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California's latest efficiency wins include access to life-saving heat tools, smarter and faster hiring efforts, and simplified business tax filing

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Aug 12, 2026

California's latest efficiency wins include access to life-saving heat tools, smarter and faster hiring efforts, and simplified business tax filing

What you need to know: Following Governor Newsom's 2025 executive order, state government is becoming more efficient, effective, and engaged with new programs, services, and strategies to better serve Californians. Learn more at results.ca.gov.

SACRAMENTO – California continues to show that efficiencies in government do not rely on slash and burn tactics. Instead, real effectiveness is being driven by subject matter experts within state agencies and departments to deliver innovative tools to create a more efficient, engaged, and effective government.

In July 2025, Governor Gavin Newsom signed an executive order directing every state agency to engage the entire state workforce in efforts to identify and implement novel efficiency measures. The latest efficiencies span from technology to hiring to health and safety.

"Government should work for the people, and that means making it more efficient, more effective, and more engaged. We're not just changing the way government operates — we're changing the way Californians experience their government, with better services, more innovation, and more voice. After one year, we're seeing that when we focus on outcomes and results, government can deliver for the people it serves."

Governor Gavin Newsom

GenAI tools for state employees

The Governor announced a first-of-its-kind partnership between the state and Anthropic, making Claude the first AI productivity tool available to all state employees. Under the agreement, agencies and departments can access Claude at a 50% discounted price, bundled with free workforce training and expert technical assistance.

Several agencies are already putting Claude to work including:
  • The Department of Motor Vehicles is using it to improve customer service and lower wait times.
  • The Department of Health Care Services is using it for internal workflows to better assist Medicaid recipients.
  • CDT and CalOES are partnering to use Claude for cyber defense — including scanning, triaging, and patching state code.

Continuing to simplify hiring

The California Department of Human Resources (CalHR) has completed a first-ever hiring pilot. "Pooled hiring" consolidates multiple vacancies across departments into one single job posting. The pilot involved four agencies: the California Department of Public Health (CDPH), California Correctional Training and Rehabilitation Authority (CalCTRA), the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR), and the California Department of Tax and Fee Association (CDTFA). By standardizing screening and coordinating interviews across departments, the model shows efficiency, resulting in 75% less time screening and interviewing candidates.

Building on the pilot's success, CDTFA became the first agency to independently adopt the model, launching its "NextGen Program" to bring college students into state service. CalHR plans to publish a statewide pooled hiring playbook with standardized templates and best practices so other departments can replicate the model.

Making tax filing easier for small businesses

The California Department of Tax and Fee Administration (CDTFA) released two new tools to streamline the process for small businesses to file their taxes.

Quick File lets businesses file their annual sales tax returns in less than two minutes. It takes just five questions for businesses to find out if they're eligible to use Quick File.
  • 15,000 taxpayers used Quick File during the first peak return filing period, with positive feedback
  • Users have reported 70% faster filing
  • 900 hours saved on filing sales tax returns by this initial population.

The Return Filing Tool guides businesses through each step of filing. Its straight-forward questions help businesses file accurately.
  • 600+ customers filed using this new question-based filing tool within the first two months.

These tools are part of CDTFA's commitment to help small businesses in California succeed. And the department is working to expand the process so more taxpayers can qualify.

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Making extreme heat decision-making information accessible to all

As the West continues to be impacted by record-setting heat domes and heat waves, there's a better way to prepare for and stay safe in extreme heat. CalHeatScore helps Californians stay informed, ready, and safe when temperatures rise. This tool translates temperatures into risk, helping agencies and community-based organizations implement actions to keep their communities safe in extreme heat. Thanks to an application programming interface (API), anyone, anywhere can now access this lifesaving information. This API can integrate CalHeatScore data easily into things like:
  • Apps
  • Community alerts
  • Emergency response planning
  • Newscasts

During the World Cup the California Department of Public Health used the API to keep attendees, workers, and communities safe. The California Office of Emergency Services now has live CalHeatScore data in its statewide dashboard.

Information about all these efforts, along with 26 more, can be found at Results.ca.gov.

Leading in government efficiency

Governor Newsom has made efficiency and innovation — with appropriate safeguards protecting privacy, safety, and civil liberties — a top priority since the start of his administration. Governor Newsom has:
  • Established the Office of Data Innovation, 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.
  • 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 improve incident reporting, and to predict where wildfires might occur and where drones should be deployed.
  • Issued executive orders in 2023 and 2026 directing state agencies to responsibly implement Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) into state government operations and help support the work of front-line employees, with the appropriate privacy, security, and civil liberties guardrails.
  • Developed a new AI tool, "Poppy," specifically tailored for government use.
  • Launched the Emerging Technology Accelerator, leveraging pro bono technical expertise from UC Berkeley, Stanford Institute for Human-Centered AI, Mozilla Foundation, Nava Labs, Tech Talent Project, and US Digital Response to modernize government service delivery.
  • Launched the Breakthrough Project with industry executives to support efficiency initiatives. The Breakthrough Project has helped save $12 million through pooled IT contracts, digitized 40,000 water rights records, expanded access to the Golden Bear Pass Program, and saved hundreds of thousands of dollars by digitizing outdated printing processes.
  • 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 that use GenAI to reduce highway congestion, improve traffic safety, and enhance customer service.

Improving government services through engagement

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Last year, Governor Newsom launched Engaged California, the first-of-its-kind digital platform that offers a virtual town hall setting to empower Californians to engage and share insights about a particular topic. The pilot project involved people impacted by the Los Angeles wildfires. They aligned on a rebuilding and recovery process through a six-month conversation with 2,500 comments from Californians. The tool was also used to solicit input on efficiency ideas from state government employees. Currently, the platform seeks to give Californians a stronger voice in AI policy and assess its impact on the state's economy and workers. This is the first statewide use of the tool, open to every resident.

Economy (https://www.gov.ca.gov/category/content-types/economy/), Proclamations (https://www.gov.ca.gov/category/proclamations/), Recent news (https://www.gov.ca.gov/category/recent-news/)

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