Contributed Content
Procurement in the Age of AI — June 16, 2026
State and local governments are under growing pressure to move artificial intelligence (AI) from pilot programs to real-world operations. Legislators want measurable progress, residents expect faster and more responsive services and agencies face ongoing budget and workforce constraints.
H.R. 1 has significantly reshaped the operating environment for health and human services agencies, increasing both oversight and administrative demands across programs like SNAP and Medicaid. The legislation raises the stakes by tightening expectations around payment accuracy — placing SNAP agencies at risk of financial penalties if error rates exceed 6% by 2028 — while also expanding eligibility verification requirements, such as requiring certain Medicaid recipients to undergo recertification twice a year instead of annually.
AI is already inside your organization. The question is whether you are in control of it, or it is in control of you.
Why Traditional IT Cost Metrics Fail in the AI Era—and What Leaders Should Measure Instead
Accelerating AI-Driven Transformation for State Labor Agencies
A major new study of 250 public sector executives reveals why AI adoption in government lags the private sector, where it’s quietly succeeding, and what it will take to scale.
Attackers continuously adjust their methods. Stopping them requires a fast, flexible and always-evolving approach to identity verification.
A focused, practitioner led webinar on modernizing Oracle legacy environments with minimal risk and no disruption to mission operations.
Join our webinar on 5/14 to modernize grant management with Smartsheet. Learn scalable workflows, compliance tracking, integrations, and Control Center to reduce admin burden.
Join us for a technical workshop with a demonstration and hands-on lab designed to empower you with the technical knowledge needed to navigate the threat landscape.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) adoption in government is accelerating, driven by pressure to improve service delivery, expand self-service and meet rising constituent expectations. But AI does not create maturity. Rather, it amplifies what already exists. Without strong content governance, AI introduces new risk rather than new value.
Modern identity solutions are key to service access and program integrity.
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.
Latest News
What to Know:
- Texas agencies should expect a leaner budget cycle, with technology requests facing more scrutiny around cost, timing and business justification.
- Cybersecurity and legacy modernization projects will need clear risk narratives, agency alignment and defensible pricing to compete for funding.
- Vendors at the Texas Digital Government Summit were urged to work through agency leadership, avoid disconnected capitol advocacy and be cautious in how they frame AI savings.
What to Know:
- DIR’s new PASS program gives state agencies hands-on procurement planning support before technology solicitations go to market.
- Agencies remain responsible for issuing solicitations, making award decisions and managing resulting contracts.
- Vendors may see more developed scopes, cost estimates and evaluation criteria from agencies that use DIR’s support.
The Best of Texas Awards highlight public-sector technology work across Texas agencies, with this year’s honorees representing child and family services, workforce services, public safety, parks and wildlife, retirement administration and agriculture.
