Border Zone Fire Departments (BZFD), FY2027

Border Zone Fire Departments (BZFD), FY2027 is sponsored by Office of the Governor, State of Texas.

The purpose of this program is to provide grants to professional fire departments along the Texas-Mexico border region for specialized equipment, maintenance, and medical supplies to support emergency services associated with the execution of border security activities and deterring crimes occurring in the geographic area defined in Article IX, Section 7. 10 of the General Appropriations Act.

Border Zone Fire Departments (BZFD), FY2027 Border Zone Fire Departments (BZFD), FY2027 The purpose of this program is to provide grants to professional fire departments along the Texas-Mexico border region for specialized equipment, maintenance, and medical supplies to support emergency services associated with the execution of border security activities and deterring crimes occurring in the geographic area defined in Article IX, Section 7.

10 of the General Appropriations Act. State funds for these projects are authorized under the Texas General Appropriations Act, Article I, Rider 28 for Trusteed Programs within the Office of the Governor. All awards are subject to the availability of appropriated funds and any modifications or additional requirements that may be imposed by law.

Units of Local Government located within the following counties: Aransas, Brazoria, Brewster, Brooks, Calhoun, Cameron, Chambers, Culberson, Dimmit, El Paso, Galveston, Hidalgo, Hudspeth, Jeff Davis, Jefferson, Jim Hogg, Kenedy, Kinney, Kleberg, Matagorda, Maverick, Nueces, Orange, Presidio, San Patricio, Starr, Terrell, Val Verde, Webb, Willacy, or Zapata.

Note: Eligible applicants must operate a full time Fire Department regulated by the Texas Commission on Fire Protection (TCFP). Volunteer Fire Departments are not eligible. Applicants must access the PSO’s eGrants grant management website at https://eGrants.

gov.texas. go v to register and apply for funding. ***NEW APPLICATION SUBMISSION REQUIREMENT*** The following documents must be submitted with the application for the application to be considered complete and eligible for funding.

See the Eligibility Requirements and/or Program-Specific Requirements Sections of this Funding Announcement for more details on the requirements for each attachment/certification: Resolution from Governing Body - Applications from nonprofit corporations, local units of governments, and other political subdivisions must submit a fully executed resolution.

CEO/Law Enforcement Certifications and Assurances For m - Each local unit of government, and institution of higher education that operates a law enforcement agency, must certify compliance with federal and state immigration enforcement requirements. Failure to submit the fully executed required attachment(s) by the application deadline may result in the application being deemed ineligible.

Funding Announcement Release Online System Opening Date Final Date to Submit and Certify an Application Earliest Project Start Date Projects selected for funding must begin on or after 09/1/2026 and may not exceed a 12 month period.

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. Eligible Activities and Costs 1. EQUIPMENT : Costs for equipment which will be routinely used for emergency services in support of border security activities.

2. SUPPLIES and DIRECT OPERATING EXPENSE : Certain emergency service operational costs are also allowable, such as those described below. Medical supplies for use during border incident responses.

Maintenance for vehicles, boats, generators, and similar equipment routinely used in border incident responses. The cost of minor emergency repairs to vehicles or equipment routinely used in support of border security activities. Only actual expenses, supported by receipts, may be reimbursed under this grant program.

1. Applications from nonprofit corporations, local units of governments, and other political subdivisions must submit a fully executed resolution with the application to be considered eligible for funding.

The resolution must contain the following elements (see Sample Resolution) : Authorization by your governing body for the submission of the application to the Public Safety Office (PSO) that clearly identifies the name of the project for which funding is requested; A commitment to provide all applicable matching funds; A designation of the name and/or title of an authorized official who is given the authority to apply for, accept, reject, alter, or terminate a grant; A designation of the name and/or title of a financial officer who is given the authority to submit financial and/or performance reports or alter a grant; and A written assurance that, in the event of loss or misuse of grant funds, the governing body will return all funds to PSO.

2. 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.

3. 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% of convictions within five business days to the Criminal Justice Information System at the Department of Public Safety. 4. 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. 5. 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. 6.

Local units of government, including cities, counties and other general purpose political subdivisions, as appropriate, and institutions of higher education that operate a law enforcement agency, must comply with all aspects of the programs and procedures utilized by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) to: (1) notify DHS of all information requested by DHS related to illegal aliens in Agency’s custody; and (2) detain such illegal aliens in accordance with requests by DHS.

Additionally, counties and municipalities may NOT have in effect, purport to have in effect, or make themselves subject to or bound by, any law, rule, policy, or practice (written or unwritten) that would: (1) require or authorize the public disclosure of federal law enforcement information in order to conceal, harbor, or shield from detection fugitives from justice or aliens illegally in the United States, 8 U.S.C.

§ 1324(a)(1)(A)(iii); (2) impede federal officers from exercising authority under 8 U.S.C. § 1226(a), § 1226(c), § 1231(a), § 1357(a), § 1366(1), or § 1366(3); (3) encourage or induce 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); (4) result in the illegal transport or movement of aliens within the United States, 8 U.S.C.

§ 1324(a)(1)(A)(ii) . Lastly, eligible applicants must 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, 2027 or the end of the grant period, whichever is later. 7. 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/ ). Failure to comply with program 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: Salaries and personnel costs; Training and travel costs; Weapons, ammunition, tasers, or explosives; Any expense or service that is readily available at no cost to the grant project; Any use of grant funds to replace (supplant) funds that have been budgeted for the same purpose through non-grant sources; Construction, renovation, or remodeling; Aircraft (including sUAS, drones, unmanned aerial aircraft); Ambulances (types 1, 2, & 3); and any other prohibition imposed by federal, state, or local law.

PSO will screen all applications to ensure that they meet the requirements included in the funding announcement. Applications will then be reviewed by PSO staff members or a review group selected by the executive director. PSO will make all final funding decisions based on eligibility, reasonableness, availability of funding, and cost-effectiveness.

The Office of the Governor may not fund all applications or may only award part of the amount requested. In the event that funding requests exceed available funds, the Office of the Governor may revise projects to address a more limited focus.

Preference will be given to eligible border region applicants who DO NOT have an existing Homeland Security Grant Program (HSGP) project supporting activities or services within the fire department. 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.

For more information, contact the eGrants help desk at eGrants@gov.texas. gov or (512) 463-1919. Contact the Office of the Governor (OOG) Contact the Office of the Governor (OOG) 1100 San Jacinto Blvd.

, Austin, Texas 78701 P. O. Box 12428, Austin, Texas 78711-2428 Public Safety Office (PSO)