6 U.S.C. § 608 — Prioritization

Page 308 TITLE 6—DOMESTIC SECURITY § 608 § 608. Prioritization (a) In general In allocating funds among States and high- risk urban areas applying for grants under sec- tion 604 or 605 of this title, the Administrator shall consider, for each State or high-risk urban area— (1) its relative threat, vulnerability, and consequences from acts of terrorism, including consideration of— (A) its population, including appropriate consideration of military, tourist, and com- muter populations; (B) its population density; (C) its history of threats, including wheth- er it has been the target of a prior act of ter- rorism; (D) its degree of threat, vulnerability, and consequences related to critical infrastruc- ture (for all critical infrastructure sectors) or key resources identified by the Adminis- trator or the State homeland security plan, including threats, vulnerabilities, and con- sequences related to critical infrastructure or key resources in nearby jurisdictions; (E) the most current threat assessments available to the Department; (F) whether the State has, or the high-risk urban area is located at or near, an inter- national border; (G) whether it has a coastline bordering an ocean (including the Gulf of Mexico) or international waters; (H) its likely need to respond to acts of terrorism occurring in nearby jurisdictions; (I) the extent to which it has unmet target capabilities; (J) in the case of a high-risk urban area, the extent to which that high-risk urban area includes— (i) those incorporated municipalities, counties, parishes, and Indian tribes with- in the relevant eligible metropolitan area, the inclusion of which will enhance re- gional efforts to prevent, prepare for, pro- tect against, and respond to acts of ter- rorism; and (ii) other local and tribal governments in the surrounding area that are likely to be called upon to respond to acts of terrorism within the high-risk urban area; and (K) such other factors as are specified in writing by the Administrator; and (2) the anticipated effectiveness of the pro- posed use of the grant by the State or high- risk urban area in increasing the ability of that State or high-risk urban area to prevent, prepare for, protect against, and respond to acts of terrorism, to meet its target capabili- ties, and to otherwise reduce the overall risk to the high-risk urban area, the State, or the Nation. (b) Types of threat In assessing threat under this section, the Ad- ministrator shall consider the following types of threat to critical infrastructure sectors and to populations in all areas of the United States, urban and rural: (1) Biological. (2) Chemical. (3) Cyber. (4) Explosives. (5) Incendiary. (6) Nuclear. (7) Radiological. (8) Suicide bombers. (9) Such other types of threat determined relevant by the Administrator. (Pub. L. 107–296, title XX, § 2007, as added Pub. L. 110–53, title I, § 101, Aug. 3, 2007, 121 Stat. 282.) § 609. Use of funds (a) Permitted uses The Administrator shall permit the recipient of a grant under section 604 or 605 of this title to use grant funds to achieve target capabilities re- lated to preventing, preparing for, protecting against, and responding to acts of terrorism, consistent with a State homeland security plan and relevant local, tribal, and regional home- land security plans, including by working in conjunction with a National Laboratory (as de- fined in section 15801(3) of title 42), through— (1) developing and enhancing homeland secu- rity, emergency management, or other rel- evant plans, assessments, or mutual aid agree- ments; (2) designing, conducting, and evaluating training and exercises, including training and exercises conducted under section 321a of this title and section 748 of this title; (3) protecting a system or asset included on the prioritized critical infrastructure list es- tablished under section 664(a)(2) of this title; (4) purchasing, upgrading, storing, or main- taining equipment, including computer hard- ware and software; (5) ensuring operability and achieving inter- operability of emergency communications; (6) responding to an increase in the threat level under the Homeland Security Advisory System, or to the needs resulting from a Na- tional Special Security Event; (7) establishing, enhancing, and staffing with appropriately qualified personnel State, local, and regional fusion centers that comply with the guidelines established under section 124h(i) of this title; (8) enhancing school preparedness; (9) enhancing the security and preparedness of secure and nonsecure areas of eligible air- ports and surface transportation systems; (10) supporting public safety answering points; (11) paying salaries and benefits for per- sonnel, including individuals employed by the grant recipient on the date of the relevant grant application, to serve as qualified intel- ligence analysts, regardless of whether such analysts are current or new full-time employ- ees or contract employees; (12) paying expenses directly related to ad- ministration of the grant, except that such ex- penses may not exceed 3 percent of the amount of the grant; (13) any activity permitted under the Fiscal Year 2007 Program Guidance of the Depart- ment for the State Homeland Security Grant Program, the Urban Area Security Initiative