§604 Urban Area Security Initiative

Summary

Creates a grant program called the Urban Area Security Initiative that gives money to help high-risk cities and metro areas prevent and respond to terrorism. Each year the Administrator will rate eligible metro areas for threat, weakness, and potential harm using set factors and any information the areas send in. The Administrator then names which areas are “high-risk,” decides which local jurisdictions are included, can split a large metro into more than one high-risk area, and can even name an area that is not an eligible metro. A designated high-risk area can apply for a grant each year. The application must show how money and duties will be shared among local and tribal governments, name a liaison for the area, and include other information the Administrator asks for. The area must send the application to every State that contains part of it for review before the Department gets it; each State must forward the application to the Department within 30 days and may send a written objection explaining why it does not support the application. The Administrator will let applicants fix problems before final awards. If a grant is approved, money goes to the State(s). A State must give the high-risk area at least 80% of the grant within 45 days, spend any kept funds on things that benefit the area, and report how those funds were used. If the area is in more than one State, funds are split as the application says or as the Administrator decides. States must certify they provided the required funds. Authorized funding: $850,000,000 for FY2008; $950,000,000 for FY2009; $1,050,000,000 for FY2010; $1,150,000,000 for FY2011; $1,300,000,000 for FY2012; and such sums as are necessary for FY2013 and each year after.