The U.S. House of Representatives passed the States and High-Risk Urban Area Working Group Act, H.R. 4509, on Wednesday.
The legislations requires decision makers involved in disaster response planning to work together to gain a complete understanding of a community’s vulnerabilities so that homeland security grant investments can be prioritized appropriately.
U.S. Rep. Donald Payne, Jr. (D-NJ), authored the legislation, which would require any state or high-risk urban area receiving funding under the State Homeland Security Grant program or the Urban Area Security Initiative to establish a state planning committee to assist the state in preparation of threat and hazard identification and risk assessments.
Representatives in planning committees would also be required to include local and tribal officials, emergency response providers, public health officials, individuals representing educational institutions, state and regional interoperable communications coordinators, and state and major urban area fusion centers when appropriate.
The bill also requires members of the state planning committee to be from the area in which they are working.
“Any time there is a lack of coordination between the various individuals and entities charged with protecting our communities, we leave ourselves vulnerable to disasters and emergencies,” Payne said. “The State and High-Risk Urban Area Working Group Act ensures that the right people are at the table when decisions are made about how federal homeland security grant funds are to be spent at the state and local level. Its passage marks a meaningful step forward in protecting our communities against vulnerabilities and keeping them prepared for disasters.”