ProGov21 Policy Library

Building Indigenous Future Zones: Four Tribal Broadband Case Studies

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2021

Level City or Town, County, National

State(s) All States

Source Institute for Local Self-Reliance

Policy Areas Community Development, Data & Technology

Basic infrastructure, including internet access, is still lacking on many reservations; in fact, tribal lands have seen increases in high-speed internet access at even lower rates than rural areas. One step to better Internet infrastructure is increasing the authority of Native Nations...

Not Ready For Takeoff: Face Scans at Airport Departure Gates

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2017

Level City or Town, National

State(s) Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Nevada, New York, Texas

Source Center on Privacy & Technology

Policy Areas Data & Technology

Travelers on certain international flights departing from Atlanta, Chicago, Las Vegas, Miami, New York City, Houston, and Washington, D.C., are having their faces scanned and compared to a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) biometric database to verify their identity. This report...

The Smart Energy Home: Strategies to Transform the Region

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2016

Level State

State(s) All States

Source Northeast Energy Efficiency Partnerships

Policy Areas Data & Technology, Energy, Environment & Natural Resources, Housing

Home Energy Management Systems (HEMS) are hardware or software systems that can monitor and provide feedback about a home's energy usage and enable advanced control of energy-using systems in a home. HEMS, along with smart technology, present unique opportunities for energy conservation....

Smart Borders or a Humane World?

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2021

Level City or Town, State, National

State(s) All States

Source Immigrant Defense Project

Policy Areas Civil Rights, Public Safety, Data & Technology

Smart borders involve the expanded use of surveillance and monitoring technologies including cameras, drones, biometrics, and motion sensors to stop unwanted migration and track migrants. This report details some of the more prominent deployments of smart-border technologies. Beyond...

2020 Madison Ordinance 59300 Surveillance Technology

Type Ordinance

Year 2020

Level City or Town

State(s) Wisconsin

Source The Common Council of the City of Madison

Policy Areas Data & Technology

This ordinance requires all city agencies to provide notification to the Mayor and Common Council before obtaining or using new surveillance technology. It also requires them to provide an annual report on its use of surveillance technology to the Common Council and public. Exceptions...

Most State Unemployment Websites Fail Mobile and Accessibility Tests

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2020

Level State, National

State(s) All States

Source Information Technology & Innovation Foundation

Policy Areas Data & Technology

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, thousands of workers have applied for unemployment benefits online, only to be met with a crashed webpage. To better gauge the overall functionality of state unemployment websites, ITIF tested the page load speed, mobile-friendliness, and accessibility...

Online and Observed: Student Privacy Implications of School-Issued Devices and Student Activity Monitoring Software

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2021

Level School District

State(s) All States

Source Center for Democracy & Technology

Policy Areas Education, Data & Technology

During the COVID-19 pandemic, many school districts have introduced student activity monitoring software and other digital tools aimed at facilitating remote classroom management and driving student engagement. Though helpful, these tools can also be intrusive. This report examines...

2020 Madison Ordinance 62413 Banning Facial Recognition Technology

Type Ordinance

Year 2020

Level City or Town

State(s) Wisconsin

Source The Common Council of the City of Madison

Policy Areas Data & Technology

Face surveillance is an automated process that assists in identifying an individual based on their facial characteristics. This ordinance prohibits city agencies, departments, and divisions from possessing a face surveillance system or accessing information derived from a face surveillance...

Wilson Hits a Fiber-to-the-Home Run with Greenlight Municipal Broadband Network

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2020

Level City or Town

State(s) North Carolina

Source Institute for Local Self-Reliance

Policy Areas Community Development, Data & Technology

Due to monopoly control of broadband technology, millions of Americans do not have internet access because it is not available or affordable. To circumvent this problem, the city of Wilson began building a citywide Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) network called Greenlight in 2008, after...

Tracking Body Camera Implementation

Type Fact Sheet or Infographic

Year 2015

Level City or Town

State(s) All States

Source Campaign Zero

Policy Areas Public Safety, Data & Technology

Body cameras are rapidly becoming the norm in communities across the country. Campaign Zero reviewed available police department body camera policies from the largest 30 cities in America to determine whether this new technology is being implemented in ways that ensure accountability...

Artificial Intelligence and Copyright Survey

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2020

Level National

State(s) All States

Source Journal of Science Policy & Governance

Policy Areas Data & Technology

The rapid developments in Artificial Intelligence (AI) present a serious challenge to the American copyright system and future advancements in the AI industry. These industries rely on intellectual property protections to maintain equilibrium between productivity, remuneration, and...

No More Shackles: Ten Arguments Against Pretrial Electronic Monitoring

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2020

Level City or Town, County, State

State(s) All States

Source Media Justice

Policy Areas Data & Technology, Public Safety

This report outlines ten arguments against the use of pretrial electronic monitoring. It describes how monitoring restricts a person's ability to earn income; reduces access to legal resources and due process; limits participation in parenting and caregiving, increases the risk of...

The Data Transit Riders Want: A Shared Agenda for Public Agencies and Transit Application Developers

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2018

Level City or Town

State(s) All States

Source Transit Center

Policy Areas Transportation & Mobility, Data & Technology

High quality transit IT provides real-time displays schedules, route networks, vehicle locations, fare structures, and ridership patterns makes life easier for transit riders, public agencies, and application developers. Oftentimes, however, agencies release low-quality data that...

The Perpetual Line-Up: Unregulated Police Face Recognition in America

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2016

Level City or Town, State, National

State(s) All States

Source Center on Privacy & Technology

Policy Areas Civil Rights, Public Safety, Data & Technology

Face recognition is the automated process of comparing two images of faces to determine whether they represent the same individual. Across the country, law enforcement performs face identification to identify individuals who refuse to identify themselves, compare mugshots against...

COVID-19: Release People From Prisons and Jails Without Electronic Monitoring

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2020

Level City or Town, County, State

State(s) All States

Source Media Justice

Policy Areas Data & Technology, Public Safety

This brief outlines six arguments opposing electronic monitors for people released from prisons and jails during the pandemic. The use of electronic monitoring violates social distancing, increases costs, misdirects resources, impacts access to healthcare, increases barriers to movement,...

How Telecom Monopolies are Blocking Better Internet Access, and What We Can Do About It

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2021

Level City or Town, County, State

State(s) All States

Source Institute for Local Self-Reliance

Policy Areas Data & Technology

Monopoly control of broadband technology is leaving many Americans unable to access high-speed internet. In particular, the market power of the biggest cable companies allows them to lock customers into overpriced, underperforming Internet service contracts for which they don’t have...

Making Smart Decisions About Smart Cities

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2017

Level City or Town

State(s) California

Source American Civil Liberties Union of California

Policy Areas Finance & Procurement, Data & Technology

“Smart city” products are often touted as cost-efficient solutions to providing government services and addressing societal challenges, but in reality these technologies are no more intelligent than the data and algorithms behind them. Like other tools, their effectiveness depends...

How Local Providers Built the Nation’s Best Internet Access in Rural North Dakota

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2020

Level City or Town, State

State(s) North Dakota

Source Institute of Local Self-Reliance

Policy Areas Community Development, Data & Technology

Rural North Dakota has some of the greatest internet connectivity in the country. In fact, according to Federal Communications Commission (FCC) data, rural North Dakotans are more likely to have access to gigabit speeds and fiber broadband than the state’s urban residents—even more...

Algorithm-Driven Hiring Tools: Innovative Recruitment or Expedited Disability Discrimination

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2020

Level City or Town, State, National

State(s) All States

Source Center for Democracy & Technology

Policy Areas Civil Rights, Data & Technology

Employers use algorithm-driven hiring tools as a fast and efficient way to process job applications in large numbers. Job-seekers are increasingly asked to record videos (that employers mine for facial and vocal cues), complete online tests (that are used to evaluate their optimism...

How National Governments Can Help Smart Cities Succeed

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2017

Level City or Town, National

State(s) All States

Source Center for Data Innovation

Policy Areas Data & Technology

Smart cities are those that use sensors, data, and analytics to tackle important issues such as how to better manage sanitation systems, improve transportation networks, and deliver government services more efficiently. While city governments can and should manage most of their transformation...

2021 Madison Ordinance 67061 Common Council Meetings

Type Ordinance

Year 2021

Level City or Town

State(s) Wisconsin

Source The Common Council of the City of Madison

Policy Areas Democracy & Governance

This ordinance clarifies the process for designating a location and the means of conducting individual Common Council Meetings. Specifically, it allows for Common Council settings to be held in-person, over the phone, or online based upon a determination of the Mayor and Council President....

Guidelines for Respecting the Rights of Individuals on Electronic Monitors

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2019

Level City or Town, County, State

State(s) All States

Source Media Justice

Policy Areas Data & Technology, Public Safety

This brief establishes guidelines for the implementation of electronic monitoring. In order to respect the human rights of those being monitored, rules for electronic monitoring should be transparent and accommodate basic daily needs without imposing unnecessary restrictions; monitoring...

Developing Science and Technology Policy Fellowships in State Governments without Full-Time Legislatures

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2020

Level State

State(s) North Carolina, Virginia

Source Journal of Science Policy & Governance

Policy Areas Education, Data & Technology

Science and technology policy fellowships train scientists and engineers to use their expertise to advise government officials in technical matters to inform policymaking. Across the US, differences in legislative structures between states (e.g. legislative size, session duration,...

Technology

Assessing the Future of Our Work: Automation and the Role of Cities

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2018

Level City or Town

State(s) All States

Source National League of Cities

Policy Areas Data & Technology, Economic Justice

Large numbers of workers will be displaced by automation. To minimize the suffering associated with displacement, cities can equip workers with skill sets that will be in-demand in the future and enhance individuals' ability to work in jobs with low probabilities of being automated....

No More Shackles: Why We Must End the Use of Electronic Monitors for People on Parole

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2019

Level City or Town, County, State

State(s) All States

Source Media Justice

Policy Areas Data & Technology, Public Safety

This report calls for the elimination of the use of monitoring for individuals on parole. It argues that electronic monitoring is an extension of incarceration that is ineffective, expensive, and greatly limits the freedom and potential success of people on parole. Further, its expansion...

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