HMGP is authorized through a major disaster declaration. A governor,[283] tribal chief executive, or equivalent, may request that HMGP assistance be available throughout the state, local, tribal or territorial area or only in specific jurisdictions. Federally recognized tribes, through their tribal chief executive,[284] may also submit a request for a disaster declaration within their impacted areas and request that HMGP funding be made available to them under that declaration. For more information about the declaration process and authorization of HMGP, refer to 4 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 206, Subpart B ,visit the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) “How a Disaster Gets Declared” webpage, or seek assistance from the appropriate FEMA regional office.
The governor’s authorized representative or tribal authorized representative serves as the grant administrator for all assistance provided under HMGP.[285] The governor’s authorized representative, tribal authorized representative or an executive authorized signature authority’s responsibilities include providing technical advice and assistance to eligible subapplicants and/or subrecipients and ensuring all potential subapplicants are aware of available assistance for the submission of all documents necessary for the award.
A signed FEMA-State Agreement or FEMA-Tribal Agreement is required to carry out HMGP under a disaster declaration. After execution of the agreement, the applicant becomes the recipient.