Pennsylvania is taking a more aggressive role in the price its residents will pay for their health care coverage. Governor Tom Corbett will be signing a bill that gives state regulators the authority to deny rate increases on health insurance for small business policies if they are deemed to be excessive.
California and Ohio are making broadband news. California has been approved for just under $900,000 in broadband planning funds for the next three years. Ohio’s broadband project is being held up by a lack of fiber. The hold up comes as the results of moves at the federal level to more strictly monitor and approve [...]
The federal government has approved West Virginia’s plan to get their statewide broadband plan back on track. The $126.3 million project has been delayed since early this year with state officials and private sector contractors blaming everything from the Washington D.C. earthquake to the tsunami in Japan as reasons for the lack of progress. The [...]
Massachusetts Treasurer Steve Grossman is making good on his campaign promise to bring the state’s finances online. Massachusetts Open Checkbook, a website detailing the state’s expenditures will go live later today in an effort to increase transparency. The website will contain not only expenditures, but contract details as the state works to lower overall contracting [...]
Colorado has launched the Colorado Innovation Network, a new initiative designed to promote collaboration among Colorado’s public, private and academic institutions. The Network hopes to support economic development and job growth by attracting new businesses to the state. Governor Hickenlooper launched the network yesterday, noting that he wants to make Colorado the best state in [...]
West Kentucky and Tennessee are moving forward on state broadband projects. The West Kentucky and Tennessee Telecommunications Cooperative (WK&T) is deploying FieldSmart, a platform for fiber management offered by Clearfield, Inc. Clearfield was chosen as part of a broader broadband expansion project funded through federal stimulus dollars to improve rural broadband access in both states.
South Dakota Govenror Dennis Daugaard is trying to improve state government service delivery and transparency through updates to the state website. The updates are part of the Govenror’s broader Better Government Intiative which hopes to give state residents a better government experience.
Washington has a new state CIO, Governor Gregoire has appointed Bharat Shyam. Shyam previously worked at Microsoft and will be taking office today. Shyam developed some of the first smartphones at Microsoft and will be working to help the state more effectively leverage IT dollars to improve state service delivery to citizens.
The Supreme Court will hear a challenge to the Affordable Care Act. Several states have been involved in a variety of different challenges to the law, and so far, appeals courts have been split on their assessments creating a need for a final ruling from the Court. The move is likely to create electoral challenges [...]
Six states have worked out an understanding with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to reduce duplicate inspections of affordable housing units. The states hope that by cutting back on repetitive housing inspections, those resources can go to providing more affordable housing. The agreement it part of the Obama Administration’s goal of [...]
