Department of State asks JBC to fund county security services after federal support dwindles

The Colorado Department of State asked the Joint Budget Committee on March 17 for emergent spending authority to replace federal services that appear likely to be cut, citing recent reductions in federal support for election infrastructure.

John Menino, chief of staff and strategy for the Department of State, told the committee that the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and other federal partners have signaled they may curtail or discontinue services that Colorado counties have relied on for physical security assessments and endpoint detection and response (EDR) cybersecurity services. "We have serious doubts that the service will remain available to the counties moving forward," Menino said.

The department asked the committee for $410,000 in FY2025-26, divided into $322,000 for contractor services to perform physical-security assessments for roughly 24 counties the state reviews in the current year, $23,000 for related travel and operating costs, and $65,000 for the IT division to provision an endpoint detection and response service for county election systems.

Menino said CISA previously funded and provided both types of services free to counties and noted recent federal layoffs and program cancellations affecting election security. "There is a great degree of uncertainty and unpredictability with what federal services will remain available to the state and to the counties moving forward," he said.

Committee members pressed the department on alternatives. Senator Kirkemeyer asked whether the payments would be contractors or FTEs; officials said contractor services would be faster to stand up for the current review cycle. Representative Taggart cautioned against committing state funds for programs that may be affected by federal policy changes elsewhere in the budget.

Department officials said the $322,000 assumes contractor services for performing detailed, on-site physical-security reviews (an 80-page checklist the department has used) and that EDR licensing for endpoints was a cost-effective cybersecurity control to prevent or detect intrusions.

The committee did not take an immediate vote on the spending authority request during the meeting; members asked staff to continue evaluating the risk and to consider whether the request should be funded from existing cash balances or as a supplemental appropriation. The department said counties could be impacted as soon as the next election cycle if federal assistance is withdrawn and urged quick action to avoid gaps in physical and cyber security coverage for elections.