HR 7266 — Rural and Municipal Utility Cybersecurity Act

changes in existing law made by 
the bill, as reported, are shown as follows (existing law 
proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black brackets, new 
matter is printed in italics, and existing law in which no 
change is proposed is shown in roman):

 INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENT AND JOBS ACT

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DIVISION D--ENERGY

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TITLE I--GRID INFRASTRUCTURE AND RESILIENCY

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Subtitle B--Cybersecurity

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[SEC. 40124. RURAL AND MUNICIPAL UTILITY ADVANCED CYBERSECURITY GRANT 
 AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.

 [(a) Definitions.--In this section:
 [(1) Advanced cybersecurity technology.--The term 
 ``advanced cybersecurity technology'' means any 
 technology, operational capability, or service, 
 including computer hardware, software, or a related 
 asset, that enhances the security posture of electric 
 utilities through improvements in the ability to 
 protect against, detect, respond to, or recover from a 
 cybersecurity threat (as defined in section2200 of the 
 Homeland Security Act of 2002)).
 [(2) Bulk-power system.--The term ``bulk-power 
 system'' has the meaning given the term in section 
 215(a) of the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 824o(a)).
 [(3) Eligible entity.--The term ``eligible entity'' 
 means--
 [(A) a rural electric cooperative;
 [(B) a utility owned by a political 
 subdivision of a State, such as a municipally 
 owned electric utility;
 [(C) a utility owned by any agency, 
 authority, corporation, or instrumentality of 1 
 or more political subdivisions of a State;
 [(D) a not-for-profit entity that is in a 
 partnership with not fewer than 6 entities 
 described in subparagraph (A), (B), or (C); and
 [(E) an investor-owned electric utility that 
 sells less than 4,000,000 megawatt hours of 
 electricity per year.
 [(4) Program.--The term ``Program'' means the Rural 
 and Municipal Utility Advanced Cybersecurity Grant and 
 Technical Assistance Program established under 
 subsection (b).
 [(b) Establishment.--Not later than 180 days after the date 
of enactment of this Act, the Secretary, in coordination with 
the Secretary of Homeland Security and in consultation with the 
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the North American 
Electric Reliability Corporation, and the Electricity Subsector 
Coordinating Council, shall establish a program, to be known as 
the ``Rural and Municipal Utility Advanced Cybersecurity Grant 
and Technical Assistance Program'', to provide grants and 
technical assistance to, and enter into cooperative agreements 
with, eligible entities to protect against, detect, respond to, 
and recover from cybersecurity threats.
 [(c) Objectives.--The objectives of the Program shall be--
 [(1) to deploy advanced cybersecurity technologies 
 for electric utility systems; and
 [(2) to increase the participation of eligible 
 entities in cybersecurity threat information sharing 
 programs.
 [(d) Awards.--
 [(1) In general.--The Secretary--
 [(A) shall award grants and provide technical 
 assistance under the Program to eligible 
 entities on a competitive basis;
 [(B) shall develop criteria and a formula for 
 awarding grants and providing technical 
 assistance under the Program;
 [(C) may enter into cooperative agreements 
 with eligible entities that can facilitate the 
 objectives described in subsection (c); and
 [(D) shall establish a process to ensure that 
 all eligible entities are informed about and 
 can become aware of opportunities to receive 
 grants or technical assistance under the 
 Program.
 [(2) Priority for grants and technical assistance.--
 In awarding grants and providing technical assistance 
 under the Program, the Secretary shall give priority to 
 an eligible entity that, as determined by the 
 Secretary--
 [(A) has limited cybersecurity resources;
 [(B) owns assets critical to the reliability 
 of the bulk-power system; or
 [(C) owns defense critical electric 
 infrastructure (as defined in section 215A(a) 
 of the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 824o-
 1(a))).
 [(e) Protection of Information.--Information provided to, or 
collected by, the Federal Government pursuant to this section 
the disclosure of which the Secretary reasonably foresees could 
be detrimental to the physical security or cybersecurity of any 
electric utility or the bulk-power system--
 [(1) shall be exempt from disclosure under section 
 552(b)(3) of title 5, United States Code; and
 [(2) shall not be made available by any Federal 
 agency, State, political subdivision of a State, or 
 Tribal authority pursuant to any Federal, State, 
 political subdivision of a State, or Tribal law, 
 respectively, requiring public disclosure of 
 information or records.
 [(f) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to 
be appropriated to the Secretary to carry out this section 
$250,000,000 for the period of fiscal years 2022 through 2026.]

SEC. 40124. RURAL AND MUNICIPAL UTILITY ADVANCED CYBERSECURITY GRANT 
 AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.

 (a) Definitions.--In this section:
 (1) Advanced cybersecurity technology.--The term 
 ``advanced cybersecurity technology'' means any 
 technology, operational capability, or service, 
 including computer hardware, software, or a related 
 asset, that enhances the security posture of electric 
 utilities through improvements in the ability to 
 protect against, detect, respond to, or recover from a 
 cybersecurity threat.
 (2) Bulk-power system.--The term ``bulk-power 
 system'' has the meaning given the term in section 
 215(a) of the Federal Power Act.
 (3) Cybersecurity threat.--The term ``cybersecurity 
 threat'' has the meaning given the term in section 2200 
 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002.
 (4) Defense critical electric infrastructure.--The 
 term ``defense critical electric infrastructure'' has 
 the meaning given the term in section 215A(a) of the 
 Federal Power Act.
 (5) Eligible entity.--The term ``eligible entity'' 
 means--
 (A) a rural electric cooperative;
 (B) an electric utility owned by a political 
 subdivision of a State, such as a municipally 
 owned electric utility;
 (C) an electric utility owned by any agency, 
 authority, corporation, or instrumentality of 1 
 or more political subdivisions of a State;
 (D) a not-for-profit entity that is in a 
 partnership with not fewer than 6 entities 
 described in subparagraph (A), (B), or (C); and
 (E) an investor-owned electric utility that 
 sells less than 4,000,000 megawatt hours of 
 electricity per year.
 (6) Program.--The term ``Program'' means the Rural 
 and Municipal Utility Advanced Cybersecurity Grant and 
 Technical Assistance Program established under 
 subsection (b).
 (b) Establishment.--The Secretary shall maintain a program, 
to be known as the Rural and Municipal Utility Advanced 
Cybersecurity Grant and Technical Assistance Program, to 
provide technical assistance and award funding, including 
grants, cooperative agreements, and prizes, to eligible 
entities to protect against, detect, respond to, and recover 
from cybersecurity threats.
 (c) Objectives.--The objectives of the Program shall be--
 (1) to deploy advanced cybersecurity technologies for 
 electric utility systems; and
 (2) to increase the participation of eligible 
 entities in cybersecurity threat information sharing 
 programs.
 (d) Awards.--
 (1) In general.--In carrying out the Program, the 
 Secretary--
 (A) shall, subject to the availability of 
 appropriations, provide technical assistance, 
 and award funding, including grants, 
 cooperative agreements, and prizes, to eligible 
 entities on a competitive or noncompetitive 
 basis;
 (B) shall develop criteria for providing such 
 technical assistance and awarding such funding;
 (C) may enter into agreements that can 
 facilitate the objectives described in 
 subsection (c) with eligible entities to 
 provide technical assistance or award funding, 
 including grants, cooperative agreements, and 
 prizes; and
 (D) shall establish a process to ensure, to 
 the extent practicable, that all eligible 
 entities are informed about opportunities to 
 receive technical assistance or funding, 
 including grants, cooperative agreements, and 
 prizes.
 (2) Priority for funding and technical assistance.--
 In providing technical assistance and awarding funding, 
 including grants, cooperative agreements, and prizes, 
 under the Program, the Secretary shall give priority to 
 an eligible entity that, as determined by the 
 Secretary--
 (A) has limited cybersecurity resources;
 (B) owns assets critical to the reliability 
 of the bulk-power system; or
 (C) owns or operates defense critical 
 electric infrastructure.
 (e) Protection of Information.--Information shared by or with 
the Federal Government or a State, Tribal, or local government 
under the Program shall be deemed voluntarily shared 
information and exempt from disclosure under section 552 of 
title 5, United States Code (commonly known as the Freedom of 
Information Act), or any provision of any State, Tribal, or 
local freedom of information law, open government law, open 
meetings law, open records law, sunshine law, or similar law 
requiring the disclosure of information or records.
 (f) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to 
be appropriated to the Secretary to carry out this section 
$250,000,000 for the period of fiscal years 2026 through 2030.

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