[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 132 (Monday, July 10, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Page 42369]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-17365]


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FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY


Emergency Management Performance Grants

AGENCY: Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

ACTION: Notice of change to cost share policy.

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SUMMARY: We (FEMA) are standardizing the cost share for the Emergency 
Management Performance Grant in order to bring about a fair and 
equitable distribution of grant funds and cost-share requirements among 
the States.

DATES: The cost share change is effective October 1, 2000 for FY 2001 
grants.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jonna M. Long, Federal Emergency 
Management Agency, 500 C Street SW., room 717, Washington, DC 20472, 
telephone (202) 646-7057; facsimile (202) 646-4157; or email 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    In FY 2000, we consolidated funding for certain non-disaster 
programs into the Emergency Management Performance Grant (EMPG). 
Programs consolidated include State and Local Assistance (SLA); 
Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act (SARA) Title III; 
Mitigation Assistance Program (MAP); Disaster Preparedness Improvement 
Grants (DPIG); Pre-disaster Mitigation (Project Impact) to States; and 
Terrorism Consequence Management Preparedness Assistance (TCMPA).
    We offered the grants in FY 2000 at composite cost shares based on 
the cost share policies associated with the programs consolidated into 
the EMPG. The composite cost shares for the non-terrorism portion of 
the EMPG ranged from approximately 51 percent Federal/49 percent State 
to approximately 54 percent Federal/46 percent State. The TCMPA portion 
was 100 percent federally-funded.
    The composite cost shares were dependent upon which of the six 
programs a State participated in before consolidation, and for some 
programs how many years a State participated. The result of this varied 
participation by States is that the consolidation process has the 
potential to lock-in an uneven distribution of cost-share requirements.

Phase-In Procedure

    We used the composite cost shares during the transition from the 
multiple programs to the unified EMPG. To complete the transition, and 
in order to bring about a fair and reasonable distribution of the funds 
for emergency management, we are phasing in implementation of a Federal 
cost share of 50 percent that will apply equally to all States for the 
non-TCMPA portion of the EMPG. This will be more equitable and easier 
to manage than previously, both at the Federal and State levels. States 
will have a simpler and more predictable means of planning for their 
share of the costs of emergency management than now, which will help 
their long-term budgeting process. The complete phase-in of the 
standard cost share will take approximately four years, with some 
States arriving at the 50 percent level each year.
    The TCMPA portion will continue to be 100 percent federally-funded.

FY 2001 Procedure

    For FY 2001 grants, we will pay a cost share one percentage point 
less than the composite share that we paid in 2000. For example, if a 
particular State's EMPG was shared in FY 2000 at 52 percent Federal/48 
percent State, in FY 2001 the grant will be shared at 51 percent 
Federal/49 percent State. Such phasing in of the standard cost share 
will ease the financial burden to the State (by avoiding too large an 
adjustment in any one year) and will enable it to budget better for 
outyear cost shares.

    Authority: P.L. 106-74, the Department of Veterans Affairs and 
Housing and Urban Development, and Independent Agencies 
Appropriations Act, 2000, 113 Stat. 1086.

    Dated: June 15, 2000.
Patricia A. English,
Acting Chief Financial Officer.
[FR Doc. 00-17365 Filed 7-7-00; 8:45 am]
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