Review - HR 3138 Amended in Committee - State and Local Cybersecurity Improvement Act

Earlier this month the House Homeland Security Committee held a markup hearing that considered seven bills, including four cybersecurity related bills. One of those cyber bills was HR 3138, the State and Local Cybersecurity Improvement Act. Substitute language was adopted for the bill and it was ordered favorably reported, both by unanimous consent.

Changes to the bill made in the substitute language reflect a higher concern about ransomware incidents at State and local levels and some subtle difference in the way the bill treats Indian organizations.

Technically, this bill will not be able to move to the full House for consideration until the Committee report is published. The reality of the situation is that while Committee reports frequently take months to publish, Committee Chair Thompson (D,MS) could report the bill without written report on the first day the House returns to Washington, currently scheduled to be on June 14^th. I do not think the bill will be considered quite that quickly, but it will probably be considered before the summer recess.

This bill will almost certainly be considered under the House suspension of the rules process. That process limits debate, prohibits floor amendments, and requires a super majority for passage. The unanimous consent approval in Committee means that the bill should receive wide-spread bipartisan support on the floor of the House.

For a more detailed analysis of the revisions made to this bill see my post on CFSN Detailed Analysis – https://patrickcoyle.substack.com/p/hr-3138-amended-in-committee (subscription required).