States sue Trump administration over restrictions put on FEMA emergency grants

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Eleven states and Kentucky's governor are suing the Trump administration over what they call “unlawful terms” placed on federal funding critical to supporting local disaster and terrorism preparedness.

The predominantly Democratic-led states, which include Michigan, Oregon and Arizona, along with Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear sued the Department of Homeland Security and Federal Emergency Management Agency on Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Eugene, Oregon.

The states oppose a dramatic cut to the amount of time they are given to spend emergency management and homeland security grants, as well as an unprecedented requirement that they submit population counts omitting people removed under immigration law in order to receive emergency management funds. They argue the measures “erect inappropriate barriers” to money for public safety and emergency response.

“The Trump administration has repeatedly expressed a desire to diminish FEMA’s role and shift the burden of emergency management to the States, thus reverting to an inconsistent patchwork of disaster response across the Nation,” the states said in the complaint.

In a statement to The Associated Press, a DHS spokesperson said the changes were "part of a methodical, reasonable effort to ensure that federal dollars are used effectively and in line with the administration’s priorities and today’s homeland security threats.”

The Federal Emergency Management Agency awards billions in emergency management and homeland security grants annually to states, tribes and territories. State and local agencies spend the money on staff salaries, preparedness training and equipment purchases.

The lawsuit centers on two grant programs, the $320 million Emergency Management Performance Grant and the $1 billion Homeland Security Grant Program.

EMPG awards are based on states' populations, determined through U.S. Census data. States received notices of their award amountsjust before the Sept. 30 end of the fiscal year.

But on Oct. 1, FEMA sent a “funding hold” to all grant recipients, informing them that funds would not be released until states provided “certification” of their current populations, excluding individuals “removed from the State pursuant to the immigration laws of the United States.”

FEMA said states had to explain their methodology and funds would be released upon “review and approval” of that methodology.

The complaint calls the requirement “arbitrary and capricious,” adding that states do not keep “to-the-minute” population counts, it is the job of DHS to track immigration-related removals, and federal agencies are required by law to use Census data to allocate funding.

FEMA also shortened the time states had to spend the money from both grants from three years to just one. Plaintiff states said the change “imposes significant obstacles" on recipients' ability to use funds and makes the funding "largely unusable.”

Both states and local governments depend heavily on the grants. The $6.6 million Arizona would receive from EMPG funds half of the state’s emergency management operations, according to the complaint.

Oregon’s Department of Emergency Management estimates two-thirds of the state’s counties would lose “significant or even all capacity to perform basic emergency management functions" without EMPG funding, according to a statement from Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield’s office.

The lawsuit is the latest of several brought against the Trump administration over changes and cancellations to FEMA funding. Trump has repeatedly said he wants to diminish FEMA's role in disasters and put more responsibility on states.