HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.C.R. NO.	247
TWENTY-FOURTH LEGISLATURE, 2008
STATE OF HAWAII

HOUSE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

requesting the united states congress to enact legislation to waive single state agency requirements with regard to the administration of funds under the homeland security grant program.

     WHEREAS, on March 12, 1987, the President of the United States directed all affected agencies to issue a grants management common rule to adopt government‑wide terms and conditions for grants to state and local governments; and

     WHEREAS, consistent with their legal obligations, all federal agencies administering programs that involve grants and cooperative agreements with state governments must follow the policies outlined in the federal Office of Management and Budget Circular A‑102, as revised and amended; and

     WHEREAS, the Office of Management and Budget is authorized to grant deviations from the requirements when permissible under existing law, however deviations are permitted only in exceptional circumstances; and

     WHEREAS, according to a guidance document from the Department of Homeland Security, the governor of each state must designate a State Administrative Agency to apply for and administer the funds under the Homeland Security Grant Program; and

     WHEREAS, Hawaii State Civil Defense is the State Administrative Agency for these purposes in Hawaii; and

     WHEREAS, according to the Office for Domestic Preparedness Information Bulletin No. 112 (May 26, 2004), the State Administrative Agency is obligated to pass through no less than eighty per cent of its total grant award to local units of government within the State; and

     WHEREAS, according to the Office for Domestic Preparedness Information Bulletin No. 120 (June 16, 2004), the remaining twenty per cent can be retained at the state level; and

     WHEREAS, qualifying state and local government agencies in Hawaii can apply to Hawaii State Civil Defense for State Homeland Security Grant Program funds, and Hawaii State Civil Defense allocates funds based on investments and how well the program capabilities of the various state agencies tie together; and

     WHEREAS, a single state agency requirement in the application and allocation of funds under the Homeland Security Grant Program is misplaced because it grants considerable discretion to one state agency for the allocation of funds, with no oversight by the state legislature; and

     WHEREAS, it is traditionally the role of the state legislature as the policy making branch of the government to determine how financial resources should be allocated; and

     WHEREAS, state legislatures should have greater input and oversight regarding the allocation of funds under the Homeland Security Grant Program; now, therefore,

     BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-fourth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2008, the Senate concurring, that the United States Congress is requested to enact legislation to waive the single state agency requirement with regard to the administration of funds under the Homeland Security Grant Program and to provide state legislatures with authority to approve the allocation of funds under the Homeland Security Grant Program; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the President of the United States, the President of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, the Hawaii congressional delegation, and the state Adjutant General.

OFFERED BY:

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Report Title: 

State Administrative Agency; Homeland Security Grant Program