EXPLANATION: Establish the South Carolina University Cyber Leadership Council.

Amend the bill, as and if amended, Part IB, Section 11, COMMISSION ON HIGHER EDUCATION, page 343, after line 21, by adding an appropriately numbered proviso to read:

/(CHE: SC University Cyber Leadership Council) Of the funds appropriated for Fiscal year 2024-2025, there is established the South Carolina University Cyber Leadership Council to position South Carolina as a national leader in cyber readiness through education, research, and community engagement. The Council shall:

 (1)  work with local agencies to assess the vulnerability of critical infrastructure in South Carolina to cyber threats and develop and implement a plan to identify gaps inn the State's ability to respond;

 (2)  develop and implement a plan to provide a skilled cyber workforce to the military and civilian arms of federal, state, and local governments and to industry through education and training programs in collaboration with partners in k-12, technical colleges, and four-year colleges and universities;

 (3)  in coordination with the commission on higher education and existing higher education cybersecurity programs, with The Citadel as convener, develop and implement a plan to include timelines and metrics to attract a pipeline of future cyber workforce;

 (4)  promote cybersecurity awareness and good cyber citizenship by organizing workshops, summer camps, cyber table-top exercises, cyber competitions, and conferences;

 (5)  develop and implement a plan to provide cyber threat hunting services to the state and local agencies and to local, small-and mid-size industries through a cybersecurity situation center; and

 (6)  submit a paper report to the Chairman of House Ways and Means Committee and the Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee by June 30, 2025./

Amend totals and titles to conform.