Here’s six new ways California is modernizing state government

What you need to know: California is making the state government more efficient, effective, and engaged - with new programs, services, and strategies to better serve Californians. Learn more at results.ca.gov.

SACRAMENTO - Delivering on Governor Newsom's strategies to make California government more efficient, engaged, and effective, California agencies continue to announce new initiatives, programs and improvements that are delivering real results and making Californians' lives better. Today, California is highlighting recent work including: fighting tax fraud, protecting Californian's identities, building data tools to improve water monitoring, and making college more affordable while also protecting college students.

The Golden State doesn't just lead, we set the pace for the nation by embracing innovation, strategically deploying technology, and delivering real results. From using smarter data to strengthen programs to eliminating lines and cutting wait times at the DMV, we're proving that our state government can be faster, more efficient, and more responsive, designed to work better for you.

Governor Gavin Newsom

#1 - Reducing wait times and lines at the DMV

California is rolling out new digital tools at the DMV to streamline the customer experience. This Virtual Intake Process (VIP) is designed to reduce customer wait times, minimize congestion inside offices and ensure consistent service delivery statewide. This new feature is an addition to the online self-check-in option the DMV launched in 2021, which has reduced wait times and raised customer satisfaction from 2.5/5 in 2018 to 4.1/5 by 2025.

#2 - Stopping tax fraud with state-the-art technology

The Franchise Tax Board (FTB) has stopped over $6 billion in tax fraud in the last 8 years. Their improved threat detection catches improper refunds before they're issued. In 2024-25 alone, FTB thwarted $579 million in improper refunds. They're also helping taxpayers avoid being scammed. Guides on FTB's website help taxpayers identify scams, protect their information, and file securely. FTB's fraud prevention and detection team is responsible for identifying and preventing fraud involving improper claims for refundable credits, erroneous refundable payments, and tax-related identity theft.

#3 - Creating more efficient water monitoring tools

The California Office of Data and Innovation (ODI) built an open-source tool to help the Department of Water Resources catch and fix errors in environmental monitoring data such as faulty water temperature or snow depth readings from remote sensors. The tool uses statistical tests and machine learning to quickly flag bad data, saving hundreds of hours of staff time across 21 units within the department. The result is cleaner, more reliable data that benefits 27 million people and 750,000 acres of farmland, and supports critical decisions around flood management and water quality. Over 2 million people query the connected California Data Exchange Center during flood season alone. The whole project was completed in just 6 months.

#4 - Connecting students with unclaimed scholarships

CalKIDS is a statewide automatic scholarship program. Over 40,000 community college students were missing out on this money. California built a report to find people who hadn't claimed their scholarship. Community colleges are now reaching out to these students. Collectively, they're eligible for $20 million in scholarships. It's thanks to a partnership between the ScholarShare Investment Board, California Community Colleges Chancellor's Office, and the California Cradle-to-Career Data System.

#5 - Making private higher-ed data more transparent to protect students

ODI and the Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education (BPPE) built a tool to analyze private college and trade school data more efficiently. It finds and ranks risk factors so BPPE can monitor institutions as data comes in. The tool processed over 7,500 reports in 80 seconds in one data set, saving immeasurable staff time. They can focus on enforcement instead of manually processing data. This helps BPPE protect students from fraudulent institutional practices.

#6 - Shielding Californians from identity theft

The DMV is using the latest digital technology to fight identity fraud. They now issue drivers licenses and IDs with barcodes to prevent fraud. Businesses can use card readers to easily confirm if they're authentic. This stops identity theft and guards Californians' personal info. It is one of many tools that help the Golden State fight fraud.

Leading in government efficiency

Governor Newsom has made efficiency and improving state services a top priority since the start of his Administration. In 2019, the Governor established ODI, a group of technology experts dedicated to supporting other state agencies, departments, and employees to utilize data, technology, and principles of human-centered design common in the private sector to improve the delivery of services to Californians.

Prioritizing efficiency and innovation - with appropriate safeguards protecting privacy, safety, and civil liberties - Governor Newsom has:

• Overhauled and modernized the Department of Motor Vehicles to reduce wait times, expand online services, and improve customer service.

• Implemented new cutting-edge technologies to fight wildfires, including cameras across the state and data modeling to predict where wildfires might occur, deployment of drones, and improved incident reporting.

• Streamlined the state hiring process and made applying for and moving between state jobs easier.

• Issued an executive order directing state agencies to implement GenAI into state government operations and help support the work of front-line employees and an executive order to drive further efficiencies across the government.

• Convened the California Breakthrough Group, a preeminent group of technology and corporate executives to present new solutions to help advance efficiency and stronger services in state government.

• Expedited the procurement process through an innovative Request for Innovative Ideas (RFI2), which allows state agencies to quickly test technology through safe and secure environments. Through this expedited process, California has already announced three important contracts, using GenAI to reduce highway congestion, improve traffic safety, and enhance customer service.

• Launched a new Emerging Tech Accelerator within the Government Operations Agency, creating formal partnerships between the state and Stanford Institute for Human-Centered AI, UC Berkeley, the Mozilla Foundation, the Tech Talent Project, US Digital Response, and Nava Labs to collaboratively design, develop, and deploy products that modernize government service delivery.