Florida SB 1816: Task Force on Closing the Achievement Gap for Boys

Bill Text

1816 
CyberBay 
2026-03-11T05:01:49Z 
Recognizing CyberBay as a designated cybersecurity and artificial intelligence innovation region within the Tampa Bay area, acknowledging Florida’s national leadership in cybersecurity readiness and digital defense, and affirming the importance of coordinated public-private partnerships to protect this state’s economic and digital security, etc. 
Original Filed Version 
2026 
S 
SR 
Resolution 
__ 

 Florida Senate - 2026 (NP) SR 1816 

 By Senator Burgess 

 23-02646-26 20261816__ 
 1 Senate Resolution 
 2 A resolution recognizing CyberBay as a designated 
 3 cybersecurity and artificial intelligence innovation 
 4 region within the Tampa Bay area, acknowledging 
 5 Florida’s national leadership in cybersecurity 
 6 readiness and digital defense, and affirming the 
 7 importance of coordinated public-private partnerships 
 8 to protect this state’s economic and digital security. 
 9 
 10 WHEREAS, Florida is nationally recognized as a leader in 
 11 cybersecurity preparedness, resilience, and digital defense, 
 12 committed to strengthening its ability to protect government, 
 13 industry, and citizens from evolving cyber threats, and 
 14 WHEREAS, the Tampa Bay region is home to one of the 
 15 nation’s most significant concentrations of military, defense, 
 16 intelligence, and security operations, anchored by MacDill Air 
 17 Force Base, a cornerstone of United States digital and national 
 18 defense, and 
 19 WHEREAS, this unique concentration of military assets, 
 20 government institutions, research universities, and private 
 21 sector technology companies has established Tampa Bay as a 
 22 nationally recognized center of excellence for cybersecurity, 
 23 technology innovation, and digital defense, and 
 24 WHEREAS, this convergence has given rise to CyberBay, a 
 25 cybersecurity and artificial intelligence ecosystem centered in 
 26 the Tampa Bay area and built upon collaboration among the 
 27 military, government, academia, and the private sector, and 
 28 WHEREAS, CyberBay represents a coordinated regional 
 29 initiative to advance cybersecurity readiness, artificial 
 30 intelligence innovation, workforce development, and the defense 
 31 of the United States’ digital infrastructure, and 
 32 WHEREAS, the University of South Florida serves as a 
 33 central anchor institution within CyberBay, including through 
 34 the establishment of the Bellini College of Artificial 
 35 Intelligence, Cybersecurity and Computing, one of the nation’s 
 36 first colleges dedicated to the integrated study of these 
 37 disciplines, and 
 38 WHEREAS, the Bellini College of Artificial Intelligence, 
 39 Cybersecurity and Computing plays a critical role in educating 
 40 and preparing the next generation of cybersecurity and 
 41 artificial intelligence professionals through degree programs, 
 42 applied research, industry partnerships, internships, and 
 43 experiential learning aligned with national and state workforce 
 44 needs, and 
 45 WHEREAS, the University of South Florida has articulated a 
 46 mission to support cybersecurity readiness across Florida, 
 47 including the long-term objective of extending cybersecurity 
 48 services, expertise, and workforce support to municipalities 
 49 throughout this state, and 
 50 WHEREAS, CyberBay is further strengthened through strategic 
 51 collaboration with Cyber Florida, this state’s designated 
 52 cybersecurity planning and coordination organization, which 
 53 advances statewide cyber resilience, workforce development, 
 54 applied research, and public-private partnerships, and 
 55 WHEREAS, CyberBay serves as a convening platform for 
 56 collaboration and innovation, including through the CyberBay 
 57 Conference, which brings together leaders from the technology, 
 58 academic, government, and military sectors to address emerging 
 59 cyber threats, workforce challenges, and technological 
 60 advancements, and 
 61 WHEREAS, public-private initiatives associated with 
 62 CyberBay have supported cybersecurity improvements within 
 63 regional municipalities, including the Cities of Tampa, St. 
 64 Petersburg, and Clearwater, strengthening cyber readiness at the 
 65 local level, and 
 66 WHEREAS, private individuals have played a catalytic role 
 67 in establishing and advancing the CyberBay ecosystem, including 
 68 Lauren and Arnie Bellini, who have contributed and pledged more 
 69 than $55 million to the University of South Florida to support 
 70 education, research, workforce development, and the completion 
 71 of a fully integrated cybersecurity and artificial intelligence 
 72 ecosystem, and 
 73 WHEREAS, such private investment was made with the stated 
 74 objective of helping create and sustain up to 70,000 high 
 75 paying, high-technology jobs in the Tampa Bay region by 
 76 leveraging Florida’s existing strengths in national defense, 
 77 cybersecurity, and innovation, and 
 78 WHEREAS, CyberBay su