State governments are facing increasing difficulties in recruiting and retaining top talent to their agencies, in part because of eroding confidence in what has long been seen as the mainstay benefits of government employment, according to a recent Accenture study.

With new governors taking office across the country after the 2018 midterm elections, state IT departments are seeing new and familiar faces take the helm.

The National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO) today released its top technology priorities for 2019, which are determined via voting by forty-nine state CIOs.

The National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO) today released its ninth annual state CIO survey. Since the survey comes just ahead of an election cycle that will likely cause significant turnover among states’ most senior technology officials, NASCIO–in partnership with Grant Thornton and CompTIA–approached the survey in a new way. NASCIO explained that it used this year’s survey as a “means for the current cadre of state CIOs to offer advice to a new generation of technology leaders that may soon be taking office.”

The National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO) announced yesterday that James Collins, CIO of Delaware, was elected president of the organization. Collins succeeds James “Bo” Reese, CIO of Oklahoma. NASCIO announced election results ahead of its annual conference, which began today in San Diego.

The state CIO job description is in need of an update. Gone are the days when state CIOs served as service providers–they now oversee a diverse portfolio of services and service providers.

When the Land of Lincoln needed a new CIO this fall, Illinois-native Kirk Lonbom couldn’t have been a more obvious choice. With two years as CISO and more than 15 years of experience with the state government, Lonbom had the right credentials for the job. So, it was no surprise when Gov. Bruce Rauner tapped Lonbom to head the Illinois Department of Innovation & Technology as state CIO.

The state of Illinois is making a significant push to be a leader in blockchain technology. In December 2016, the state launched the Illinois Blockchain Initiative. Illinois’ CIO Hardik Bhatt believes blockchain has the capacity to significantly improve government operations.

Eric Larson was recently selected to serve as Florida’s chief information officer after incumbent Jason Allison unexpectedly announced his resignation effective March 7. 21st Century State & Local conducted a Q&A with Larson, who served as the state’s chief operations officer and chief technology officer before his unexpected ascension to CIO.

Wyoming Gov. Matt Mead named Tony Young as the new Director of the Department of Enterprise Technology Services (ETS) and state chief information officer.