§281 Procurement of Equipment by State and Local Governments Through the Department of Defense: Equipment for Counter-drug, Homeland Security, and Emergency Response Activities

Summary

The Secretary of Defense must set up a way for States and local governments to buy equipment for counter‑drug work, homeland security, and emergency response through the Department of Defense. To use the program, a State must send a request in the form and at the time the Secretary requires, pick only items from the official catalog, and pay in advance the amount the Secretary sets to cover the equipment and the Department’s handling costs. A State’s request should list the items wanted by the State and its local governments. A Governor may make rules for collecting local requests, and the State must arrange and pay to ship the equipment. The Secretary must work with the General Services Administration and other federal agencies to avoid duplicating work. The Department will require payment to cover its administrative costs for each purchase. The Administrator of the General Services Administration, working with the Secretary of Defense, will create and keep the catalog of approved equipment. “State” includes DC, Puerto Rico, the Northern Mariana Islands, and any U.S. territory or possession. “Unit of local government” covers cities, counties, towns, tribes that do law enforcement or emergency work (as the Secretary of the Interior decides), and certain agencies in DC and the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands. What counts as eligible equipment is defined by Department of Defense rules; the list cannot include items DoD does not buy for itself, and homeland security items must appear on the Department of Homeland Security’s Authorized Equipment List.