Committee approves requirement that municipalities develop cybersecurity plans

Members of the Government and Regulatory Reform committee voted to approve an amended bill that requires municipalities to develop cybersecurity plans meeting state-set parameters and to provide information about those plans to the state.

Supporters said the measure addresses gaps in local preparedness. Senator Representative Lehman, the bill sponsor on the record, said the intent is to ensure every public entity has a plan and to offer state guidance: "This bill says you gotta have a key and and we're gonna give you some parameters, and we'll help you with guidelines on how to build that key. So we're here more as a resource," Lehman said during committee discussion.

Opponents and outside parties raised concerns about centralizing sensitive information. One speaker used an extended analogy about keys and offices, saying that requiring all entities to give the state a copy of their “key” could create a single point of failure if those records were compromised. The transcript records that the utilities told the committee some of the information is already covered under agreements with municipalities.

Committee members had no further amendments after discussion. The motion to approve the amended bill passed on a roll call; the chair recorded 12 affirmative votes.

The committee did not record any statute or ordinance citations during the discussion, nor did the transcript specify the exact text of the motion beyond approving the amended bill. The record shows the committee accepted an amendment by consent earlier in the hearing and then called the roll before approving the measure.

The committee adjourned after completing its remaining business.