SB 98

Virginia Emergency Management Preparedness and Capabilities Grant Program and Fund established; work group; report. Establishes the Virginia Emergency Management Preparedness and Capabilities Grant Program and Fund, within the Department of Emergency Management, for the purpose of awarding grants to political subdivisions to assist with the cost of emergency management and preparedness. The bill directs the Department to establish guidelines for the administration of the Program and awarding grants from the Fund to political subdivisions. The bill requires a political subdivision awarded a grant to (i) use such grant funds for certain purposes to advance the emergency preparedness of such political subdivision and (ii) provide a 50 percent match of local or federal funds for the award. The bill also requires the Department, beginning on or before December 1, 2026, and each year thereafter, to submit a report to the Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security, the Governor, and the Chairs of the House Committee on Public Safety and the Senate Committee on Finance and Appropriations summarizing the activities of the Program. Lastly, the bill directs the Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security to establish a work group to study existing emergency management needs and analyze sustainability of current funding, among other things, and to report the work group's findings and recommendations to the Chairs of the House Committee on General Laws and the Senate Committee on General Laws and Technology on or before October 1, 2026.