Author Archives: Tessa Zavala

During the holiday season, New York Governor signed SB7543B (2024 | NY). The bill known as the LOADinG Act, creative capitalization included, covers AI use by governmental entities in NY. The big picture is that NY is calling for disclosure of AI use by governmental entities and requires human review of any AI generated information.  BIOMetric […]

Georgia’s Senate Study Committee on Artificial Intelligence recommends: Comprehensive AI Policies for Public Entities: The committee recommends every state agency and local government develop policies addressing ethical use, data privacy, and human oversight in AI applications. Support for Education and Workforce Development: Initiatives include AI-focused pathways in K-12 schools, expanded upskilling programs for Georgia’s workforce, and the […]

” The FBI has been investigating a longtime Exxon Mobil consultant over the contractor’s alleged role in a hack-and-leak operation that targeted hundreds of the oil company’s biggest critics, according to three people familiar with the matter.” What is happening? This story begins way back in 2015 and the hacked materials are still being used […]

18 states regulate the use of license plate readers. New Hampshire allows the data to be retained for 3 hours while Alabama allows the data to be retained for 5 years. That’s a lot of variety in data privacy. Route Fifty | Lawmakers in one state are considering regulating police use of automated license plate […]

Michigan Legislature passed HB4906 (2024 | MI) that extends until 2050 the exemption from the state sales and use tax for data centers. Opponents say that the tax exemption will cost the state $90 million in revenue and that the data centers only achieved 2.6% of their jobs goals. CapCon | Legislature extends tax breaks […]

A Dutch tulip farm is using excess heat from a bitcoin operation for their tulip greenhouse. Sustainable tulip farming in the modern era. @design1future

A $5 billion data center in rural NE Louisiana will be powered by a new 1,500-megawatt natural gas plant. Both will be built on state owned farmland. The data center is estimated to employ 300 to 500 people with an average salary of $82,000. Route Fifty | Huge gas plant eyed to power mystery $5B […]

Michigan lawmakers approved tax breaks for hyper scale data centers. HB4906 (2024 | MI) The bill applies to data centers located on either brownfields or on property that was once an industrial site used primarily as a power plant to generate electricity for sale.

A bill to create a strategic bitcoin reserve was introduced in the Pennsylvania Legislature this week. The bill would allocate up to 10% of its roughly $7 billion state funds into bitcoin. HB2664 (2025 | PA) Pro-crypto Republican Sen. Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming says she’s hoping to push through her own bitcoin reserve bill on the national […]

According to the National Association of State Chief Information Officers 40% of their members say they don’t have the budgets to handle the security threats. Insurance premiums are often out of budget. The average cost of a ransomware attack on state and local governments so far this year is $2.83 million. For those keeping up […]