Governor Phil Murphy signed A-4836 and A-4184, cybersecurity bills into law this week.
A-4836 requires the State Office of Emergency Management to develop a plan to address internet outages resulting from cyber-attacks or other disasters. The state’s Emergency Operations Plan must now also include a framework to address cybersecurity incidents that serve as a mechanism to facilitate and coordinate preparation for the detection, analysis, containment, and eradication of and recovery from a cybersecurity incident and to prescribe post incident activity. P.L. 2023, c. 54 took effect on May 8 but remains inoperable until September 5, 2023.
A-4184 prohibits State agencies from excluding the hiring of IT or cybersecurity professionals from any program or activity administered by the State agency to incentivize local units to enter into shared services agreements under the "Uniform Shared Services and Consolidation Act." This law aims to expand the scope of Local Efficiency Achievement Program (LEAP) grants to provide funding for the hiring of IT or cybersecurity professionals under shared services agreements.
The LEAP grants facilitate the study or implementation of shared services projects and provide direct support to advance shared services in local governments. The bill seeks to encourage the hiring of IT and cybersecurity professionals for shared services projects to improve the overall effectiveness of shared services agreements in the state. P.L. 2023, c. 52, which the League supports, will take effect on August 1, 2023.
Please share this information with your municipal professionals.
Contact: Andrew LaFevre, Legislative Analyst, alafevre@njlm.org, 609-695-3481, x116.