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S3878
SENATE, No. 3878
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
222nd LEGISLATURE
�
INTRODUCED MARCH 12, 2026
Sponsored by:
Senator� LINDA R. GREENSTEIN
District 14 (Mercer and Middlesex)
SYNOPSIS
���� Establishes cybersecurity employment grant program
for qualified businesses; appropriates $750,000.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
���� As introduced.
��
An Act
establishing a cybersecurity employment grant program in the Department of
Labor and Workforce Development, supplementing P.L.1974, c.80 (C.34:1B-1 et
seq.), and making an appropriation.
����
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):
���� �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.
���� �Department� means the
Department of Labor and Workforce Development.
���� �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 department.
���� 2.��� There is established
within the Department of Labor and Workforce Development a cybersecurity
employment grant program.� The program shall award grants, in an amount as
determined by the department, to one or more qualified small to mid-sized
businesses 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.��� a.� In addition to any
monies appropriated to the
department to effectuate the purposes of
P.L. , c. (C.
) (pending before the Legislature as this bill), the program shall also be
credited with:
���� �(1)� any additional monies
made available by the� department for the purposes of the program; and
���� �(2)� monies received by the
department 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.
���� b.� The department 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 department
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 department
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 department shall require. The application shall include
information the department determines is necessary to administer the program,
and to ensure the eligibility of applicants.� The department shall review and
may approve an application for the program.
���� 6.��� The department 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 department 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 unmet Statewide need among small and mid-size businesses
for cybersecurity staffing in order to maximize the impact of limited funding
availability.
���� 7.��� a.� Each qualified small
to mid-size business grant recipient shall provide quarterly reports to the
department verifying the establishment and hiring of a cybersecurity
specialist, documentation of expenditures from a grant awarded by the
department, and any other information required by the department
to
ensure compliance with the provisions of the program as determined by the
department.
���� b.��� The department shall
report annually to the Governor and, pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1991, c.164
(C.52:14-19.1), to the Legislature on the functioning of the program and
whether the program meets the needs of qualified small to mid-sized businesses.
The report shall include, but not be limited to, the number and locations of
qualified small to mid-sized businesses participating in the program, the
number of cybersecurity specialist positions created or hired by those
qualified small to mid-sized businesses, and the amount of any grants awarded
to those qualified small to mid-sized businesses.
���� 8.��� There is appropriated
from the General Fund to the department $750,000 to administer the program
established pursuant to section 2 of P.L.��� , c.��� (C.������� ) (pending
before the Legislature as this bill).
���� 9.��� This act shall take
effect immediately.
STATEMENT
���� This bill establishes a
program in the Department of Labor and Workforce Development (DOLWD) for the
purpose of awarding grants for the creation and establishment of cybersecurity
specialist positions in small to mid-sized businesses located in New Jersey.
���� Under the program, the DOLWD
is to provide grants, in an amount as determined by the DOLWD, to one or more
�qualified small to mid-sized business� to assist with the establishment and
hiring of a �cybersecurity specialist position,� as defined in the bill, within
that business.� Under the bill, the term �qualified small to mid-sized
business� would include a business entity employing fewer than 500 employees
that is independently owned and operated, that operates primarily within this
State, and that satisfies other criteria that may be established by the DOLWD.
���� The bill establishes
eligibility requirements for business participation in the program.�
Additionally, the bill designates the responsibilities of both the DOLWD, such
as the DOLWD�s responsibility to work in conjunction with the New Jersey Office
of Homeland Security and Preparedness, the Department of Banking and Insurance,
and the Office of the Attorney General in administering the program, and the
participating small to mid-sized businesses, such as the responsibility to
provide quarterly reports to the DOLWD.
���� The bill includes an
appropriation of $750,000 from the General Fund to the DOLWD to administer the
program.