Section 404(c) of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (Stafford Act) authorized the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to implement the Program Administration by States (PAS) as a pilot program before developing a rule permanently implementing PAS.[495]
Under the PAS Pilot, FEMA may delegate defined program responsibilities to recipients based on an analysis of recipients’ staffing plan, grants management experience, hazard mitigation experience and demonstrated past performance.[496] For example, generally, FEMA reviews and approves all HMGP subapplications and hazard mitigation plans. Under the PAS Pilot, FEMA may grant the recipient authority to conduct agreed upon reviews and grant approvals with limited FEMA oversight. Additionally, under the PAS Pilot, the recipient can have increased control of approval of scope of work changes, cost overruns and underruns, reimbursement claims to subrecipient communities, and approval of local mitigation plans. While FEMA has a reduced role under PAS, it maintains oversight responsibilities. The PAS Pilot is intended to facilitate and accelerate the review and approval process of various elements in managing the program.
Participation in PAS is optional. The optional PAS Pilot applies to HMGP for eligible activities immediately following any major disaster declaration on or after Jan. 29, 2013.
Federally recognized tribes that choose to be a recipient may request PAS delegations. In this part, unless otherwise indicated, the term recipient will refer to states, federally recognized tribes and territories that receive HMGP and HMGP Post Fire assistance directly from FEMA.