Florida Senate - 2026                        COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
       Bill No. CS for SB 1266
       
       
       
       
       
       
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                              LEGISLATIVE ACTION                        
                    Senate             .             House              
                   Comm: WD            .                                
                  02/04/2026           .                                
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       The Appropriations Committee on Transportation, Tourism, and
       Economic Development (Bernard) recommended the following:
       
    1         Senate Amendment to Amendment (528986) (with title
    2  amendment)
    3  
    4         Delete lines 26 - 86
    5  and insert:
    6  this program statewide to all NCAE-C-designated state
    7  universities, Florida College System institutions, and private
    8  postsecondary educational institutions will accelerate the
    9  development of a highly qualified, clearance-ready,
   10  cybersecurity workforce. This expanded capacity to develop a
   11  more qualified cybersecurity workforce is necessary to both
   12  close existing gaps and keep pace with the growing demand for
   13  cybersecurity talent within this state.
   14         (2)(a) The Legislature intends to establish the
   15  Cybersecurity Experiential Learning Program across all NCAE-C
   16  designated state universities, Florida College System
   17  institutions, and private postsecondary educational
   18  institutions, beginning in the 2026-2027 academic year.
   19         (b) The Legislature further intends to sustain the program
   20  through the 2030-2031 academic year and establish clear metrics
   21  and reporting requirements to measure the impact on this state’s
   22  workforce and national security posture.
   23         (3) Subject to appropriation, the Cybersecurity
   24  Experiential Learning Program is created within the Department
   25  of Commerce. The department shall enter into an agreement with
   26  the Florida Center for Cybersecurity (Cyber Florida) at the
   27  University of South Florida to implement the program in
   28  collaboration with all NCAE-C-designated state universities,
   29  Florida College System institutions, and private postsecondary
   30  educational institutions.
   31         (4) The program shall include all of the following
   32  components:
   33         (a) Increasing the number of experiential cyber risk
   34  analyst internships statewide by using an instrumented platform
   35  of automated assessments with employers based in this state in
   36  the defense, finance, health care, transportation, utility, and
   37  critical infrastructure sectors.
   38         (b) Providing intern-supporting organizations with
   39  actionable, prioritized analytics, reporting, and risk
   40  mitigation action plans to enhance cyber resilience across this
   41  state.
   42         (c) Delivering a federal security clearance readiness
   43  curriculum, including comprehensive background check
   44  preparation, national security information and protection
   45  training, clearance application preparation and vetting, and
   46  mentoring for selected participants.
   47         (d) Providing CompTIA Security+ certification training and
   48  examination for selected participants.
   49         (e) Coordinating with state, federal, and private sector
   50  partners to facilitate placement of graduates in high demand
   51  cybersecurity roles.
   52         (f) Providing access to data sets for statewide cyber
   53  assessments, research, and development.
   54         (5) Beginning in the 2026-2027 academic year, the program
   55  must be available at all currently NCAE-C-designated state
   56  universities, Florida College System institutions, and private
   57  postsecondary educational institutions.
   58  
   59  ================= T I T L E  A M E N D M E N T ================
   60  And the title is amended as follows:
   61         Delete lines 121 - 130
   62  and insert:
   63         appropriation; requiring the department to enter into
   64         an agreement with the Florida Center for Cybersecurity
   65         (Cyber Florida) to implement the program in
   66         collaboration with specified universities and
   67         institutions; requiring that the program include
   68         specified components; requiring that the program be
   69         available at specified universities and institutions
   70         beginning in a specified academic year; requiring the