Cruz, who has worked for the state in several IT roles since 2004, will now become the CIO of San Joaquin County.

Gov. Gavin Newsom has proposed compensating Californians for their personal data, collected by firms like Google and Facebook, but the details remain fuzzy.

State, city and county agencies are catering to convenience by putting more of their services online, but often at a humble pace.

Critical work doesn't get done unless everyone pitches in and supports each other, said Carla Simmons, the CIO of the state's Office of Emergency Services.

The number of new applications and new devices coming into use means governments have to architect their networks for defense, San Francisco CIO Linda Gerull said.

The new governor said the state will solicit bids for firefighting technology using a process that gives vendors broad authority to define the solutions.

The Code California website will host open-source projects to allow agencies to collaborate and share custom-developed software powering the state government.

The funding will be used to expand The Last Mile's courses beyond California facilities and into the Midwest.

After the most destructive and deadly year for wildfires in recent memory, state officials will look to innovate ways to combat future blazes.