Bill to Move Cyber Maryland Workforce Program to Labor Advances After Committee Discussion

The House Health and Government Operations Committee heard testimony on House Bill 1468 on March 3, 2025, a measure that would transfer the Cyber Maryland program and the Cyber Maryland Fund from TEDCO (Maryland Technology Development Corporation) to the Maryland Department of Labor and make changes to how program awards and fund purposes are defined.

Delegate Kathy Forbes, sponsor of the bill, told the committee the bill responds to studies that found a gap between available cyber jobs in Maryland and the qualified workforce. "We don't have people that are properly trained to take the jobs that are available," Forbes said, citing a study that found roughly 6,500 unfilled cybersecurity positions in the state. She said moving the program into Labor will allow the state to leverage workforce infrastructure—apprenticeship grants, higher education partnerships and training clinics—to execute the strategy recommended in the Cyber Maryland reports.

Maryland Secretary of Labor Portia Wu testified in support with amendments, calling the transfer consistent with a move from analysis to execution. "Moving this to labor at this time will enable us to leverage our existing expertise and infrastructure to bring this workforce strategy plan to life," she said, while noting the department asked for flexibility in funding language to reflect fiscal uncertainty.

TEDCO CEO Troy Lommel Stovall, who earlier helped incubate Cyber Maryland, also urged the committee to approve the transfer and the concept of the program's next phase. "Sometimes along the entrepreneurial journey, the founder of something has to realize that they're not the one to take it to its natural conclusion," he said.

Committee members pressed officials on why Labor was selected rather than DoIT or TEDCO. Speakers stressed the program is now in an implementation stage focused on workforce development rather than grant-funded research. In response to questions about the fiscal note and the proposed funding level shown in the budget, Secretary Wu confirmed the governor had proposed funding for the initiative in the executive budget, and the bill's sponsors said they are proposing an amendment to require outcome reporting and an assessment of existing programs before sweeping other funds into Cyber Maryland.

The bill drew questions about the proposed uses of the Cyber Maryland Fund and about potential program consolidation across multiple small workforce initiatives. Supporters said the bill clarifies and focuses how the state's resources would be used and is intentionally limited to training and pipeline-building activities designed to meet employer needs in Maryland's cyber cluster.

The committee concluded the hearing with a request for technical amendments; the bill's sponsors said they were working with Labor and stakeholder groups on language to address fiscal clarity and to preserve guardrails around existing programs.

If enacted, HB 1468 would change governance of a program established by the General Assembly in 2023 and would move responsibility for awarding funds and coordinating program execution to the Department of Labor, accompanied by reporting requirements to the legislature.

Notes: The hearing included questions about whether program funds had been included in the governor's proposed budget. Secretary Wu confirmed proposed funding appeared in the fiscal packets.