Santa Cruz County in Northern California is one of the latest counties to adopt and implement blockchain-based solutions at the government level.
At the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors meeting on April 25, members unanimously decided to continue using the digital wallet for government services and official document purposes. According to the final consensus of the meeting, the white-label digital wallet powe red by Humbl will be piloted in three phases starting in July 2023. Beta testers during the pilot will be mobile users seeking access to government services such as bike registration and RV parking registration.
Other potential pilots include park facility registration, tracking of volunteer hours, distribution of off-site building permits and pet permits. Santa Cruz County Supervisor Zach Friend, who was involved in the matter, said: "We believe that digitizing the value of pa per - based documents, records, and services is an important step forward for the convenience of Santa Cruz County residents and increased equity and accessibility in our community."
Following a successful pilot, the county plans to provide a formal report and rollout plan no later than September 2023. The digital wallet project began to take shape in April 2022 after the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors worked with Humbl on the digital wallet tech noology infrastructure needed to begin the pilot program.
While local officials are moving forward with the digital wallet plan, an open discussion forum on the county's website revealed residents' concerns.
One commenter, Becky Seinbruner, called for a "suspend on further action and progress" on the development of the digital wallet. Seinbruner expressed concern about the "improper use and sale of personal data" by infrastructure provider Humbl. During the pilot, local officials will assess whether users trust the underlying technology and understand what's going on "behind the scenes," according to official documents.
