Big Story: NASCIOʼs 2026 agenda centers on state control, stable cyber funding, and dependable emergency infrastructure
Key Takeaways
NASCIO is urging federal lawmakers to avoid preempting state-level AI policy, arguing that states need room to govern AI systems already in active use.
The organization is calling for reauthorization and stabilization of the State and Local Cybersecurity Grant Program so states can plan multi-year security investments.
FirstNet reauthorization has risen to the top of NASCIOʼs agenda as its 2027 expiration approaches, reframing emergency communications as core national infrastructure.
Across state government, the modernization conversation is shifting towards what can be sustained. NASCIOʼs 2026 priorities reflect that shift. State CIOs are asking for room to govern technology locally, funding that does not reset every budget cycle, and infrastructure that does not hinge on last-minute federal decisions.
Cybersecurity funding sits at the center of this execution problem. NASCIO is asking Congress to renew the State and Local Cybersecurity Grant Program, and to make it reliable enough to support staffing, shared services, and long-term remediation plans. Stop-start funding forces states into short projects and contractor dependence, undermining the very resilience the program is meant to build.
The same logic applies to emergency communications. FirstNetʼs pending expiration has elevated it from a background concern to a top-tier advocacy issue. State CIOs are framing it as essential infrastructure for disaster response and interagency coordination instead of a discretionary program that can drift toward a last-minute reauthorization. With hearings already underway and a February 2027 deadline, NASCIO is pushing for early clarity.
NASCIO is also promoting wider adoption of the .gov domain to strengthen trust and reduce phishing risk, and urging consolidation of overlapping federal cyber requirements that drain limited state IT capacity. These changes do not generate headlines, but they directly affect how much time and money states can devote to actual security work.
Taken together, NASCIOʼs priorities point to a broader shift from experimentation to operating discipline. State CIOs are asking for the conditions that make modernization sustainable with clear authority to govern technology locally, funding that aligns with multi-year realities, and infrastructure that does not hinge on recurring federal cliffs.
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