California Governor Gavin Newsom signed legislation July 20 to help bridge the digital divide in the state by investing $6 billion in expanding broadband infrastructure and services for unserved and underserved communities.

The City of Houston announced the launch of its new 311 platform that will enable citizens to more easily access city information and report non-emergency issues.

New bicameral legislation was introduced July 22 by various members of the House and Senate that would provide $40 billion over five years to extend the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) Emergency Connectivity Fund that was created under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021.

Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel announced that the FCC is entering into partnerships with 11 Federal, state, and local agencies to assess the delivery of Wireless Emergency Alerts in areas across the country during a planned nationwide test on August 11.

In the face of increasing ransomware attacks, Kansas Governor Laura Kelly announced the creation of a bipartisan cybersecurity task force to protect the state’s digital infrastructure.

Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel outlined the future of 5G technologies today and how 5G will help bridge the digital divide, saying the possibilities of the technology extend “far beyond just the smartphone.”

In a move to help increase law enforcement accountability, the Department of Justice (DoJ) announced that the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) is releasing $7.65 million in a competitive microgrant grant solicitation that will fund body-worn cameras (BWCs) to any law enforcement department with 50 or fewer full-time sworn personnel, rural agencies, and Federally-recognized Tribal agencies.

A wide-ranging executive order released by the Biden administration on June 9 is seeking to revive an Obama-era push for more public disclosure of broadband service performance and contract terms – an effort that fell by the wayside during the Trump administration.

The Virginia Information Technologies Agency (VITA) said July 8 it has created, along with its partner UiPath, the first-ever public-sector offering for robotic process automation (RPA).

Law enforcement agencies that use forensic algorithms to aid in criminal investigations face numerous challenges, according to the Government Accountability Office (GAO), including difficulty interpreting and communicating results, as well as addressing potential bias or misuse.