NASCIO Releases Federal Advocacy Priorities: Cybersecurity Remains Top Priority; Other Priorities Include Regulatory Flexibility, FirstNet and Information Sharing

 

WASHINGTON, D.C. Tuesday, January 12 — The National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO) announced its 2016 federal advocacy priorities today. NASCIO’s federal advocacy agenda will focus on the following areas:

1. Cybersecurity
2. Flexibility in federal regulations
3. Nationwide Public Safety Broadband Network (FirstNet)
4. Information sharing

Fact sheets and additional details on NASCIO’s 2016 federal advocacy priorities can be found at www.NASCIO.org/advocacy

“Cybersecurity is a top concern for state CIOs and with the tremendous growth in data that we anticipate, securing our public networks and the state’s digital assets are and will remain a top priority for NASCIO,” said NASCIO President Darryl Ackley, secretary of information technology for the state of New Mexico.

NASCIO will also be working with federal regulators to reduce regulatory burdens that hamper the business of state government. Federal agency rules typically promote a “silo” funding approach, where each grant funds IT infrastructure separately. Agency rules attached to federal funding generally do not promote enterprise IT consolidation, shared solutions, or the integrated channels of services sought by citizens. State CIOs need flexibility to prevent “stove-piped” systems and NASCIO will focus this year on reducing regulatory burdens and promoting regulatory flexibility.

Additionally, NASCIO will be closely monitoring the FirstNet process as states move closer to the opt-in/opt-out decision currently slated for summer of 2017. Many state CIOs serve as the State Single Point of Contact (SPOC) for FirstNet and it is crucial that CIOs stay informed of major developments especially as FirstNet evaluates and awards bids this year in response to its RFP.

This year, NASCIO’s Executive Committee added information sharing as a new advocacy priority.  Many, if not all, federal programs administered at the state level have some element of information sharing. NASCIO will continue its advocacy for the National Information Exchange Model (NIEM) and encouraging its adoption among relevant stakeholders.

“State CIOs continually search for innovative solutions when serving state citizens.  As our advocacy priorities reflect, the federal government can assist by reducing barriers to efficiency and promoting standards like NIEM,” explained Doug Robinson, executive director for NASCIO.

The association’s federal advocacy priorities for the year are selected by its Executive Committee based on the intersection of the leading policy priorities of state CIOs (available at www.NASCIO.org/topten) and key opportunities to work with Congress and the executive branch.