This week, the Colorado state legislature will meet for a special session, called by Gov. Jared Polis, to discuss, revise, and potentially delay the Colorado AI Act. Tyler Thompson, a partner at Reed Smith, joins StateScoop’s Priorities Podcast to say he’s worried about the law's effectiveness, especially with the federal government, after the release of its  AI Action Plan, threatening to withhold funding for states with burdensome AI regulations. He said the upcoming special session, starting Thursday, is expected to address these issues, potentially altering the law's applicability and compliance requirements.

Top stories this week:
In a letter last week to the Virginia agency managing bids and proposals for the federal Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment program, SpaceX claimed the state’s final proposal purposefully excluded Starlink, the company’s low Earth orbit satellite internet service, from most locations. The company claims that excluding its services would be a “massive waste of federal taxpayer money.”

The Sacramento suburb of Folsom, California, last month released a promotional video that showcased Bigfoot giving a guided tour of the city — going to the zoo, swimming in Lake Natoma, getting ice cream and ziplining. The video is the latest instance of local governments turning to AI to boost their tourism or streamline processes.

After a years long legal debate, the California Supreme Court has held to a decision that police departments in the state are required to release some of the footage recorded by their drones. The court denied hearing the City of Chula Vista’s argument against a court requirement that it release its police department’s drone footage to a journalist who asked to see some of the footage.

New episodes of StateScoop’s Priorities Podcast are posted each Wednesday.
For more of the latest news and trends across the state and local government technology community, subscribe to the Priorities Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Soundcloud or Spotify.


Why is Colorado reviewing its AI Act?

Each Wednesday, StateScoop’s Priorities Podcast explores the latest in state and local government technology news and analysis. Listen to in-depth conversations with government and industry’s top executives, and learn about trending stories affecting state and local IT leaders ranging from modernization and digital accessibility to the latest advances in generative artificial intelligence.