AB 1022 by Assemblywoman Jacqui Irwin, D-Thousand Oaks, also authorizes local entities to voluntarily submit their inventories to the department. Irwin, who chairs the Select Committee on Cybersecurity, said her bill will give California’s chief information security officer another tool to protect the state’s critical infrastructure and streamline threat notification.
“In the wake of recent large-scale data breaches, it cannot be stressed enough that California must do everything possible to protect its critical data systems,” Irwin said in a statement to Techwire.
Brown, who two years ago created a state cybersecurity center, has generally supported lawmakers’ efforts to bolster the state’s preparedness as reports of cyberattacks across the country continue to make headlines. But, he hasn’t been a rubber stamp for all of their ideas.
This weekend, he rejected a bill that would have directed the Department of Technology’s (CDT) Office of Information Security to review state departments’ information security policies. AB 531, also by Irwin, would have required the CDT to update any outdated policies and technology to protect critical government information.
In his veto message, Brown said his administration was already conducting information security assessments of state departments, a process that will be complete by June 20, 2018. CDT is also conducting audits to check security practices, he said, and will craft a strategic plan that outlines the state’s information security priorities for all departments to implement.
“This coordinated approach to the state’s cybersecurity will improve each state department’s policies, procedures and networks so that the state’s critical information is secure,” Brown wrote in his veto message.
Irwin said she was encouraged that Brown believes the information security measures outlined in her bill can be achieved through existing audits and strategic planning already under way at the technology department.
Here’s a look at some other technology-related bills the governor acted on over the weekend:
- Brown signed legislation that will require state agencies and entities to certify that their websites comply with accessibility standards. The California Department of Technology will be charged with developing a standard form that each state entity’s chief information officer can use to determine whether a website is in compliance. AB 434 by Assemblywoman Catharine Baker, R-Dublin, sets a July 1, 2019, deadline.
- Brown signed legislation intended to make it easier for state and local governments to preserve and store public records on “trusted” cloud-based storage services. AB 22 by Assemblyman Rob Bonta, D-Oakland, is an effort to alleviate government of paper records that are often difficult to access and increase transparency and access to public records.
- The California Advanced Services Fund won an extension from the governor. AB 1665 authorizes the Public Utilities Commission to collect up to $330 million in taxpayer surcharges to deploy broadband in underserved areas. The state had hoped to foster deployment of high-speed Internet to at least 98 percent of Californians by 2015, but a recent report shows just 43 percent of rural households have access to reliable service. The new law by Assemblyman Eduardo Garcia, D-Coachella, sets a 2022 date.
- Brown rejected new statewide rules that would have governed the installation of so-called “small cell” technology. SB 649 by Sen. Ben Hueso, D-San Diego, was an attempt to streamline the permitting process for telecommunication companies to site small cells on public infrastructure and deliver new, faster 5G Internet. Local governments had opposed the bill, saying it would have stripped them of their local decision-making authority.
