(The Center Square) — A recent audit reported that the Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness did not comply with reporting requirements for the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act.

This is not the first instance either. The Louisiana Legislative Auditor noted that this is the second consecutive year that the homeland security office has not complied with specific reporting requirements in federal law — this year for two programs. 

According to the auditor’s office, the Hazard Mitigation Grant and Flood Mitigation Assistance programs must report specific information for obligating actions equal to or over $30,000 in federal funds for a subaward to a non-federal entity to the FFATA Subaward Reporting System no later than the end of the month following when the obligation was made. 

With these guidelines in place, four of 11 Hazard Mitigation Grant subawards tested totaling $3,898,561 were submitted 54 to 117 days after the due date. There were also 12 of 15 Flood Mitigation Assistance subawards tested totaling $21,245,124 submitted 115 to 176 days after the due date.

The Hazard Mitigation Assistance Grant is a program under FEMA that provides resources and funding for communities seeking disaster preventative measures. The Flood Mitigation Assistance Grant is another FEMA program that provides funding to reduce the risk of flood damage to buildings insured by the National Flood Insurance Program.

This is the second year the homeland security office has not complied with reporting guidelines for the Flood Mitigation Assistance Grant. The auditor’s office addressed the consecutive years of noncompliance in their report after finding that management had not addressed the previous year.

“Our Corrective Action Plan from FY23 is being implemented; however, there are still issues beyond our control in the FSRS system, as far as permissions for more than one staff, as well as the report from homeland security office Grants working as it should,” Sandra Gaspard, assistant director of the Hazard Mitigation Assistance Division, noted in the response to the audit.

The auditor’s office offered some recommendations in the report, including the homeland security office bolstering its internal controls. This would allow award information to be entered on time adhering to federal requirements. 

However, in the office’s response, Gaspard noted that the Federal Funding and Accountability and Transparency Act Subaward Reporting System is changing soon.

“FSRS is being retired this Spring, and the process for the new system entry will require an entirely new implementation plan,” said Gaspard.

The homeland security office anticipates its corrective action plan to be completed in 90 days. 

Emilee Ruth Calametti serves as staff reporter for The Center Square covering the Northwestern Louisiana region. She holds her M.A. in English from Georgia State University and soon, an additional M.A. in Journalism from New York University. Emilee has bylines in DIG Magazine, Houstonia Magazine, Bookstr, inRegister, The Click News, and the Virginia Woolf Miscellany. She is a Louisiana native with over seven years of journalism experience.

(The Center Square) – Promotion, demotion, transfer, suspension, separation and dismissal reasons in North Carolina government would become public record if a proposal by two Republicans becomes law.

The Government Transparency Act of 2025, also known as Senate Bill 299, is “an act to strengthen confidence in government by increasing accessibility to certain public personnel performance and dismissal records.” Sens. Norman Sanderson of Pamlico County and Buck Newton of Wilson introduced the legislation Monday.

The language of the bill says in part, “Nothing in this section shall be construed to authorize disclosure of any confidential information protected by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, 110 Stat. 1936, the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, 104 Stat. 327, or applicable law.”

HIPPA is a national standard for protecting medical records or other personal health information. The ADA involves civil rights, and the protection against discrimination in public life.

The law would be inclusive of each department, agency, institution, commission and bureau of the state for each employee. Employer, the bill says, “means any state department, university, division, bureau, commission, council or other agency subject to this article.” It further adds university means its respective board, trustees, chancellor, constituent institutions or its presidents.

The law would apply to local boards of education.

(The Center Square) – Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp wants state troopers trained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement enforcing immigration laws, he said Monday.

The 1,100 officers who work under the Department of Public Safety would receive the training through the 287(g) program, the governor said in a release.

The program allows local governments to partner with ICE. The Georgia Department of Correction is participating in the jail enforcement model, which allows local law enforcement officials to identify people illegally in the country and turn them over to ICE for immigration proceedings. A sergeant and three corrections office are assigned to the current program, and a request was made by ICE for two additional officers, Kemp said.

About 1,730 inmates incarcerated through the corrections department have ICE detainers, according to the release. 

Five local sheriff’s offices have participated in the 287(g) program for several years, according to the ICE website.

President Donald Trump called on federal-state partnerships in an executive order issued on his first day in office. Since the executive order, an additional six Georgia law enforcement agencies have applied. Three county sheriff’s offices, Montgomery, Murray and Spalding, have pending applications, according to ICE.

The public safety department would train under the Task Force Model, which “serves as a force multiplier for state and local law enforcement agencies to enforce limited immigration authority with ICE oversight during their routine police duties,” according to the ICE website.

“If you are in our country illegally and committing crimes, you have no place in Georgia,” Kemp said. “This is another commonsense measure on top of those we’ve taken since I first took office to further enable hardworking law enforcement to assist in identifying and apprehending illegal aliens who pose a risk to public safety.”

The request to ICE was sent by Col. Billy Hitchens, who oversees the public safety department.

“This training and collaboration between agencies increases our ability to keep our communities safe,” Hitchens said. “Identifying those who pose a threat and who are not in our country legally through education and interagency communication allows us to serve our citizens to the best of our ability, which is ultimately our goal.”

Georgia lawmakers are putting more teeth into the state immigration law on sanctuary cities. The Senate passed a bill that would remove sovereign immunity from Georgia elected officials who adopt and back sanctuary cities. It is currently in the House Public Safety and Homeland Security Committee.