I 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 154

To authorize the Secretary of Homeland Security to make grants to reimburse 

State and local governments and Indian tribes for certain costs relating 

to the mobilization of Reserves who are first responder personnel of 

such governments or tribes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 4, 2005

Mr. MENENDEZ introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and in addition to the Committees on Energy and Commerce, and the Judiciary, for a period to be 

subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration 

of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL

To authorize the Secretary of Homeland Security to make 

grants to reimburse State and local governments and 

Indian tribes for certain costs relating to the mobilization 

of Reserves who are first responder personnel of such 

governments or tribes.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘State and Local Re5 servist First Responders Assistance Act of 2005’’. 
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1 SEC. 2. GRANTS TO STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS AND 

2 INDIAN TRIBES FOR CERTAIN COSTS RELAT3 ING TO MOBILIZATION OF RESERVES WHO 

4 ARE FIRST RESPONDER PERSONNEL. 

5 (a) GRANTS AUTHORIZED.—The Secretary of Home6 land Security may make a grant of financial assistance 

7 to any State or local government or Indian tribe in order 

8 to reimburse the State or local government or tribe for 

9 costs incurred by the State or local government or tribe 

10 as a result of a call or order to active duty of one or more 

11 Reserves who are first responder personnel of the State 

12 or local government or tribe if the call or order to duty 

13 is issued under the authority of a provision of law referred 

14 to in section 101(a)(13)(B) of title 10, United States 

15 Code. 

16 (b) FIRST RESPONDER PERSONNEL.—For purposes 

17 of this section, the term ‘‘first responder personnel’’— 

18 (1) means police, fire, rescue, emergency med19 ical service, and emergency hazardous material dis20 posal personnel; and 

21 (2) includes such other personnel as the Sec22 retary may specify in regulations prescribed under 

23 this section. 

24 (c) COVERED COSTS.—(1) The costs that may be re25 imbursed by a grant under subsection (a) to a State or 

26 local government or Indian tribe in connection with a call 
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1 or order of first responder personnel of the State or local 

2 government or tribe to active duty are any costs incurred 

3 by the State or local government or tribe as follows: 

4 (A) Costs (including salary and benefits) of hir5 ing first responder personnel to replace the first re6 sponder personnel called or ordered to active duty. 

7 (B) Costs of overtime pay for other first re8 sponder personnel of the State or local government 

9 or tribe. 

10 (C) Any other costs that the Secretary specifies 

11 in regulations prescribed under this section. 

12 (2) Costs of a State or local government or tribe may 

13 be reimbursed by a grant under subsection (a) only if the 

14 State or local government or tribe would not have incurred 

15 such costs but for the absence of first responder personnel 

16 pursuant to a call or order to active duty described in that 

17 subsection. 

18 (3) In seeking reimbursement for costs under sub19 section (a), a State or local government or tribe shall de20 duct from the costs for which reimbursement is sought 

21 the amounts, if any, saved by the State or local govern22 ment or tribe by reason of the absence of first responder 

23 personnel for active duty pursuant to a call or order to 

24 active duty described in that subsection. 
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1 (d) PERIOD COVERED BY GRANT.—(1) Except as 

2 provided in paragraph (2), a grant under subsection (a) 

3 shall reimburse a State or local government or Indian tribe 

4 for costs incurred by the State or local government or tribe 

5 during the year preceding the year of the application for 

6 the grant under subsection (f). 

7 (2) If the active duty of a particular Reserve during 

8 a year is insufficient to meet the duty requirement in sub9 section (e) for such year, but when combined with active 

10 duty in the succeeding year is sufficient to meet the duty 

11 requirement for such succeeding year, a grant under sub12 section (a) for such succeeding year shall also reimburse 

13 the State or local government or tribe for costs incurred 

14 in connection with the active duty of the Reserve during 

15 such year. 

16 (e) MINIMUM PERIOD OF DUTY FOR REIMBURSE17 MENT.—(1) Costs may be reimbursed by a grant under 

18 subsection (a) with respect to a particular Reserve only 

19 if the Reserve serves six or more consecutive months on 

20 active duty pursuant to a call or order to active duty 

21 issued under the authority of a provision of law referred 

22 to in subsection (a) at any time during the two calendar 

23 years preceding the application for the grant under sub24 section (f). 
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1 (2) If a particular Reserve meets the duty require2 ment in paragraph (1) for a grant under subsection (a) 

3 for a year, costs reimbursable by the grant shall include 

4 any costs in connection with the active duty of the Reserve 

5 described in that paragraph during such year. 

6 (f) MINIMUM GRANT ALLOCATION.—If in any fiscal 

7 year the total amount authorized to be appropriated by 

8 subsection (j) for grants under subsection (a) is less than 

9 the amount of grants that could otherwise be made under 

10 subsection (a) in such fiscal year, the aggregate amount 

11 available for grants under subsection (a) in such fiscal 

12 year for each State (including grants to such State and 

13 local governments and Indian tribes in such State) shall 

14 be not less than the amount equal to 0.75 percent of the 

15 amount authorized to be appropriated by subsection (j) 

16 for grants under subsection (a) in such fiscal year, except 

17 that the aggregate amount available for grants under sub18 section (a) in such fiscal year for each of the Virgin Is19 lands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth 

20 of the Northern Mariana Islands shall be not less than 

21 the amount equal to 0.25 percent of the amount author22 ized to be appropriated by subsection (j) for grants under 

23 subsection (a) in such fiscal year. 

24 (g) APPLICATION.—(1) A State or local government 

25 or Indian tribe seeking a grant under subsection (a) shall 
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1 submit to the Secretary an application therefor in such 

2 form, and containing such information, as the Secretary 

3 shall prescribe in the regulations under this section. 

4 (2) An application for a grant under subsection (a) 

5 for a year shall be submitted not later than February 15 

6 of the following year. 

7 (h) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary shall prescribe 

8 regulations for purposes of the administration of this sec9 tion. 

10 (i) STATE DEFINED.—In this section, the term 

11 ‘‘State’’ means each of the several States, the District of 

12 Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin 

13 Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth 

14 of the Northern Mariana Islands. 

15 (j) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

16 authorized to be appropriated for the Department of 

17 Homeland Security such sums as may be necessary to 

18 carry out this section. 

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