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 Com-
mittee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and in addition to the Com-
mittees 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 con-
cerned 
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.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘State and Local Re-
servist First Responders Assistance Act of 2005’’.
SEC. 2. GRANTS TO STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS AND 
INDIAN TRIBES FOR CERTAIN COSTS RELAT-
ING TO MOBILIZATION OF RESERVES WHO 
ARE FIRST RESPONDER PERSONNEL. 
(a) GRANTS AUTHORIZED.—The Secretary of Home-
land Security may make a grant of financial assistance 
to any State or local government or Indian tribe in order 
to reimburse the State or local government or tribe for 
costs incurred by the State or local government or tribe 
as a result of a call or order to active duty of one or more 
Reserves who are first responder personnel of the State 
or local government or tribe if the call or order to duty 
is issued under the authority of a provision of law referred 
to in section 101(a)(13)(B) of title 10, United States 
Code. 
(b) FIRST RESPONDER PERSONNEL.—For purposes 
of this section, the term ‘‘first responder personnel’’— 
(1) means police, fire, rescue, emergency med-
ical service, and emergency hazardous material dis-
posal personnel; and 
(2) includes such other personnel as the Sec-
retary may specify in regulations prescribed under 
this section. 
(c) COVERED COSTS.—(1) The costs that may be re-
imbursed by a grant under subsection (a) to a State or 
local government or Indian tribe in connection with a call
or order of first responder personnel of the State or local 
government or tribe to active duty are any costs incurred 
by the State or local government or tribe as follows: 
(A) Costs (including salary and benefits) of hir-
ing first responder personnel to replace the first re-
sponder personnel called or ordered to active duty. 
(B) Costs of overtime pay for other first re-
sponder personnel of the State or local government 
or tribe. 
(C) Any other costs that the Secretary specifies 
in regulations prescribed under this section. 
(2) Costs of a State or local government or tribe may 
be reimbursed by a grant under subsection (a) only if the 
State or local government or tribe would not have incurred 
such costs but for the absence of first responder personnel 
pursuant to a call or order to active duty described in that 
subsection. 
(3) In seeking reimbursement for costs under sub-
section (a), a State or local government or tribe shall de-
duct from the costs for which reimbursement is sought 
the amounts, if any, saved by the State or local govern-
ment or tribe by reason of the absence of first responder 
personnel for active duty pursuant to a call or order to 
active duty described in that subsection.
(d) PERIOD COVERED BY GRANT.—(1) Except as 
provided in paragraph (2), a grant under subsection (a) 
shall reimburse a State or local government or Indian tribe 
for costs incurred by the State or local government or tribe 
during the year preceding the year of the application for 
the grant under subsection (f). 
(2) If the active duty of a particular Reserve during 
a year is insufficient to meet the duty requirement in sub-
section (e) for such year, but when combined with active 
duty in the succeeding year is sufficient to meet the duty 
requirement for such succeeding year, a grant under sub-
section (a) for such succeeding year shall also reimburse 
the State or local government or tribe for costs incurred 
in connection with the active duty of the Reserve during 
such year. 
(e) MINIMUM PERIOD OF DUTY FOR REIMBURSE-
MENT.—(1) Costs may be reimbursed by a grant under 
subsection (a) with respect to a particular Reserve only 
if the Reserve serves six or more consecutive months on 
active duty pursuant to a call or order to active duty 
issued under the authority of a provision of law referred 
to in subsection (a) at any time during the two calendar 
years preceding the application for the grant under sub-
section (f).
(2) If a particular Reserve meets the duty require-
ment in paragraph (1) for a grant under subsection (a) 
for a year, costs reimbursable by the grant shall include 
any costs in connection with the active duty of the Reserve 
described in that paragraph during such year. 
(f) MINIMUM GRANT ALLOCATION.—If in any fiscal 
year the total amount authorized to be appropriated by 
subsection (j) for grants under subsection (a) is less than 
the amount of grants that could otherwise be made under 
subsection (a) in such fiscal year, the aggregate amount 
available for grants under subsection (a) in such fiscal 
year for each State (including grants to such State and 
local governments and Indian tribes in such State) shall 
be not less than the amount equal to 0.75 percent of the 
amount authorized to be appropriated by subsection (j) 
for grants under subsection (a) in such fiscal year, except 
that the aggregate amount available for grants under sub-
section (a) in such fiscal year for each of the Virgin Is-
lands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth 
of the Northern Mariana Islands shall be not less than 
the amount equal to 0.25 percent of the amount author-
ized to be appropriated by subsection (j) for grants under 
subsection (a) in such fiscal year. 
(g) APPLICATION.—(1) A State or local government 
or Indian tribe seeking a grant under subsection (a) shall
submit to the Secretary an application therefor in such 
form, and containing such information, as the Secretary 
shall prescribe in the regulations under this section. 
(2) An application for a grant under subsection (a) 
for a year shall be submitted not later than February 15 
of the following year. 
(h) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary shall prescribe 
regulations for purposes of the administration of this sec-
tion. 
(i) STATE DEFINED.—In this section, the term 
‘‘State’’ means each of the several States, the District of 
Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin 
Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth 
of the Northern Mariana Islands. 
(j) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 
authorized to be appropriated for the Department of 
Homeland Security such sums as may be necessary to 
carry out this section. 
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