§605 State Homeland Security Grant Program

Summary

Creates a State Homeland Security Grant Program to help State, local, and tribal governments prevent, prepare for, protect against, and respond to terrorism. Each State must apply every year and give the federal program basic information: why it wants the money, how it will share the money with local governments and tribes, and a budget for how the money will be spent. Within 45 days of getting the grant, a State must make at least 80 percent of the grant available to local and tribal governments either as money or, if locals agree, as items or services worth that amount. The State must tell the federal official that it met this rule. A Governor can ask for more time, and local or tribal governments can ask the federal official to pay them directly if the State does not pass the money on. The 45‑day sharing rule does not apply to the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, or the Virgin Islands. Two or more States may apply together for a multistate grant. If they do, they must say who will run the grant and how money will be split. The federal official must make sure each State gets at least a set minimum share of the total program funds: 0.375% in 2008, 0.365% in 2009, 0.36% in 2010, 0.355% in 2011, and 0.35% in 2012 and later. American Samoa, the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, and the Virgin Islands each must get at least 0.08% each year. A State’s part of any multistate award counts toward these minimums. Congress authorized $950,000,000 for each fiscal year 2008 through 2012, and “such sums as are necessary” for 2013 and later.