Georgia Emergency Management And Homeland Security Agency

Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency (GEMA/HS), a U.S. state government entity and division of the State of Georgia Office of the Governor, acts as the prime recipient of federal grant awards for emergency management, disaster response, homeland security, and hazard mitigation programs across Georgia. The agency does not hold federal contracts, focusing instead on federal grants from FEMA, the Department of Transportation Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), the Department of Energy, and the Department of Homeland Security, which it administers as a pass-through entity distributing sub-awards to local governments, nonprofit organizations, and community-based service providers throughout Georgia.

GEMA/HS operates as a high-volume grant recipient with 279 total awards (prime and sub combined) spanning three decades, with recent activity centered on FEMA grant programs. Prime grant work accounts for 84% of awards; sub-awards, primarily pass-through arrangements where GEMA/HS distributes federal funds to local recipients, represent 16%. The agency's customer concentration is heavily concentrated in FEMA channels: the Federal Emergency Management Agency Headquarters Financial Assistance Awards line carries 138 prime awards, and the broader FEMA umbrella (including regional FEMA awards) accounts for over 220 of the 279 total awards—covering 87% of the award count. The Department of Transportation PHMSA, the Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management, and the Department of Homeland Security round out the active federal customer set with 12, 7, and 4 awards respectively.

GEMA/HS's recent grant portfolio spans multiple core FEMA programs and a hazmat-focused PHMSA grant. As of March 2026, active prime grants include a $42.8 million Homeland Security Grant Program (HSGP, CFDA 97.067) formula grant awarded October 1, 2025, distributing funds across Georgia to local governments, law enforcement, and nonprofits for prevention, protection, mitigation, response, and recovery activities; a $6.99 million Next Generation Warning System Grant Program (CFDA 97.138) award from October 2025 funding modernization of Georgia's public alert and warning systems with advanced digital broadcast technologies and Common Alerting Protocol (CAP) implementation across multiple platforms; and a $17.27 million Emergency Management Performance Grant (EMPG, CFDA 97.042) from October 2025 supporting all-hazards emergency preparedness through planning, organization, personnel, equipment, training, and exercises (POETE) activities, with a required 50% non-federal cost share. Additional active awards include a $4.15 million State and Local Cybersecurity Grant Program (CFDA 97.137) from September 2025 requiring GEMA/HS to distribute a minimum of 80% of federal funds to local sub-recipients for vulnerability assessments, multi-factor authentication, security controls, and workforce training; a $5.95 million Nonprofit Security Grant Program (CFDA 97.008) from September 2025 providing security upgrades for at-risk nonprofit organizations, particularly those with religious or ideological missions; and a $1.0 million Targeted Violence and Terrorism Prevention Grant Program (CFDA 97.132) from September 2025 supporting community-based violence prevention and de-escalation initiatives. GEMA/HS also holds a $1,437,746.25 formula grant from PHMSA under the Interagency Hazardous Materials Public Sector Training and Planning Grants program (CFDA 20.703), effective October 2025 through September 2027, funding hazmat emergency response planning, commodity flow analysis, and training delivery through direct instruction, web-based platforms, and mobile training modalities.

The agency's activity trajectory has been steady over the past five years—27 to 31 awards annually from 2022 through 2024, with 20 awards in 2025 and 1 award recorded to date in 2026 (reflecting the source snapshot at mid-July 2026). Nineteen awards face ultimate completion within the next twenty-four months, representing potential grant recompete and renewal opportunity. Earlier-cycle grants include a $10.8 million State and Local Cybersecurity Grant Program award from December 2024 running through December 2028; a $4.27 million Emergency Operations Center (CFDA 97.052) grant from September 2024 for EOC construction and renovation in Atlanta through August 2027; a $12.65 million Nonprofit Security Grant Program award from September 2024 providing security enhancements to at-risk nonprofits through August 2027; and a $17.3 million Homeland Security Grant Program formula grant from October 2024 distributed to state and local counterterrorism and preparedness initiatives, with sub-awardees including the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, Georgia Department of Public Safety, and local governments. GEMA/HS also manages disaster-response and recovery work through FEMA's Disaster Assistance Projects program (CFDA 97.088) and Public Assistance (PA) program, with an $8.999 million Disaster Assistance Projects cooperative agreement from February 2025 supporting temporary housing, debris removal, case management, and community counseling for disaster-affected families.

GEMA/HS participates in sub-award relationships where it receives pass-through funding from prime recipients including the Southern States Energy Board (for transuranic waste transport coordination under Department of Energy programs) and the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council (for school safety analyst positions). The agency's grant sub-awards to local recipients span hazard mitigation projects, emergency operations center improvements, cybersecurity planning committees, and management-cost allocations across Georgia's counties and municipalities.