The National Association of State Chief Information Officers is urging Congress to reauthorize the State and Local Cybersecurity Grant Program (SLCGP), one of three federal priorities outlined in a letter sent Monday to House and Senate leaders.
NASCIO Executive Director Doug Robinson said in the letter the three priorities were “critical to the ability of states to deliver secure, reliable and innovative technology services to the public.” Along with reauthorizing the State and Local Cybersecurity Grant Program, the letter also called on Congress to reauthorize FirstNet and to preserve states’ authority to lead on responsible artificial intelligence governance.
Robinson addressed the letter to House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La.; House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y.; Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D.; and Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.
The SLCGP expired after its original four-year run in September 2025, and despite pleas from state cyber leaders — some of whom testified before Congress in May about the many benefits the program has passed to their states — the program has yet to be renewed. While the House last year advanced the PILLAR Act, a bipartisan reauthorization bill for the SLCGP that would fund the program through 2033, it did not move out of the Senate.
The issue has been compounded by the ongoing withdrawal of support from the federal government for state and local cyber operations, such as the partial defunding of Center for Internet Security’s Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center, which provided free cybersecurity resources and monitoring to 18,000 state, local, territorial, tribal organizations and communities, as well as critical infrastructure operators including public hospitals, public utilities, K-12 schools and law enforcement.
Bipartisan requests to restore the funding have been ongoing. Most recently, on June 23, a coalition including NASCIO, the National League of Cities, and other state and local associations asked the Senate to appropriate $300 million for one year — roughly the program’s average annual budget during its first four years. The coalition’s funding request says the program requires participating states to direct 80% of funding toward local government services.
NASCIO’s priorities this year largely mirror its January agenda for Congress, with the organization again calling for a federal AI policy that respects state autonomy and reauthorization of the State and Local Cybersecurity Grant Program. The earlier list also included calls for broader adoption of the .gov top-level domain for government websites and a streamlined approach to the numerous federal cybersecurity standards states are required to follow — but this year was the first that NASCIO included FirstNet reauthorization.
FirstNet is the nationwide public safety communications network created after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks to give first responders priority access to a dedicated, interoperable broadband network. Its legal authority is scheduled to expire in February 2027, making reauthorization a relatively immediate concern for state and local officials. In the letter to Congress, NASCIO “urge[s] bipartisan action to reauthorize the program and preserve its unique mission, governance structure and commitment to serving the needs of public safety.”
On artificial intelligence as its final regulatory priority, NASCIO urged Congress to avoid broadly preempting state laws and regulations, arguing that states should retain their role in shaping AI policy. Efforts to stop states’ ability to regulate AI have been manifold, including President Donald Trump’s executive order last December and numerous efforts by Congress last year to ram through laws with legal preemption. In its January letter, NASCIO said it was “deeply concerned” by the effort to undermine state autonomy.
“Strong federal-state partnerships are essential to ensuring that technology strengthens government, protects Americans and delivers better public services,” Robinson said in Monday’s letter. “While these are far from the only issues we are committed to working on with you, we believe that addressing these matters would contribute greatly to a stronger and more secure cybersecurity and technology position for our Nation.”
