🔐Cybersecurity: Federal Grants For State and Local Government, How Will New Jersey Spend These Funds?
Use your voice and expertise to offer feedback, share concerns and educate NJ legislators during the decision making process.
The New Jersey General Assembly State and Local Government Committee met on February 7, 2022 to take testimony on cybersecurity tools for government and small businesses. If you missed the hearing, you can watch an archived video here. Congress allocated funds in the infrastructure bill for state governments to address shortcomings of current cybersecurity training and protocols after many government and private sector entities have suffered security breaches and hacks in recent years.
Governor Phil Murphy will be issuing his budget proposal for Fiscal Year 2023 (July 1, 2022-June 30, 2023) in the coming weeks. State legislators are charged with representing the voice of New Jerseyans in the negotiation process with the Governor's office regarding final decisions about how revenue is spent on services, programs, state grants, tax rebates, etc. NJ Senate and Assembly FY23 budget committee hearings are not posted to the legislative calendar yet, but they will be forthcoming (starting in March) once the governor delivers his budget address.
If YOU are a cybersecurity professional in the military, private sector, have other relevant knowledge in this field, or are an interested party for any reason please watch the committee testimony. Use this as an opportunity to contact, educate and provide feedback to New Jersey legislators, particularly members of the committee.
This is the perfect example of a situation where members of the public should and must engage with the legislative and budgeting process in a constructive way to address concerns and share their knowledge directly with representatives in Trenton. Most members of the NJ Legislature are not cybersecurity experts. They may (or may not) have trusted advisors on the subject, but your professional experience, credentials, and status as a constituent make your feedback extremely valuable and more necessary than ever. Perhaps you are not an expert in this field but have been a victim of cybercrime or have watched as friends and family suffer the aftermath of one. This is equally valuable insight to share.
Regular communication with the people they represent undoubtedly impacts the way legislators perceive their service to the public and gives them an opportunity to be responsive on challenging and controversial topics before they turn into big media headlines or phone and email blasts about legislation. Furthermore, offering perspective and additional information to elected representatives in a timely fashion about current legislative activity sends a message that the People are watching and taking ownership of what's happening in our communities and state.
One of the ways to minimize the influence of corporate lobbyists representing big donors and special interests is through members of the public speaking up when they have something to add to the discussion. While on paper everyone’s voice matters in our representative form of government, if the public doesn’t actively take steps to communicate with legislators regarding their concerns, wants, or needs other voices often fill that void. The more concerned and informed constituents seek to have interactions with legislators about issues that impact all of us, the better. It’s a practical and actionable way to to get involved in governance right now.