The purpose of this announcement is to solicit applications for projects that support state and local efforts to prevent terrorism and targeted violence and prepare for the threats and hazards that pose the greatest risk to the security of Texas citizens. The Office of the Governor (OOG), Public Safety Office (PSO) provides funding to implement investments that build, sustain, and deliver the 32 core capabilities essential to achieving a secure and resilient state. Funding under this announcement will be awarded on a competitive basis for projects supporting FEMA designated SHSP National Priority Areas for Supporting Border Crisis Response and Enforcement.
This funding supports state, tribal and local preparedness activities that address national and state-priority preparedness gaps across selected core capabilities where a nexus to terrorism exists. All investments must be consistent with capability targets set during the Threat and Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment (THIRA) process, and gaps identified in the Stakeholder Preparedness Review (SPR).
The State Homeland Security Program (SHSP) and Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI) are intended to support investments that improve the ability of jurisdictions to:
Many activities which support the achievement of target capabilities related to terrorism preparedness may simultaneously support enhanced preparedness for other hazards unrelated to acts of terrorism. However, all SHSP projects must assist grantees in achieving target capabilities related to preventing, preparing for, protecting against, or responding to acts of terrorism.
Federal funds are authorized under Section 2002 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002, as amended (Pub. L. No. 107-296), (6 U.S.C. 603). SHSP funds are made available through a Congressional appropriation to the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS). All awards are subject to the availability of appropriated federal funds and any modifications or additional requirements that may be imposed by law.
Applicants must access PSO’s eGrants grant management website at https://eGrants.gov.texas.gov to register and apply for funding.
Projects selected for funding must begin between January 1, 2026 and March 1, 2026, and expire on or before December 31, 2027. Additional guidelines are below:
Minimum: $10,000
Maximum: None.
PSO expects the following funding amounts to be available to fund projects under this announcement:
Match Requirement: None
Grantees must comply with standards applicable to this fund source cited in the Texas Grant Management Standards (TxGMS), Federal Uniform Grant Guidance, and all statutes, requirements, and guidelines applicable to this funding.
1. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has established National Priority Areas (NPA) for the Homeland Security Grant Program and requires the State to dedicate at least 30% of Texas’ SHSP funds to projects under the NPAs. PSO expects to invest at least 10% of available funding for projects under the Supporting Border Crisis Response and Enforcement NPA listed below. Note: This National Priority Areas is subject to review and approval by FEMA/DHS and any application submitted will be placed on hold until reviewed for effectiveness.
2. Grant projects must be submitted in support of the following approved NPA: Supporting Border Crisis Response and Enforcement
Core Capabilities: Risk management for protection programs and activities; Operational coordination; Community resilience
1. All capabilities being built or sustained must have a clear link to one or more Core Capabilities in the National Preparedness Goal.
2. Many capabilities which support terrorism preparedness simultaneously support preparedness for other hazards. Grantees must demonstrate this dual-use quality for any activities implemented under this program that are not explicitly focused on terrorism preparedness. Activities implemented under SHSP must support terrorism preparedness by building or sustaining capabilities that relate to the prevention of, protection from, mitigation of, response to, and/or recovery from terrorism.
3. Grantees are required to maintain adoption and implementation of the National Incident Management System (NIMS). The NIMS uses a systematic approach to integrate the best existing processes and methods into a unified national framework for incident management across all homeland security activities including prevention, protection, response, mitigation, and recovery. Grantees must use standardized resource management concepts for resource typing, credentialing, and an inventory to facilitate the effective identification, dispatch, deployment, tracking and recovery of resources.
4. Cities and counties must have a current emergency management plan or be a legally established member of an inter-jurisdictional emergency management program with a plan on file with the Texas Division of Emergency Management (TDEM). Plans must be maintained throughout the entire grant performance period. If you have questions concerning your Emergency Management Plan (preparedness) level, contact your Emergency Management Coordinator (EMC) or your regional Council of Governments (COG). For questions concerning plan deficiencies, contact TDEM at tdem.plans@tdem.texas.gov.
1. Local units of governments must comply with the Cybersecurity Training requirements described in Section 772.012 and Section 2054.5191 of the Texas Government Code. Local governments determined to not be in compliance with the cybersecurity requirements required by Section 2054.5191 of the Texas Government Code are ineligible for OOG grant funds until the second anniversary of the date the local government is determined ineligible. Government entities must annually certify their compliance with the training requirements using the Cybersecurity Training Certification for State and Local Governments. A copy of the Training Certification must be uploaded to your eGrants application. For more information or to access available training programs, visit the Texas Department of Information Resources Statewide Cybersecurity Awareness Training page.
2. Entities receiving funds from PSO must be located in a county that has an average of 90% or above on both adult and juvenile dispositions entered into the computerized criminal history database maintained by the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) as directed in the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure, Chapter 66. The disposition completeness percentage is defined as the percentage of arrest charges a county reports to DPS for which a disposition has been subsequently reported and entered into the computerized criminal history system.
Counties applying for grant awards from the Office of the Governor must commit that the county will report at least 90 percent of convictions within five business days to the Criminal Justice Information System at the Department of Public Safety.
3. Eligible applicants operating a law enforcement agency must be current on reporting complete UCR data and the Texas specific reporting mandated by 411.042 TGC, to the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) for inclusion in the annual Crime in Texas (CIT) publication. To be considered eligible for funding, applicants must have submitted a full twelve months of accurate data to DPS for the most recent calendar year by the deadline(s) established by DPS. Due to the importance of timely reporting, applicants are required to submit complete and accurate UCR data, as well as the Texas-mandated reporting, on a no less than monthly basis and respond promptly to requests from DPS related to the data submitted.
4. In accordance with Texas Government Code, Section 420.034, any facility or entity that collects evidence for sexual assault or other sex offenses or investigates or prosecutes a sexual assault or other sex offense for which evidence has been collected, must participate in the statewide electronic tracking system developed and implemented by the Texas Department of Public Safety. Visit DPS’s Sexual Assault Evidence Tracking Program website for more information or to set up an account to begin participating. Additionally, per Section 420.042 "A law enforcement agency that receives evidence of a sexual assault or other sex offense...shall submit that evidence to a public accredited crime laboratory for analysis no later than the 30th day after the date on which that evidence was received." A law enforcement agency in possession of a significant number of Sexual Assault Evidence Kits (SAEK) where the 30-day window has passed may be considered noncompliant.
5. Eligible applicants must be registered in the federal System for Award Management (SAM) database and have an UEI (Unique Entity ID) number assigned to its agency (to get registered in the SAM database and request an UEI number, go to https://sam.gov/)
6. The subrecipient agrees and certifies that it will comply with the requirements noted below related to coordination and cooperation with the Department of Homeland Security and immigration officials. Additionally, the subrecipient agrees that it will require any contractors to certify in the same manner that they will comply with these requirements prior to providing them with any funding under this award:
(a) They must comply with the requirements of 8 U.S.C. §§ 1373 and 1644. These statutes prohibit restrictions on information sharing by state and local government entities with DHS regarding the citizenship or immigration status, lawful or unlawful, of any individual. Additionally, 8 U.S.C. § 1373 prohibits any person or agency from prohibiting, or in any way restricting, a Federal, State, or local government entity from doing any of the following with respect to information regarding the immigration status of any individual: 1) sending such information to, or requesting or receiving such information from, Federal immigration officials; 2) maintaining such information; or 3) exchanging such information with any other Federal, State, or local government entity;
(b) They must comply with other relevant laws related to immigration, including prohibitions on encouraging or inducing an alien to come to, enter, or reside in the United States in violation of law, 8 U.S.C. § 1324(a)(1)(A)(iv), prohibitions on transporting or moving illegal aliens, 8 U.S.C. § 1324(a)(1)(A)(ii), prohibitions on harboring, concealing, or shielding from detection illegal aliens, 8 U.S.C. § 1324(a)(1)(A)(iii), and any applicable conspiracy, aiding or abetting, or attempted liability regarding these statutes;
(c) That they will honor requests for cooperation, such as participation in joint operations, sharing of information, or requests for short term detention of an alien pursuant to a valid detainer. A jurisdiction does not fail to comply with this requirement merely because it lacks the necessary resources to assist in a particular instance;
(d) That they will provide access to detainees, such as when an immigration officer seeks to interview a person who might be a removable alien; and
(e) That they will not leak or otherwise publicize the existence of an immigration enforcement operation.
(f) That they will comply with all provisions, policies, and penalties found in Chapter 752, Subchapter C of the Texas Government Code.
Each local unit of government, and institution of higher education that operates a law enforcement agency, must download, complete and then upload into eGrants the CEO/Law Enforcement Certifications and Assurances Form certifying compliance with federal and state immigration enforcement requirements. This Form is required for each application submitted to OOG and is active until August 31, 2026 or the end of the grant period, whichever is later.
Failure to comply with program or eligibility requirements may cause funds to be withheld and/or suspension or termination of grant funds.
Grant funds may not be used to support the unallowable costs listed in the Guide to Grants or any of the following unallowable costs:
PSO will screen all applications to ensure that they meet the requirements included in the funding announcement.
SHSP - Application Selection: Applications will be reviewed by PSO staff members or a review group selected by the executive director.
UASI – Application Selection: Applications submitted for jurisdictions within the geographical boundaries of a UASI will be sent to the respective Urban Area Working Groups (UAWG). The UAWG’s sub-committee(s) will prioritize all eligible applications based on state and UAWG priorities, the UAWG risk-informed methodology, cost, and program effectiveness. The PSO will accept priority listings that are approved by the UAWG’s executive committee.
Final Decisions – All Projects: The PSO executive director will consider UAWG rankings along with other factors and make all final funding decisions. Other factors may include cost effectiveness, overall funds availability, reasonableness, or other relevant factors.
PSO may not fund all applications or may only award part of the amount requested. In the event that funding requests exceed available funds, PSO may revise projects to address a more limited focus.
Pending FEMA Approval: All projects submitted under this solicitation and selected for award by PSO will undergo an enhanced effectiveness review by FEMA for final approval prior release of any funds.
For more information, contact the eGrants help desk at eGrants@gov.texas.gov or (512) 463-1919.