Sponsored by:
Senator LINDA R. GREENSTEIN
District 14 (Mercer and Middlesex)
SYNOPSIS
Establishes cybersecurity employment grant program for qualified businesses.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act establishing a cybersecurity employment grant program in the New Jersey Economic Development Authority and supplementing P.L.1974, c.80 (C.34:1B-1 et seq.).
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. As used in P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill):
Authority means the New Jersey Economic Development Authority established pursuant to section 4 of P.L.1974, c.80 (C.34:1B-4).
Cybersecurity specialist means an information technology specialist who monitors, detects, investigates, analyzes, and responds to security events that target a business s information technology system with the goal of protecting the system from cybersecurity risks, threats, and vulnerabilities.
Program means the cybersecurity employment grant program, established pursuant to section 2 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill).
Qualified small to mid-size business means a business entity employing fewer than 500 employees that, at the time of application for participation in the program, is independently owned and operated, operates primarily within this State, and which satisfies other criteria that may be established by the authority.
2. There is established within the New Jersey Economic Development Authority a cybersecurity employment grant program. The program shall award grants, in an amount as determined by the authority, to a qualified small to mid-sized business to assist with the establishment and hiring of a cybersecurity specialist position within the business at a location within this State. The award of a grant to a qualified business shall be limited to the cost of establishing and hiring a cybersecurity specialist and shall be applied to cover the startup salary cost for a cybersecurity specialist for one year.
3. In addition to any monies appropriated to the authority to effectuate the purposes of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill), the program shall also be credited with:
a. any additional monies made available by the authority for the purposes of the program; and
b. monies received by the authority from any public or private source for the purposes of the program, the coordination and consolidation of which shall enhance efforts to establish and hire cybersecurity specialist positions within qualified small to mid-sized businesses.
The authority is authorized to seek and accept gifts, grants, or donations from private or public sources for funding the costs of the program, except that the authority may not accept a gift, grant, or donation that is subject to conditions that are inconsistent with any other law of this State.
4. In order to be eligible for a grant awarded under the program, an applicant shall:
a. submit proof that it is a qualified small to mid-size business, as defined in this bill;
b. submit all of the documentation required by the authority to receive a grant under the program; and
c. conform to all of the requirements of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill).
5. A small to mid-size business seeking to participate in the program shall submit an application in a form and manner as the authority shall require. The application shall include information the authority determines is necessary to administer the program, and to ensure the eligibility of applicants. The authority shall review and may approve an application for the program.
6. The authority shall:
a. in consultation with the New Jersey Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness, the Department of Banking and Insurance, and the Office of the Attorney General, administer the program to assist a qualified small to mid-size business with the establishment and hiring of a cybersecurity specialist position within that business. The grants awarded by the authority shall be used solely for the purpose of hiring personnel approved by the New Jersey Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Cell;
b. adopt rules and regulations requiring that not less than the hourly or annual mean wage for the Bureau of Labor Statistics federal job code 15-1212 is paid to cybersecurity specialists in the metropolitan or nonmetropolitan area in which an employer is located, pursuant to the most recently published Occupational Employment Statistics wage survey; and
c. when setting the size of grants to be awarded under the program, seek to balance available funds against the amount of a grant necessary to incentivize an applicant to hire a cybersecurity specialist and the u