Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan has submitted a $101.25 million supplemental budget to the General Assembly to expand the state’s cyber readiness and workforce initiative.
The supplemental budget will deliver money to address state-wide cybersecurity risks, as well as provide additional funding for both K-12 and post-secondary education for computer science and cybersecurity education and training.
The supplemental budget focuses on three main cyber and IT priorities.
It includes an additional $100 million to modernize, strengthen, and expand the state’s cyber infrastructure and threat response activities. In a press release, the governor’s office explained that the additional funding would double the $100 million investment in the governor’s initial FY2023 budget for cybersecurity and data initiatives. The governor’s office added that the second tranche of funding will expand and accelerate a number of critical IT projects, including modernizing the state’s public health IT infrastructure.
The supplemental request also includes $1.2 million to launch the Maryland Cyber Range for Elevating Workforce and Education (MD-CREWE), which will expand cybersecurity education and preparation for potential cyber threat scenarios. The cyber range – which will be operated by the new Maryland Institute for Innovative Computing at University of Maryland, Baltimore County – will launch a multi-state partnership for K-12 and higher education with the Virginia Cyber Range, as well as an initiative to provide training for manufacturing businesses.
The supplemental budget also provides $550,000 to enable universal and equitable access to Advanced Placement Computer Science in every Maryland high school. Gov. Hogan said this funding will “help drive more college majors in computer science, help attract more students to STEM fields, and further strengthen Maryland’s standing as a national leader on computer science education.”
The technology funding is part of a larger $2.8 billion supplemental budget, which also includes funding for police and public safety and critical infrastructure and public health investments.
“In addition to delivering historic tax relief, we are making critical investments in Marylanders’ top priorities, from supporting our police and first responders and advancing priority infrastructure projects to expanding our cybersecurity capabilities,” said Gov. Hogan. “We will also fulfill our mission to strengthen the state’s Rainy Day Fund to record levels and leave our state in a stronger fiscal position than we found it.”
