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Tech Caucus: Lawmakers Bring Focus to Cyberfrontier

The California Technology Caucus, which first met in 2016, includes Assembly members and state senators from both parties.

The size of California's tech footprint can't be overstated — and, with its dominant role in the industry, and today's lightning-fast changes in technology and cybersecurity, its Legislature has put itself on the cutting edge with the formation of a special caucus.

The California Technology Caucus, which first met in 2016, includes Assembly members and state senators from both parties. Assemblymembers Evan Low, D-Silicon Valley, and Ian Calderon, D-Whittier, founded the group to boost California's technology and innovation economies. Here, Assembly Tech Caucus members Low, Jacqui Irwin, D-Thousand Oaks, and Melissa Melendez, R-Murietta, discuss their activity as part of the caucus.

TW: What caused you to join the Tech Caucus?

Evan Low: As a millennial born and raised in Silicon Valley, I have seen firsthand the innovation and creativity that makes California flourish. I co-founded the Tech Caucus with Assembly member Ian Calderon to help strengthen our state’s thriving innovation economy, craft policies that promote long-term sustained growth and support high-quality, high-wage jobs.

Jacqui Irwin: My Assembly district is one of the state’s four innovation hubs focused on creating growth in STEM. We are home to many well-known tech companies like Amgen, Haas Automation, SemTech and Teledyne. With my role as the chair of the Select Committee on Cybersecurity, and because so many of my constituents are employed in the tech industry, I felt it was important to be a part of the discussion.

Melissa Melendez: California is at the forefront of technological innovation globally and because of that, 1.2 million tech workers call California home. It is vital for the California Legislature and the tech industry to continue to work on policies that foster ground-breaking innovation, and at the same time, ensure consumer protections, specifically in the realm of privacy.

TW: What priorities do you think the caucus should address?

JI: Currently, the tech sector accounts for an estimated 13 percent of California’s economy. To ensure tech remains a strong part of our California in the years to come, the caucus should be prioritizing: education, diversity and security.

When it comes to education, a recent study found that there will be 3.5 million unfilled cybersecurity positions globally by 2021. Cybersecurity is a concern across the tech sector, and our caucus should be working toward filling those shortages. We also need to understand how technology will require us to retrain workers when automation makes their current skill set obsolete. It will be key to have successful programs and pathways in place when emerging technologies like automated vehicles and drones are integrated into our everyday lives.   

When it comes to diversity, a recent MIT study showed that about 20 percent of undergraduate engineering degrees are awarded to women, but only 13 percent of the engineering workforce is female. The 2015 U.S. News/Raytheon STEM index showed that only 12 percent of the engineering workforce nationwide is African-American or Latino. The Caucus needs to continue to engage with the tech industry to stress the importance of having everyone from engineers to directors from diverse backgrounds. We need to break the cycle we have seen too frequently in tech of under-representation and unwelcoming workplaces for women and minorities.

As for security, millions of businesses have been affected by some sort of cyberbreach. As a caucus we need to make sure that the state and private companies are being responsible actors and investing in cybersecurity resources. The risk to Californians and to the tech industry as a whole is too great to remain complacent about vulnerabilities to data and infrastructure.  

MM: Online privacy and cybersecurity is the incredibly fundamental in my mind. I have successfully passed legislation to prevent our children’s sensitive, personal information, like Social Security numbers and health records, from being shared with third parties, and I intend to continue to fortify Californians’ right to privacy.

EL: Opportunities for Californians to have high-paying jobs must be created and sustained throughout California, whether it’s through incentives like the tax credit program, education and training, or encouraging collaboration between the public and private sectors.

TW: How does the caucus help shape policy?

EL: The tech caucus is a bicameral, bipartisan group of legislators who have come together to establish a forum to discuss the challenges facing the tech industry. We are committed to learning about, protecting and promoting our tech and innovation sector.

JI: The caucus provides opportunities for members to engage with tech companies and other industries that rely on tech innovation to learn more about how California is leading the country and world in tech development. From those experiences members often develop legislative proposals related to emerging technologies, which the caucus can then designate as priority legislation. 

TW: How does the caucus prioritize STEM?

MM: I would like to see STEM become a greater priority in the caucus and not allow politics to interfere with our children’s future. We have to prepare our children for a changing landscape, and we cannot overlook how critical and essential a greater investment in STEM will be in ensuring their future success in the economy of tomorrow.

JI: STEM education is one of the most important things facing our state’s tech industry. With the shortfall in trained engineers, it’s important that we continue to keep motivating our students to pursue STEM careers. Many of the caucus members have authored legislation this session to address different aspects of STEM education in California. 

EL: We believe every student should have access to hands-on math and computer training so our workforce is trained and prepared to meet the needs of emerging technologies.

TW: What's the biggest obstacle you face in trying to advance a tech-friendly agenda or legislation?

JI: Hundreds of thousands of Californians are currently employed in the tech sector, so it’s important that we are working on legislation to enhance workforce development and help fill the gaps that tech companies are encountering. Thankfully, due to the leadership of Assemblymember Low, this caucus has done an extraordinary job in working toward more thoughtful and effective tech policy.

EL: Our caucus is committed to supporting policies that strike a balance between keeping the tech economy strong while maintaining the public’s trust in the industry and protecting all Californians.

TW: What is your long-term goal for the caucus?

EL: We want to make sure California remains a competitive state with a strong, diverse workforce while also maintaining consumer privacy and protection.

JI: My long-term goal for the caucus is to ensure we are continuing to increase workforce development between our education system and tech companies, to ensure that we are educating businesses and individuals (who are often the weakest link in a business’s cybersecurity strategy) on how to be more cybersecure, and increasing diversity in the tech industry.

Kayla Nick-Kearney was a staff writer for Techwire from March 2017 through January 2019.