Know:
- Sen. Cruz, chairman of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, which oversees the industry, is at the leading edge of a movement to allow the country's AI companies to grow their technology unfettered.
- After a setback in blocking state regulations on AI earlier this year, the Texas Republican is now rumored to be working on a more comprehensive bill that would create a federal framework for the industry.
What to Know:
- The city of Corpus Christi’s proposed $1.27 billion budget for Fiscal Year 2025–26 includes about $40 million in technology-related funding.
- $21 million is allocated to the city’s IT Fund.
- Other allocations include $9 million for the MetroCom Fund and $159,000 for the Municipal Court Technology Fund.
What to Know:
- The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) is soliciting offers from vendors to provide traffic management software under a new statewide contract.
- The software will need to integrate with TxDOT’s existing technology environment, offer compatibility for data exchange and provide capacity for future expansion.
- TxDOT requires a detailed explanation of all artificial intelligence functionalities to be included or introduced at any point during the accepted contract period.
The W. Walworth Harrison Public Library will receive a share of $4.1 million for broadband upgrades and digital access improvements.
What to Know:
- In a statement to Industry Insider — Texas, TDLR confirmed Texas Lottery Commission operations and personnel will transition to the agency on Sept. 1.
- Most TLC staff will continue in their roles within the new Lottery and Charitable Bingo division within TDLR.
- Texas Lottery leadership will remain, although TDLR has signaled that it will continue evaluating processes and may implement additional changes following the transition.
What to Know:
- The IT Fund makes up the largest portion of Arlington’s tech spending, totaling $24.3 million.
- Of that amount, $5.5 million is set aside for IT projects.
- The budget includes $3.9 million for the replacement of the Planning and Development Services Department’s permitting platform, known as AMANDA.
What to Know:
- The new system has processed 3.1 million payments totaling $614 million since going live on June 12.
- As part of the launch, OAG also introduced two self-service portals aimed at improving user access and communication.
- In 2024, OAG streamlined processes within its Child Support Division with the help of a search tool powered by artificial intelligence.
What to Know:
- The largest share of citywide IT funding is $17 million for licensing, maintenance and support.
- The Police Department expects to use $6 million in capital outlay to upgrade its records system and equip officers with body-worn cameras.
- The city is establishing a new Code Enforcement Department.
What to Know:
- H-GAC seeks a cloud-based, software-as-a-service case management system capable of automating workflows, compliance checks, dashboards and performance tools.
- The council’s objectives include improving collaboration, ensuring consistent outputs and increasing transparency across its monitoring activities.
- The vendor must host the solution on domestic data servers and meet Texas Risk and Authorization Management Program Level 2 certification requirements at contract initiation.
What to Know:
- The U.S. Energy Information Administration on Thursday noted that U.S. energy demand was set to grow by about 4-5 percent in the next two years.
- The EIA expects electricity demand on the ERCOT grid to increase by an average rate of 11 percent between this year and 2026.
- A number of crypto mines have popped up in the last several years, and opponents claim these facilities soak up so much power that it strains the power grid.
What to Know:
- The county's IT Department has requested a $39 million budget for Fiscal Year 2026.
- The preliminary budget for 2026, which is subject to change, only includes $21 million for the department.
- The largest differences between requested funds and granted preliminary funds are related to hardware, software, utilities and software maintenance.
O’Neill assumed the role on Aug. 1 following former Department of Family and Protective Services Commissioner Stephanie Muth’s departure on July 31.
What to Know:
- The Harris County Department of Education is seeking a broad range of technology goods and services for its cooperative purchasing division, Choice Partners.
- Choice Partners serves more than 2,500 members nationwide.
- The scope of work includes the supply and support of technology hardware, software, asset management services, IT support and leasing options.
What to Know:
- The session includes proposals that would require modernized emergency communications systems, improved data transparency tools and updates to public recordkeeping processes.
- House Bill 2 would establish a Texas Interoperability Council tasked with overseeing a new grant program for emergency communication improvements.
Industry Insider — Texas is pleased to welcome Rocket Software to the Industry Insider family. Rocket Software offers a variety of software solutions spanning IT modernization, AI-driven automation, data integration and secure hybrid cloud to help organizations unlock the full potential of their data, applications and infrastructure. For more information, contact David Grun or visit the Rocket Software website.
What to Know:
- DPS is researching market capabilities around a biometric NFC badge that can authenticate users through fingerprint recognition.
- The agency's existing infrastructure no longer meets updated Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS) requirements.
- The agency anticipates use cases for permanent employees and temporary contractors.
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