TO:	All State Administrative Agency Heads All State Administrative Agency Points of Contact All Core City/Core County Points of Contact All State Homeland Security Directors
FROM:	C. Suzanne Mencer Executive Director
SUBJECT:	Allowable Information/Intelligence Analysis Activities Under the Fiscal Year 2005 Homeland Security Grant Program

On December 2, 2004, the Office for Domestic Preparedness (ODP) issued the Fiscal Year (FY) 2005 Homeland Security Grant Program (HSGP) Program Guidelines and Application Kit. The program guidelines include information on allowable activities under the Urban Areas Security Initiative (UASI) and the Law Enforcement Terrorism Prevention Program (LETPP).

The FY05 HSGP guidance states that grantees may use no more than 25% of the gross amount of FY05 UASI and LETPP awards to support select operational activities. Allowable operational activities in FY05 for these two programs include a new line item for the hiring of contractors/consultants for participation in information/intelligence sharing groups or intelligence fusion centers. This operational cost category was added in recognition of the fact that many states and local jurisdictions are dedicating significant resources to establishing and sustaining fusion centers to facilitate the collection, analysis, and dissemination of homeland security information. This allowable operational cost applies to both FY04 and FY05 UASI and LETPP funding.

Homeland security is now considered to be part of the core public safety mission of state, tribal, and local governments. As such, grantees may not use ODP funds to hire permanent staff for operational activities to perform these responsibilities or to supplant ongoing, routine public safety activities of state and local law enforcement.