State Rep. Richard Adams...
Adams co-sponsors Bill creating Cybersecurity, Education & Economic Development Council 
March 14, 2012 

COLUMBUS—State Representative Richard Adams (R-District 79) has announced that the Ohio House of Representatives today passed House Bill 331, which creates the Cybersecurity, Education and Economic Development Council. The Council’s duty is to study how the state’s Cybersecurity operations could be improved and how growth in the state’s cybersecurity industry could be accelerated. 

The establishment of the council will ensure greater safekeeping of personal identifiable information (PII), while simultaneously helping to develop one of the fastest growing employment fields in the state. This safeguard is necessary due to state governments becoming more and more vulnerable to cybersecurity attacks because they maintain the largest collection of PII. 

“This legislation will be valuable in preparing our state for advances in technology and new challenges in the cybersecurity industry,” commented Representative Adams, who is a co-sponsor of the bill.

In the Economic and Small Business Development Committee, University of Cincinnati associate professor Richard Harknett emphasized the necessity of linking education and business to find solutions to cyberspace security. 

“We need to explore public policy solutions that can create incentives and norms that can produce two essential outcomes: help secure the digital infrastructure that is vital to our economic growth and help support new avenues for economic advancement via development of cybersecurity itself as a state-wide employment sector,” Mr. Harknett said. 

Legislation that creates a council of this sort is unique to Ohio, and bodes great potential for growing and maintaining a relevant workforce in the 21st Century. 

The Council consists of 12 members who are appointed and serve two-year terms. The bill authorizes the Council to request the assistance of other state offices and requires offices to provide requested assistance. 

H.B. 331 passed by a vote of 96-0 and will now be sent to the Senate for further consideration.