Billions Requested:

States Line Up for Funds for Homeland Security Measures

One of the largest initiatives is the $3 billion Homeland Security Block Grant Act, introduced by Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton and Charles Schumer (both D-N.Y.) and others. It would provide financial assistance to communities for protection against terrorism by improving security and public safety. Seventy percent of the funding would go to local "qualifying communities," while the balance is earmarked for states, which could distribute the funds to "non-qualifying communities." Funding can be used for additional law enforcement, fire, emergency resources, technology to improve communication and streamline efforts, improve cyber and infrastructure security, and other related system improvements. The Department of Justice would administer the funds.

State and local official, including Baltimore's Mayor Martin O'Malley, are clamoring for the passage of this bill. They appeared before two Senate committees Dec. 11 to call on the federal government in support of such assistance to local governments. The hearing coincided with the release of the U.S. Conference of Mayors' homeland security recommendations, which details the strain on municipalities:

"Of the approximately $10 billion federal terrorism budget identified by the Office of Management and Budget, only 4.9 percent is allocated to state and local first response activities," the report stated. "And, of this limited amount, most goes to the states rather than directly to America's cities and major population centers."

The conference's report calls for an immediate increase in investment for intelligent transportation systems and the merger of federal and local intelligence databases.

The report and the government officials at the hearings also endorsed the Homeland Security Block Grant legislation.

Javier Gonzales, president of the National Association of Counties, spoke of local governments' needs for mobile command centers, communications equipment, hazardous materials handling gear, and emergency drills, among other measures.

The cultural and legal barriers to information sharing are the immediate problems, officials told the Senate Judiciary Committee's Administrative Oversight and the Courts Subcommittee.

State and local officials and stressing to federal officials that there is a "very dangerous gap" in communication between governmental levels. Mayor O'Malley was among those who testified on this point. He called for more federal support of the "front-line" employees who perform police work and investigations.

The Utah Olympic Public Safety Command, an intergovernmental task force set up for the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, was cited as a good example of how information can be shared among different levels of government officials.

Other Security Developments at the Local Level

The New Jersey Department of Education has awarded $1.5 million in federal grants to 35 school districts affected by the Sept. 11 attacks. These funds come from Project SERV (School Emergency Response to Violence), and are designed to assist school districts in which the learning environment has been disrupted due to a violent crisis, providing such assistance as additional counselors, security staff, emergency transportation and technical assistance.

North Carolina's Gov. Mike Easley has signed House Bill 1468, designed to toughen criminal penalties for creating or using weapons of mass destruction. It makes the manufacturing, possession, storage, sale or transportation of weapons of mass destruction a felony carrying a sentence of 20 years to life in prison. Another new North Carolina bill creates a registry of labs that house chemical or biological agents. The governor is authorized to spend up to $30 million in reserves for security.

In New Hampshire, Gov. Jeanne Shaheen is promoting technology as the key to improving the safety of transportation systems and borders without hindering commerce and trade.

Attorney General John Ashcroft has directed all U.S. attorneys to designate a chief information officer to develop communication protocols for sharing information with local elected officials on anti-terrorism activities. At a minimum, Ashcroft has directed that the protocol in each district will include a system to communicate information 24 hours a day, seven days a week. In addition, the National Law Enforcement Coordinating Committee on counter-terrorism has been established to provide recommendations on how to facilitate better cooperation among all levels of law enforcement in the war on terrorism.

Pennsylvania's Gov. Mark Schweiker has proposed the establishment of a state-level advisory council to coordinate cross-agency activities related to homeland security; deploy a second Urban Search and Rescue team within the state; expand the radiological environmental surveillance program of the Department of Environmental Protection's Bureau of Radiation Protection; and complete the Public Safety Radio Project so that emergency responders may communicate more quickly.

The new Airport Security Act would authorize $1.5 billion for FY02-03 to reimburse airport operators and local governments for security required by federal regulation or law. On-airport parking lots and vendors of on-airport direct services would also be eligible for this funding.

Kentucky has set up a homeland security team to manage the state's preparedness to respond to any potential acts of domestic terrorism. The team meets weekly and has established a Web site to find information and updates on any security issues related to terrorism and Kentucky. The Web site, at http://homeland.state.ky.us/, features the latest information on health, travel, procedures for opening mail, information for state employees and information on children's concerns.

The State of Maryland has issued a $400,000 grant to establish a wireless, single-frequency communications link for federal, state and local emergency responders. Eventually this link would be available statewide.