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What to Know:
- Texas Comptroller staff said proposed amendments published in the March Texas Register would make the emergency VetHUB framework permanent.
- The draft rules remove race, ethnicity and sex-based classifications and eliminate statewide quantitative utilization goals.
- Speakers at the April 7 hearing said the shift is already affecting bids, contracts and staffing, and warned it could reduce competition and increase costs.
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Next week’s members-only event in Austin will feature the chief information officers of the Texas Department of Transportation and the Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority.
Williams said his focus at Cloverleaf AI is helping vendors engage government opportunities earlier, before procurements become late-stage, reactive pursuits.
What to Know:
- Rice has secured $22.3 million in combined new funding for two space research centers.
- The newest piece is an $8.1 million U.S. Space Force award for a center focused on sensing and data analysis.
- An earlier $14.2 million Texas Space Commission award supports a second center focused on research, partnerships and workforce training.
What to Know:
- ERCOT is planning to shift very large power users from a single-study interconnection model to a batch-study process.
- The change applies to large-load interconnections of 75 megawatts or more and is tied to Senate Bill 6 and PUCT review.
- ERCOT’s timeline calls for Batch Study Zero revision requests in June and ongoing batch-study revision requests in September.
What to Know:
- The North Central Texas Council of Governments is hiring an IT program manager to lead enterprise infrastructure strategy and operations.
- The role oversees infrastructure programs spanning cloud, networks, storage, backup, disaster recovery and vendor coordination.
What to Know:
- Texas was chosen for a federal pilot program to test electric air taxis and other next-generation aircraft.
- The program is meant to give federal regulators real-world data as they develop safety rules for electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft used for passenger trips, cargo delivery, emergency response and other missions.
- Wisk Aero said its Texas testing could help shape federal policy for integrating autonomous aircraft into U.S. airspace, with first pilot operations expected as early as summer 2026.
What to Know:
- Mike Robbins has joined Ivanti as regional vice president for U.S. SLED, where he will lead the company’s state, local and education market efforts.
- Robbins previously spent close to four years at NetApp, most recently serving as district sales manager for SLED Midwest Atlantic.
- Earlier in his career, he held leadership roles in supply chain and procurement.
What to Know:
- Sauerhoff had been serving as interim executive director and interim state CIO since January.
- He stepped into the role after Amanda Crawford left DIR to become commissioner of insurance at the Texas Department of Insurance.
- Board members described Sauerhoff as the standout candidate and approved his appointment Friday.
What to Know:
- Midland County approved purchases for a drug analyzer, courthouse X-ray system and jail radio infrastructure.
- A TruNarc device for the Texas Anti-Gang unit will be funded through the TAG grant.
- Commissioners amended an agreement with TxDOT allowing the Midland County Sheriff’s Office to install Flock license plate reader cameras on TxDOT rights of way.
Industry Insider’s latest conversation with TxDOT CIO Anh Selissen precedes the March 26 member briefing with CapMetro CIO Tanya Acevedo.
What to Know:
- Gov. Greg Abbott directed Texas health agencies and state-owned medical facilities to review cybersecurity and procurement policies tied to medical equipment made in China.
- The order follows federal alerts about vulnerabilities in Chinese-made patient monitoring devices that could expose protected health information.
- The move builds on Texas’ broader crackdown on foreign-linked technologies and suggests closer scrutiny of connected medical equipment in public-sector health-care settings.
What to Know:
- Austin is moving forward with a plan to centralize departmental IT staff under Austin Technology Services, with team alignment recommendations expected in April.
- City officials say Gartner benchmarking found Austin’s IT spending and staffing levels well above peer cities, helping drive the consolidation effort.
- The plan is drawing pushback from AFSCME Local 1624 and employees, who have raised concerns about service impacts, institutional knowledge and the transition process.
What to Know:
- San Antonio Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones has launched an 11-member Economic Security Advisory Group to help the city compete in emerging technologies.
- The panel is expected to meet quarterly and advise on bond projects, infrastructure priorities and economic agreements tied to industry growth.
- Jones linked the effort to San Antonio’s military, cybersecurity and advanced manufacturing strengths and will travel to Taiwan on March 14 with council and advisory group members to meet with officials and industry leaders.
What to Know:
- DIR plans to issue a solicitation for wireless, pager and satellite communications services through the Texas Agency Network program.
- The procurement will cover cellular voice and data plans, wireless infrastructure services and related equipment for eligible government customers.
- Multiple vendors may be selected to provide services under indefinite quantity contracts.
What to Know:
- The lawsuit challenges the comptroller’s 2025 emergency rule that converted the Historically Underutilized Business program into Veteran Heroes United in Business.
- Plaintiffs are asking the court to declare the emergency rule null and void, block enforcement through temporary and permanent injunctions and reinstate HUB certifications.
- The Global Black Economic Forum says the stakes include more than $4 billion in Fiscal Year 2024 state contracting that went to HUB businesses and more than $1.6 billion in HUB spending by three named agencies.
What to Know:
- A Texas Republican primary turned AI infrastructure into a rural political issue, with Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller warning that data centers threaten farmland, water supplies and ranch communities.
- Voters still chose Abbott-backed challenger Nate Sheets, suggesting the political and economic push behind AI development outweighed Miller’s attempt to make server farms a campaign issue.
- Data centers are expanding into rural areas because they need large sites, power and water, setting up an ongoing clash between AI growth and agricultural land use in Texas and other Republican-led states.
What to Know:
- Kerrville Public Utility Board is leading a regional partnership funded through the Texas Middle Mile Program to strengthen flood monitoring and warning capabilities in Kerr County.
- The buildout is designed to move data from stream and rain gauges, weather stations and Texas Department of Transportation bridge sensors in near real time.
- Partners include river authorities, local governments, Hill Country Telephone Cooperative and the Texas Department of Transportation.
What to Know:
- The agency is hiring a data analyst VI to serve as a data technology and governance lead within the IT Division.
- The role focuses on enterprise data governance and integrity, including setting data standards, improving data quality and leading advanced analysis and reporting.
- Applicants need a bachelor’s degree and at least seven years of relevant data experience, with additional experience in data architecture, reporting or BI tools also required.
What to Know:
- The Texas Space Commission approved $9.3 million for UT Austin to establish a Space Domain Awareness Tools, Applications and Processing Lab supporting U.S. Space Force work.
- UT Austin and the Space Force describe the effort as part of an accelerator framework designed to move new space domain awareness software and analytics toward operational use.
- UT Austin said the lab is designed to run multiple cohort cycles that bring in private-sector teams for structured development aligned with Space Force priorities.
What to Know:
- CapMetro’s board approved $4.5 million in tech-related contracts at its Feb. 23 meeting.
- The meeting's consent agenda covered about $3.8 million in tech purchases.
- A separate action item approved a five-year renewal of the Cisco Security Enterprise Agreement for about $720,000.
What to Know:
- DIR reported $882 million in cooperative contract purchases in Q1 FY 2026, down 11 percent year-over-year.
- DIR approved three new Enterprise Technology Solution Services awards, expanding beyond Deloitte as the prior sole provider.
- DIR extended Symbio Ecosystems sourcing and transition support until 2027.
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In my previous blog, I talked about how government agencies have been experimenting with AI through small pilots and assessments. These initiatives helped build familiarity, test guardrails and determine what works.
Digital accessibility has evolved from a compliance checkbox into a core leadership.
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