HouseH.R. 8926119th Congress
State and Local Public Sector Innovation Act
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[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8926 Introduced in House (IH)]
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119th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 8926
To direct the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and
Information to establish a grant program to modernize the technology of
State and local governments, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
May 20, 2026
Mrs. Foushee introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Energy and Commerce
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To direct the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and
Information to establish a grant program to modernize the technology of
State and local governments, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``State and Local Public Sector
Innovation Act''.
SEC. 2. STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT TECHNOLOGY MODERNIZATION GRANT
PROGRAM.
(a) Establishment.--Not later than 1 year after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Assistant Secretary shall establish a grant
program to modernize the technology utilized by State and local
governments in order to improve the security and efficacy of public
services.
(b) Grant Authority.--Each fiscal year, the Assistant Secretary
shall distribute among the States the total amount made available for
grants under the Program with respect to such fiscal year in the
following manner:
(1) 50 percent of such total amount shall be distributed in
a manner that provides to each State the portion of such 50
percent amount that bears the same ratio to such 50 percent
amount as the ratio that--
(A) the population of such State; bears to
(B) the total population of all States.
(2) 50 percent of such total amount shall be distributed
among the States according to the needs of each State with
respect to modernizing the technology of government entities in
such State, as determined by the Assistant Secretary in
accordance with subsection (e)(1).
(c) Recipients of Grant Funds.--Each grant made to a State under
the Program shall be provided to the State technology department of
such State for use in accordance with subsection (d).
(d) Grant Uses.--
(1) In general.--A State technology department that
receives grant funds under the Program may use such grant funds
to assist any government entity of such State, or any
government entity of a political subdivision of such State, to
modernize the technology utilized by such government entity in
order to improve the security and efficacy of public services,
including through any of the following actions:
(A) Purchasing or updating technology and related
infrastructure, including technology and infrastructure
related to artificial intelligence.
(B) Conducting testing to determine needs with
respect to technology modernization.
(C) Updating permitting processes as necessary to
facilitate technology modernization.
(D) Establishing or upgrading cybersecurity systems
and processes.
(E) Hiring and maintaining staff as necessary to
support technology modernization.
(F) Training staff as necessary to support
technology modernization.
(G) Transitioning technology to meet standards with
respect to post-quantum cryptography.
(H) Complying with the covered mandates.
(2) Local focus.--The Assistant Secretary shall require, as
a condition of a grant under the Program, that at least 70
percent of the amount provided for a State under such grant be
provided directly to political subdivisions of such State for
use in accordance with paragraph (1).
(3) Set aside for covered mandates.--If the Assistant
Secretary determines pursuant to subsection (e)(2) that a State
is not complying with the covered mandates, the Assistant
Secretary may require, as a condition of a grant under the
Program, that such State set aside up to 15 percent of the
amount provided under such grant for actions necessary to
comply with the covered mandates.
(e) Survey.--
(1) Need determinations.--To determine the relative needs
of States for purposes of subsection (b)(2), the Assistant
Secretary shall complete, not later than 1 year after the date
of the enactment of this Act, a survey to collect from the
State technology department of each State information with
respect to--
(A) the technology utilized and data stored by
government entities in such State;
(B) the modernization readiness, interoperability,
and regulatory compliance, with respect to technology,
of government entities in such State; and
(C) any technology modernization planning of such
State.
(2) Covered mandates determination.--For purposes of
subsection (d)(3), the Assistant Secretary shall collect from
each State, though the survey completed under paragraph (1) of
this subsection, information necessary to determine whether
such State is complying with the covered mandates.
(f) Technical Assistance.--The Assistant Secretary shall make
available to government entities assisted with grant funds under the
Program technical assistance, including technical assistance with
respect to--
(1) data security best practices;
(2) privacy best practices;
(3) cyber threat monitoring and awareness; and
(4) compliance with the covered mandates, including related
best practices and timelines.
(g) Guidance.--The Assistant Secretary shall publish guidance with
respect to the Program, including guidance--
(1) on the use of grant funds made available under the
Program;
(2) for utilizing consensus-based technical standards in
carrying out the Program; and
(3) to ensure that any artificial intelligence system of a
government entity assisted with grant funds made available
under the Program, if used for an interaction with a member of
the public, includes a notification that artificial
intelligence is being used.
(h) Consultation.--In carrying out the Program, the Assistant
Secretary shall consult with representatives of the following:
(1) Academia.
(2) Scientific societies.
(3) Industry.
(4) Civil society organizations.
(5) State and local government information technology
experts.
(6) Other stakeholder groups the Assistant Secretary
determines appropriate.
(i) Briefing.--Not later than 4 years after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Assistant Secretary shall provide to the
appropriate congressional committees a briefing on the Program, which
shall include--
(1) data on the impact of the Program on State and local
government technology;
(2) a description of any obstacles encountered in
implementing the Program and how such obstacles were addressed;
(3) recommendations on any additional resources necessary
to support the Program; and
(4) an analysis of whether the Program should be authorized
for additional fiscal years.
(j) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be
appropriated to carry out the Program $500,000,000 for each of fiscal
years 2027 through 2030.
(k) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term
``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
(A) in the House of Representatives--
(i) the Committee on Energy and Commerce;
and
(ii) the Committee on Science, Space, and
Technology; and
(B) in the Senate, the Committee on Commerce,
Science, and Transportation.
(2) Artificial intelligence.--The term ``artificial
intelligence'' has the meaning given such term in section 5002
of the National Artificial Intelligence Initiative Act of 2020
(15 U.S.C. 9401).
(3) Assistant secretary.--The term ``Assistant Secretary''
means the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications
and Information.
(4) Covered mandates.--The term ``covered mandates'' means,
with respect to a State, that such State, as determined by the
Assistant Secretary--
(A) has a Chief Data Officer or an individual
serving in a substantially similar position;
(B) has, and is implementing, a data privacy,
inventory and classification system;
(C) has, and is implementing, data life-cycle
policies; and
(D) is complying with the most recent cybersecurity
and risk management frameworks of the National
Institute of Standards and Technology of the Department
of Commerce.
(5) Post-quantum cryptography.--The term ``post-quantum
cryptography'' means cryptographic algorithms and methods that
are assessed not to be specifically vulnerable to attack by a
quantum, or classical, computer.
(6) Program.--The term ``Program'' means the grant program
established under subsection (a).
(7) State.--The term ``State'' means each of the several
States, the District of Columbia, each territory or possession
of the United States, and each federally recognized Indian
Tribe.
(8) State technology department.--The term ``State
technology department'' means the department or agency of a
State that the Governor or chief executive of such State
designates, for purposes of the Program, as the primary
department or agency of such State with respect to technology
provision and services.
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