H.R. 8926

[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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