San Antonio committee tracks fast-moving Texas cyber command bill and flags annexation, zoning measures

City of San Antonio staff on Tuesday told the Intergovernmental Relations Committee they are monitoring a surge of bills in the 89th Texas Legislature and urged the council to watch a quickly moving proposal to establish a state "cyber command." Sally Basurto, director for government affairs, told the committee the bill would create a cyber command under the University of Texas system and include a threat intelligence center, an incident response unit, policy development, and workforce training.

"The cyber command bill dropped, last week on March 11, and it is moving, quickly," Basurto said, adding the initiative would "assume specific cybersecurity responsibilities currently managed by the Department of Information Resources." She said the city is coordinating with UTSA and other partners to support San Antonio's interests.

The briefing placed the cyber command proposal at the top of an extensive list of legislative items the city's Government Affairs team is tracking. Basurto said the team is reviewing several hundred bills and expects the tally of tracked measures affecting city operations to grow from roughly 1,000 to 1,400 as filings are analyzed and departmental impacts assessed.

Why it matters: The committee was told the cyber command would focus on critical infrastructure including energy, communications, healthcare and public-safety networks and could shift responsibilities and resources currently held at the state level.

Basurto also outlined bills…