1. DHS authorization passes Senate Committee On March 7, the Department of Homeland Security Authorization Act (H.R. 2825) passed the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee by 10-1; the measure has already passed the House. The bill would reauthorize DHS for the first time since its inception and "codify and authorize" roles and responsibilities for various components within DHS.
2. New name for NPPD The National Protection and Programs Directorate (NPPD) within DHS which includes the Office of Cybersecurity and Communications and the Office of Cyber and Infrastructure Analysis will go by a new name should H.R. 2825 be signed into law. H.R. 2825 would redesignate NPPD as the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency and task the agency with identifying and stopping cyber attacks made by international actors.
3. NTIA awards SLIGP 2.0 grants On March 1, NTIA announced the first award recipients of the State and Local Implementation Grant Program (SLIGP) 2.0 which will provide up to $43.4 million to states and territories to prepare for the FirstNet buildout. In the first round of 2.0 grant funding, twelve states (AK, GA, ID, IA, KS, KY, ME, MA, NE, NM, PA, TN) received grants ranging between $229,000-425,000. More info here.
4. NGA Winter Meeting tech discussion As part of the 2018 NGA Winter Meeting, NASCIO participated in an NGA Future roundtable event that discussed the role of governors and tech disruption. Governor Snyder (Mich.) participated in the discussion with academic and private sector partners which focused on opportunities and challenges faced by state government when embracing technological change. Read more here.
5. Past and future Capitol Hill hearings House Oversight hearings: On March 14, the House Oversight Committee held two hearings: one related to federal IT which focused on IT modernization, and another hearing on the federal regulatory process that focused on the burden of compliance for various types of entities (e.g. small businesses). Elections security hearing: The Senate Intelligence Committee will be holding a hearing on March 21 to discuss elections security. The hearing will likely focus on DHS engagement with states and how the agency is helping states secure elections infrastructure from cyber threats.
See full NASCIO Connections March edition here.