Concerning election security.

The bill title was changed from 'Substitute Senate Bill' to 'Engrossed Substitute Senate Bill', indicating it has passed both legislative chambers.

A new requirement was added for the Secretary of State to consult with county auditors to determine which specific systems and assets must be partitioned or isolated to prevent lateral movement of cyber threats.

The Secretary of State is now authorized to extend the July 1, 2027 compliance deadline for county auditors if more time is needed to implement the new cybersecurity measures.

The bill number was changed from Z-0158.2 to S-0896.1, and the sponsorship section was updated to reflect the bill's progression through the legislative process.

The requirement for network partitioning was expanded to allow separating the entire auditor's office or just election systems, clarifying that both physical and logical separation are acceptable methods.

The mandate for vendors to report security breaches was reinforced to ensure immediate communication with the Secretary of State and Attorney General upon discovery.

The definition of a 'security breach' was broadened to explicitly include unauthorized access by internal personnel, not just external attackers.

A specific implementation deadline of July 1, 2027, was added for counties to adopt new cybersecurity measures like .gov domains and network partitioning.