Bill requires local input on annual review of state threats

WASHINGTON -- A bill introduced this week in Congress would write into law a requirement that federal homeland security officials prepare risk assessments each year for every state before distributing millions of dollars in preparedness grants.

State and local authorities would need to be consulted when the Federal Emergency Management Agency puts together the evaluations that guide where security grants are awarded, according to the legislation, which was sponsored by Rep. Dina Titus, D-Nev.

Titus, who sits on the House Homeland Security Committee, said the bill carries out one of the recommendations of a 2009 FEMA study.

It reported several states were unhappy with a "lack of transparency or continuity in the entire risk assessment process."

For instance, the study said, "states that are highly vulnerable to hurricanes, tsunamis and earthquakes would like these high impact, high likelihood threats to be properly weighted" with possible threats from terrorists.

FEMA and the Department of Homeland Security perform annual risk assessments now, "but it is not required by law," Titus spokesman Andrew Stoddard said.

"This legislation is about making sure communities such as Las Vegas that face certain threats have the information and data they need to best use vital homeland security funding," Titus said in a statement.