A new bill introduced in the Michigan Legislature seeks to tighten guardrails on drones by creating a statewide drone registry designed to provide state agencies and law enforcement with better access to critical information and improve public safety.

The Michigan Department of Education (MDE) is working with the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity (LEO) to hold a series of virtual job fairs intended to close the educator shortage in the state.

Two Michigan lawmakers, Sens. Michael Webber and John Damoose, are proposing legislation that would implement mobile panic alert systems throughout the state’s public and nonpublic schools to ensure real-time coordination between schools, 911, law enforcement, and first responders.

Michigan State Senator Sean McCann has introduced Senate Bill 737, which would establish a 24/7 security operation center (SOC) for Michigan’s higher education institutions.

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed a wide-ranging election bills package aimed at improving election efficiency, increasing voter registration opportunities, and protecting equal access to the ballot box.

To help ensure the safety of government officials and employees, Michigan will deploy proactive AI gun detection technology at the state capitol building in Lansing. According to ZeroEyes, the creators of the AI gun detection video analytics platform, Michigan is the first state in the nation to deploy the technology at its capitol.

The Michigan Department of Technology, Management, and Budget (DTMB) has launched a new online auction website for surplus sales, Michigan.gov/MiBid.

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced a $2 million grant to “support the growth and development of high-tech talent in Michigan.” The grant will fund projects to grow Michigan’s high-tech workforce and build talent pipelines for Michigan’s automotive, mobility, and technology sectors.

While state and local government agencies were working to deploy digital services and improve the delivery of constituent services before the pandemic, the urgency accelerated by ten-fold over the past two years as citizens in every state and jurisdiction needed government services delivered quickly and remotely. They needed and expected a holistic, digital experience with the same easy access, responsiveness, and transparency that they have in other aspects of their lives.

This month, the state of Michigan undertook an ambitious overhaul of all state department websites to improve the user experience.