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Senate Bill Aims to Prohibit Using ARP Act Funds to Buy Chinese Equipment
Sens. Mark Warner, D-Va., and Tom Cotton, R-Ark., have introduced the American Telecommunications Security Act that would prohibit Federal funding from the American Rescue Plan Act from being used to purchase telecommunications equipment from Chinese companies seen as national security threats, including Huawei and ZTE.
Recent News
  1. NSF Adding 11 New AI Research Institutes
    A Government Accountability Office (GAO) report cites estimates from Department of Defense (DoD) officials that defense contractors have over $4 billion in paid leave costs that are potentially eligible for reimbursement under the CARES Act.
  2. Cyberattack Outlook Only Getting Worse, Virginia CISO Says
    There may be light at the end of the cyber-risk tunnel for state governments, but don’t look for it to appear soon. That was the sobering message from Commonwealth of Virginia CISO Mike Watson delivered on July 21 at FedInsider’s CyberThreats 2021 event.
  3. cybersecurity California Dept. of Tech Eliminates Security Service Fees for State Agencies
    As part of California’s FY 2021-2022 budget, the California Department of Technology (CDT) will no longer charge state agencies to provide IT security services.
  1. NASCIO, PTI Chiefs Detail Cyber, Funding, Tech Issues for SLGs
    Top executives of the National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO) and CompTIA’s Public Technology Institute (PTI) briefed state and local government officials on July 28 about the latest trends in security, funding, and technology.
  2. cybersecurity House Committee Approves K-12 Cyber, DHS Supply Chain Bills
    The House Committee on Homeland Security approved two cybersecurity-focused bills – the K-12 Cybersecurity Act and the DHS Software Supply Chain Risk Management Act of 2021 – during a markup on July 28. The two bills will now head to the full House for consideration.
  3. NASCIO Issues Primer to Advance Business Relationship Management Initiative
    The National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO) released a new primer to advance its business relationship management initiative. The Business Relationship Management and the New CIO Operating Model primer addresses how to develop mature vendor relationship management capabilities in state government.
  4. broadband California Governor Signs $6 Billion Broadband Bill
    California Governor Gavin Newsom signed legislation July 20 to help bridge the digital divide in the state by investing $6 billion in expanding broadband infrastructure and services for unserved and underserved communities.
  1. Beth Niblock Takes Over as HUD CIO
    The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development earlier this month appointed Beth Niblock as the agency’s new CIO, succeeding David Chow, who left the agency in January.
  2. Maryland Governor Announces Almost $30 Million in Broadband Awards
    The state of Maryland will award $29,472,131 in grant funding to expand broadband internet access for over 12,000 households in 18 counties, Gov. Larry Hogan announced.
  3. Report: Ransomware Attacks Against Education Sector Spiked in 2020
    A new report from Sophos found that ransomware attacks against the education sector hit an all-time high in 2020.
  4. Fort Worth School District Turns to Parents, Students to Develop Technology Plan
    Texas’ Fort Worth Independent School District (ISD) is seeking feedback from parents, students, and educators to help design the district’s Technology Plan.
  5. Houston Launches Cloud-Based 311 Platform to Improve Citizen Services
    The City of Houston announced the launch of its new 311 platform that will enable citizens to more easily access city information and report non-emergency issues.
  6. House Passes $500M State and Local Cybersecurity Improvement Act
    The House of Representatives on July 20 voted to approve the State and Local Cybersecurity Improvement Act as part of a slate of cyber bills that passed under suspension of normal rules. The bill would create a $500 million-per-year grant program run by the Department of Homeland Security to help state and local governments improve their cybersecurity.
  7. Bicameral Legislation Introduced to Extend Program to Close Homework Gap
    New bicameral legislation was introduced July 22 by various members of the House and Senate that would provide $40 billion over five years to extend the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) Emergency Connectivity Fund that was created under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021.
  8. Make Way for StateRAMP, Cloud Cyber Standards for SLGs
    With the increased adoption of cloud services by governments and organizations of all sizes, there’s a new kid on the block for the state and local government market that is looking for consistent approaches on cybersecurity standards from cloud providers that they want to do business with.
  9. Raleigh, N.C. On Route to Serve Constituents Better Online 
    After the COVID-19 pandemic led to an uptick in demand for digital services, the city of Raleigh, N.C. responded with a series of IT service management transformation steps to better meet the needs of its constituents.  Beth Stagner, the city’s Director of Enterprise Applications and Data, talked about the challenges and next steps in that transformation during a virtual webinar hosted by Government Technology on July 22.
  10. California State University Turning Tech Into Student Equity, Achievement
    The California State University (CSU) has launched the first phase of its California State University Connectivity Contributing to Equity and Student Success (CSUCCESS) initiative.