Florida SB 1266: Venomous Reptiles

Bill Text

1266 
Cybersecurity Internships 
2026-02-06T12:43:42Z 
Requiring the Department of Commerce to create the Cybersecurity Experiential Learning Program in a specified fiscal year, subject to legislative appropriation; requiring the department use a certain percentage of appropriated funds in a specified fiscal year to enter into an agreement with Cyber Florida at the University of South Florida to collaborate in designing the program for implementation and plan for expansion of the program; requiring Cyber Florida to report specified information to the department; providing the department with authorized uses of unspent funds, etc. 
Committee Substitute 2 
2026 
S 
2026-07-01T00:00:00Z 
GB 
General Bill 
c2 

 Florida Senate - 2026 CS for CS for SB 1266 

 By the Appropriations Committee on Transportation, Tourism, and 
 Economic Development; the Committee on Commerce and Tourism; and 
 Senator Calatayud 

 606-02503-26 20261266c2 
 1 A bill to be entitled 
 2 An act relating to cybersecurity internships; creating 
 3 s. 1004.0983, F.S.; providing legislative findings; 
 4 requiring the Department of Commerce to create the 
 5 Cybersecurity Experiential Learning Program in a 
 6 specified fiscal year, subject to legislative 
 7 appropriation; requiring the department use a certain 
 8 percentage of appropriated funds in a specified fiscal 
 9 year to enter into an agreement with Cyber Florida at 
 10 the University of South Florida to collaborate in 
 11 designing the program for implementation and plan for 
 12 expansion of the program; requiring Cyber Florida to 
 13 report specified information to the department; 
 14 providing the department with authorized uses of 
 15 unspent funds; requiring that disbursement of funds is 
 16 subject to department approval; requiring the 
 17 department to submit an annual report by a specified 
 18 date to the Governor and the Legislature; providing 
 19 requirements for the report; providing for the 
 20 expiration of the program; providing an effective 
 21 date. 
 22 
 23 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 
 24 
 25 Section 1. Section 1004.0983, Florida Statutes, is created 
 26 to read: 
 27 1004.0983 Cybersecurity Experiential Learning Program.— 
 28 (1)(a) The Legislature finds that this state’s 
 29 cybersecurity workforce is essential to state and national 
 30 security, multi-sector state economic resilience, and the 
 31 protection of critical infrastructure. The Legislature also 
 32 finds that this state has a persistent shortfall in its supply 
 33 of qualified cybersecurity professionals relative to the 
 34 workforce demand, and that the growing integration of digital 
 35 technologies in all economic sectors will exacerbate this 
 36 workforce gap in the future. 
 37 (b) The Legislature further finds that there are examples 
 38 of successful cybersecurity experiential learning opportunities 
 39 across the state university system, including an experiential 
 40 cyber program at the University of South Florida, and a combined 
 41 security clearance readiness and cyber certification program at 
 42 the University of West Florida. Both institutions are designated 
 43 as National Security Agency National Centers of Academic 
 44 Excellence in Cybersecurity (NCAE-C). 
 45 (c) The Legislature further finds that expansion of 
 46 experiential learning opportunities in cybersecurity for 
 47 students at state universities and Florida College System 
 48 institutions is likely to accelerate the development of a highly 
 49 qualified cybersecurity workforce. This expanded capacity to 
 50 develop a more qualified cybersecurity workforce is necessary to 
 51 close existing gaps and keep pace with the growth in demand for 
 52 cybersecurity talent within this state. 
 53 (2)(a) Subject to legislative appropriation, the Department 
 54 of Commerce shall create and operate the Cybersecurity 
 55 Experiential Learning Program in the 2026-2027 fiscal year. 
 56 (b) The Department of Commerce must use 10 percent of the 
 57 appropriated funds in the 2026-2027 fiscal year to enter into an 
 58 agreement with Cyber Florida within the University of South 
 59 Florida to collaborate in designing the program for 
 60 implementation at a minimum of one state university or Florida 
 61 College System institution during the 2026-2027 school year, and 
 62 to plan for the expansion of the program to additional sites and 
 63 additional national security-focused workforces in future years. 
 64 (3) Cyber Florida shall determine and report back to the 
 65 department on the following: 
 66 (a) The specific internship opportunities and experiential 
 67 learning opportunities that the United States Department of 
 68 Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) 
 69 believes will be the most impactful on a student’s job placement 
 70 in high-demand cybersecurity roles in the state, including an 
 71 assessment of when completing a fed