I 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1344 

To provide grants to assist States in developing and implementing plans 

to address cybersecurity threats or vulnerabilities, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 2, 2017 

Mr. KILMER (for himself and Mrs. COMSTOCK) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Homeland Security, and in addition to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, for a period 

to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee 

concerned 

A BILL 

To provide grants to assist States in developing and implementing plans to address cybersecurity threats or 

vulnerabilities, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘State Cyber Resiliency 

5 Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF CYBER RESILIENCY GRANT 

2 PROGRAM. 

3 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established the State 

4 Cyber Resiliency Grant Program to assist State, local, and 

5 tribal governments in preventing, preparing for, protecting 

6 against, and responding to cyber threats, which shall be 

7 administered by the Administrator of the Federal Emer8 gency Management Agency. 

9 (b) ELIGIBILITY.—Each State shall be eligible to 

10 apply for grants under the Program. 

11 (c) GRANTS AUTHORIZED FOR EACH STATE.—Sub12 ject to the funds available under a funding allocation de13 termined under subsection (f) for a State, the Secretary 

14 of Homeland Security may award to the State— 

15 (1) up to 2 planning grants under subsection 

16 (e) to develop or revise a cyber resiliency plan; and 

17 (2) up to 2 implementation grants under sub18 section (f) to implement an active cyber resiliency 

19 plan. 

20 (d) APPROVAL OF CYBER RESILIENCY PLANS.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall approve 

22 a cyber resiliency plan submitted by a State if the 

23 Secretary determines, after considering the rec24 ommendations of the Review Committee established 

25 under subsection (i), that the plan meets all of the 

26 following criteria: 


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1 (A) The plan incorporates, to the extent 

2 practicable, any existing plans of such State to 

3 protect against cybersecurity threats or 

4 vulnerabilities. 

5 (B) The plan is designed to achieve each of 

6 the following objectives, with respect to the es7 sential functions of such State: 

8 (i) Enhancing the preparation, re9 sponse, and resiliency of computer net10 works, industrial control systems, and com11 munications systems performing such func12 tions against cybersecurity threats or 

13 vulnerabilities. 

14 (ii) Implementing a process of contin15 uous cybersecurity vulnerability assess16 ments and threat mitigation practices to 

17 prevent the disruption of such functions by 

18 an incident within the State. 

19 (iii) Ensuring that entities performing 

20 such functions within the State adopt gen21 erally recognized best practices and meth22 odologies with respect to cybersecurity, 

23 such as the practices provided in the cyber24 security framework developed by the NaVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:24 Mar 08, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1344.IH H1344

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1 tional Institute of Standards and Tech2 nology. 

3 (iv) Mitigating talent gaps in the 

4 State government cybersecurity workforce, 

5 enhancing recruitment and retention ef6 forts for such workforce, and bolstering the 

7 knowledge, skills, and abilities of State 

8 government personnel to protect against 

9 cybersecurity threats and vulnerabilities. 

10 (v) Protecting public safety answering 

11 points and other emergency communica12 tions and data networks from cybersecurity 

13 threats or vulnerabilities. 

14 (vi) Ensuring continuity of commu15 nications and data networks between enti16 ties performing such functions within the 

17 State, in the event of a catastrophic dis18 ruption of such communications or net19 works. 

20 (vii) Accounting for and mitigating, to 

21 the greatest degree possible, cybersecurity 

22 threats or vulnerabilities related to critical 

23 infrastructure or key resources, the deg24 radation of which may impact the performVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:24 Mar 08, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1344.IH H1344

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1 ance of such functions within the State or 

2 threaten public safety. 

3 (viii) Providing appropriate commu4 nications capabilities to ensure cybersecu5 rity intelligence information-sharing and 

6 the command and coordination capabilities 

7 among entities performing such functions. 

8 (ix) Developing and coordinating 

9 strategies with respect to cybersecurity 

10 threats or vulnerabilities in consultation 

11 with— 

12 (I) neighboring States or mem13 bers of an information sharing and 

14 analysis organization; and 

15 (II) as applicable, neighboring 

16 countries. 

17 (2) DURATION OF APPROVAL.— 

18 (A) INITIAL DURATION.—An approval 

19 under paragraph (1) shall be initially effective 

20 for the two-year period beginning on the date of 

21 the determination described in such paragraph. 

22 (B) ANNUAL EXTENSION.—The Secretary 

23 may annually extend such approval for a one24 year period, if the Secretary determines, after 

25 considering the recommendations of the Review 


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1 Committee, that the plan continues to meet the 

2 criteria described in paragraph (1) after the 

3 State makes such revisions as the Secretary 

4 may determine to be necessary. 

5 (3) ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS.—For purposes of 

6 this subsection, the term ‘‘essential functions’’ in7 cludes, with respect to a State, those functions that 

8 enhance the cybersecurity posture of the State, local 

9 and tribal governments of the State, and the public 

10 services they provide. 

11 (e) PLANNING GRANTS.— 

12 (1) INITIAL PLANNING GRANT.—The Secretary 

13 shall require, as a condition of awarding an initial 

14 planning grant, that the State seeking the grant— 

15 (A) agrees to use the funds to develop a 

16 cyber resiliency plan designed to meet the cri17 teria described in subsection (d)(1); and 

18 (B) submits an application including such 

19 information as the Secretary may determine to 

20 be necessary. 

21 (2) ELIGIBILITY FOR INITIAL PLANNING

22 GRANT.—A State shall not be eligible to receive an 

23 initial planning grant after the date on which the 

24 State first submits a cyber resiliency plan to the 


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1 Secretary for a determination under subsection 

2 (d)(1). 

3 (3) ADDITIONAL PLANNING GRANT.—The Sec4 retary may award an additional planning grant to a 

5 State if the State agrees to use the funds to revise 

6 a cyber resiliency plan in order to receive an exten7 sion in accordance with subsection (d)(2)(B), and 

8 submits an application including such information as 

9 the Secretary may determine to be necessary. 

10 (4) LIMITATIONS ON NUMBER AND TIMING OF

11 GRANTS.—A State shall not be eligible to receive— 

12 (A) more than 2 planning grants under 

13 this subsection; or 

14 (B) an additional planning grant for the 

15 fiscal year following the fiscal year for which it 

16 receives an initial planning grant. 

17 (f) IMPLEMENTATION GRANTS.— 

18 (1) APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS.—The Sec19 retary shall require, as a condition of awarding a bi20 ennial implementation grant, that the State seeking 

21 the grant submits an application including the fol22 lowing: 

23 (A) A proposal, including a description and 

24 timeline, of the activities to be funded by the 


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1 grant as described by a cyber resiliency plan of 

2 the State approved under subsection (d). 

3 (B) A description of how each activity pro4 posed to be funded by the grant would achieve 

5 one or more of the objectives described in sub6 section (d)(1)(B). 

7 (C) A description, if applicable, of how any 

8 prior biennial implementation grant awarded 

9 under this section was spent, and to what ex10 tent the criteria described in subsection (d)(1) 

11 were met. 

12 (D) The share of any amounts awarded as 

13 a biennial implementation grant proposed to be 

14 distributed to local or tribal governments within 

15 such State. 

16 (E) Such other information as the Sec17 retary may determine to be necessary in con18 sultation with the chief information officer, 

19 emergency managers, and senior public safety 

20 officials of the State. 

21 (2) APPROVAL OF APPLICATION.—The Sec22 retary shall consider the recommendations of the Re23 view Committee in approving or disapproving an ap24 plication for a biennial implementation grant. 


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1 (3) DISTRIBUTION TO LOCAL AND TRIBAL GOV2 ERNMENTS.— 

3 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 45 days 

4 after the date that a biennial implementation 

5 grant is awarded, not less than 50 percent of 

6 any share proposed under paragraph (1)(D) 

7 shall be distributed to local or tribal govern8 ments, in the same manner that amounts 

9 awarded under section 2004 of the Homeland 

10 Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 605) are dis11 tributed to such governments, except that— 

12 (i) no such distribution may be made 

13 to a federally recognized Indian tribe that 

14 is a State under subsection (k)(11)(B); 

15 and 

16 (ii) in applying section 2004(c)(1) of 

17 such Act with respect to distributions 

18 under this subparagraph, ‘‘100 percent’’ 

19 shall be substituted for ‘‘80 percent’’ each 

20 place that term appears. 

21 (B) CONSULTATION.—In determining how 

22 an implementation grant is distributed within a 

23 State, the State shall consult with the local and 

24 regional chief information officer, emergency 


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1 managers, and senior public safety officials of 

2 the State. 

3 (4) COMPETITIVE AWARD.—Except as provided 

4 in subsection (h), biennial implementation grants 

5 shall be awarded— 

6 (A) exclusively on a competitive basis; and 

7 (B) based on the recommendations of the 

8 Review Committee. 

9 (5) LIMITATION ON NUMBER OF GRANTS.—The 

10 Secretary may award to a State not more than 2 bi11 ennial implementation grants under this section. 

12 (g) USE OF GRANT FUNDS.— 

13 (1) LIMITATIONS.—Any grant awarded under 

14 this section shall supplement and not supplant State 

15 or local funds or, as applicable, funds supplied by 

16 the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and may not be 

17 used— 

18 (A) to provide any Federal cost-sharing 

19 contribution on behalf of a State; or 

20 (B) for any recreational or social purpose. 

21 (2) APPROVED ACTIVITIES FOR IMPLEMENTA22 TION GRANTS.—A State or a government entity that 

23 receives funds through a biennial implementation 

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1 lowing activities, to the extent that such activities 

2 are proposed under subsection (f)(1)(A): 

3 (A) Supporting or enhancing information 

4 sharing and analysis organizations. 

5 (B) Implementing or coordinating systems 

6 and services that use cyber threat indicators (as 

7 such term is defined in section 102 of the Cy8 bersecurity Information Sharing Act of 2015 (6 

9 U.S.C. 1501)) to address cybersecurity threats 

10 or vulnerabilities. 

11 (C) Supporting dedicated cybersecurity 

12 and communications coordination planning, in13 cluding the coordination of— 

14 (i) emergency management elements 

15 of such State; 

16 (ii) National Guard units, as appro17 priate; 

18 (iii) entities associated with critical in19 frastructure or key resources; 

20 (iv) information sharing and analysis 

21 organizations; 

22 (v) public safety answering points; or 

23 (vi) nongovernmental organizations 

24 engaged in cybersecurity research as a forVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:24 Mar 08, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1344.IH H1344

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1 mally designated information analysis and 

2 sharing organization. 

3 (D) Establishing programs, such as schol4 arships or apprenticeships, to provide financial 

5 assistance to State residents who— 

6 (i) pursue formal education, training, 

7 and industry-recognized certifications for 

8 careers in cybersecurity as identified by the 

9 National Initiative for Cybersecurity Edu10 cation; and 

11 (ii) commit to working for State gov12 ernment for a specified period of time. 

13 (h) FUNDING ALLOCATIONS.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—From any amount appro15 priated for a fiscal year that is not reserved for use 

16 by the Secretary in carrying out this section, the 

17 Secretary shall allocate the entire amount among the 

18 States (including the District of Columbia) eligible 

19 for grants under this section taking into consider20 ation the factors specified in paragraph (2) and con21 sistent with the following: 

22 (A) ALLOCATIONS FOR THE SEVERAL

23 STATES.—Of the amount subject to allocation, 

24 a funding allocation for any of such States shall 

25 be— 


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1 (i) not less than 0.001 percent, with 

2 respect to an initial planning grant, and 

3 not more than 0.001 percent, with respect 

4 to any additional planning grants; and 

5 (ii) not less than 0.5 percent and not 

6 more than 3 percent, with respect to bien7 nial implementation grants. 

8 (B) ALLOCATIONS FOR THE TERRITORIES

9 AND POSSESSIONS.—Of the amount subject to 

10 allocation, a funding allocation for any of the 

11 territories and possessions of the United States 

12 eligible for grants under this section shall be— 

13 (i) not less than 0.001 percent, with 

14 respect to an initial planning grant, and 

15 not more than 0.001 percent, with respect 

16 to any additional planning grant; and 

17 (ii) not less than 0.1 percent and not 

18 more than 1 percent, with respect to bien19 nial implementation grants. 

20 (2) CONSIDERATIONS FOR FUNDING ALLOCA21 TIONS.—In determining a funding allocation under 

22 paragraph (1) for a State, the Secretary shall con23 sider each of the following factors: 

24 (A) The considerations described in section 

25 1809(h)(1) of the Homeland Security Act of 


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1 2002 (6 U.S.C. 579(h)(1)) with respect to the 

2 State, and the degree of exposure of the State 

3 and protected government entities within the 

4 State to threats, vulnerabilities, or consequences 

5 resulting from cybersecurity risks or incidents. 

6 (B) The degree of exposure of the State 

7 and protected government entities within the 

8 State to threats, vulnerabilities, or consequences 

9 resulting from cybersecurity risks or incidents. 

10 (C) The effectiveness of, relative to evolv11 ing cyber threats against, cybersecurity assets, 

12 secure communications capabilities, and data 

13 network protections, of the State and its part14 ners. 

15 (D) The extent to which the State is vul16 nerable to cyber threats because it has not im17 plemented best practices such as the cybersecu18 rity framework developed by the National Insti19 tute of Standards and Technology. 

20 (E) The extent to which a State govern21 ment may face low cybersecurity workforce sup22 ply and high cybersecurity workforce demand, 

23 as identified by the National Institute of Stand24 ards and Technology. 


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1 (i) REVIEW COMMITTEE FOR CYBER RESILIENCY

2 GRANTS.— 

3 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established a 

4 committee to be known as the ‘‘Review Committee 

5 for Cyber Resiliency Grants’’ (in this section re6 ferred to as the ‘‘Review Committee’’). 

7 (2) CONSIDERATION OF SUBMISSIONS.—The 

8 Secretary shall forward a copy of each cyber resil9 iency plan submitted for approval under subsection 

10 (d)(1), each application for an additional planning 

11 grant submitted under subsection (e)(3), and each 

12 application for a biennial implementation grant sub13 mitted under subsection (d)(1) to the Review Com14 mittee for consideration under this subsection. 

15 (3) DUTIES.—The Review Committee shall— 

16 (A) promulgate guidance for the develop17 ment of applications for grants under this sec18 tion; 

19 (B) review any plan or application for20 warded under paragraph (2); 

21 (C) provide to the State and to the Sec22 retary the recommendations of the Review Com23 mittee regarding the approval or disapproval of 

24 such plan or application and, if applicable, pos25 sible improvements to such plan or application; 


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1 (D) provide to the Secretary an evaluation 

2 of any progress made by a State in imple3 menting an active cyber resiliency plan using a 

4 prior biennial implementation grant; and 

5 (E) submit to Congress an annual report 

6 on the progress made in implementing active 

7 cyber resiliency plans. 

8 (4) MEMBERSHIP.— 

9 (A) NUMBER AND APPOINTMENT.—The 

10 Review Committee shall be composed of 15 

11 members appointed by the Secretary as follows: 

12 (i) At least 2 individuals rec13 ommended to the Secretary by the Na14 tional Governors Association. 

15 (ii) At least 1 individual recommended 

16 to the Secretary by the National Associa17 tion of State Chief Information Officers. 

18 (iii) At least 1 individual rec19 ommended to the Secretary by the Na20 tional Guard Bureau. 

21 (iv) At least 1 individual rec22 ommended to the Secretary by the Na23 tional Association of Counties. 


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1 (v) At least 1 individual recommended 

2 to the Secretary by the National League of 

3 Cities. 

4 (vi) Not more than 9 other individuals 

5 who have educational and professional ex6 perience related to cybersecurity analysis 

7 or policy. 

8 (B) TERMS.—Each member shall be ap9 pointed for a term of one year. Any member ap10 pointed to fill a vacancy occurring before the 

11 expiration of the term for which the member’s 

12 predecessor was appointed shall be appointed 

13 only for the remainder of that term. A member 

14 may serve after the expiration of that member’s 

15 term until a successor has taken office. A va16 cancy in the Commission shall be filled in the 

17 manner in which the original appointment was 

18 made. 

19 (C) PAY.—Members shall serve without 

20 pay. 

21 (D) CHAIRPERSON; VICE CHAIRPERSON.— 

22 The Secretary, or a designee of the Secretary, 

23 shall serve as the Chairperson of the Review 

24 Committee. The Administrator of the Federal 

25 Emergency Management Agency, or a designee 


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1 of the Administrator, shall serve as the Vice 

2 Chairperson of the Review Committee. 

3 (5) STAFF AND EXPERTS.—The Review Com4 mittee may— 

5 (A) appoint additional personnel as it con6 siders appropriate, without regard to the provi7 sions of title 5, United States Code, governing 

8 appointments in the competitive service; 

9 (B) fix the pay of such additional per10 sonnel, without regard to the provisions of 

11 chapter 51 and subchapter III of chapter 53 of 

12 such title relating to classification and General 

13 Schedule pay rates; and 

14 (C) procure temporary and intermittent 

15 services under section 3109(b) of such title. 

16 (6) DETAILEES.—Upon request of the Review 

17 Committee, the head of any Federal department or 

18 agency may detail, on a reimbursable basis, any of 

19 the personnel of that department or agency to the 

20 Commission to assist it in carrying out the duties 

21 under this Act. 

22 (7) FEDERAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE ACT.—The 

23 Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) 

24 shall not apply to the Review Committee. 


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1 (8) TERMINATION.—The authority of the Re2 view Committee shall terminate on the day after the 

3 end of the five-fiscal-year period described in sub4 section (c). 

5 (j) FUNDING.—There is authorized to be appro6 priated for grants under this section such sums as are nec7 essary for fiscal years 2018 through 2023. 

8 (k) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

9 (1) ACTIVE CYBER RESILIENCY PLAN.—The 

10 term ‘‘active cyber resiliency plan’’ means a cyber 

11 resiliency plan for which an approval is in effect in 

12 accordance with subsection (d)(2)(A) or for which 

13 the Secretary extends such approval in accordance 

14 with subsection (d)(2)(B). 

15 (2) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis16 trator’’ means the Administrator of the Federal 

17 Emergency Management Agency. 

18 (3) CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE.—The term 

19 ‘‘critical infrastructure’’ has the meaning given that 

20 term in section 2 of the Homeland Security Act of 

21 2002 (6 U.S.C. 101). 

22 (4) CYBER RESILIENCY PLAN.—The term 

23 ‘‘cyber resiliency plan’’ means, with respect to a 

24 State, a plan that addresses the cybersecurity 

25 threats or vulnerabilities faced by the State through 


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1 a statewide plan and decisionmaking process to re2 spond to cybersecurity risks or incidents. 

3 (5) CYBERSECURITY RISK.—The term ‘‘cyberse4 curity risk’’ has the meaning given that term in sec5 tion 227 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 

6 U.S.C. 148). 

7 (6) INCIDENT.—The term ‘‘incident’’ has the 

8 meaning given that term in section 227 of the 

9 Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 148). 

10 (7) INFORMATION SHARING AND ANALYSIS OR11 GANIZATION.—The term ‘‘information sharing and 

12 analysis organization’’ has the meaning given that 

13 term in section 212 of the Homeland Security Act 

14 of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 131). 

15 (8) KEY RESOURCES.—The term ‘‘key re16 sources’’ has the meaning given that term in section 

17 2 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 

18 101). 

19 (9) PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘Program’’ means 

20 the State Cyber Resiliency Grant Program estab21 lished by this section. 

22 (10) PUBLIC SAFETY ANSWERING POINTS.— 

23 The term ‘‘public safety answering points’’ has the 

24 meaning given that term in section 222(h) of the 

25 Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 222(h)). 


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1 (11) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’— 

2 (A) means each of the several States, the 

3 District of Colombia, and the territories and 

4 possessions of the United States; and 

5 (B) includes any federally recognized In6 dian tribe that notifies the Secretary, not later 

7 than 120 days after the date of the enactment 

8 of this Act or not later than 120 days before 

9 the start of any fiscal year during the five-fis10 cal-year period described in subsection (c), that 

11 the tribe intends to develop a cyber resiliency 

12 plan and agrees to forfeit any distribution 

13 under subsection (f)(3). 

Æ 


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