On Thursday, the House Select Committee on Homeland Security will approve a bill (H.R. 3266) that will alter the way first-responder funds are distributed to communities. The measure, sponsored by Committee Chairman Christopher Cox (R-California), would change grant formulas so that money bequeathed is done so based solely on terrorism threats faced by communities.

The new allocation formula would provide larger cities like New York and Los Angeles with more first-responder money, while smaller communities and rural towns would see less. The current allocation formula is primarily based on population, with each state receiving a minimum guaranteed funding level. To determine threat levels that various communities face, Homeland Security officials would analyze the vulnerability of critical infrastructure and juxtapose such data with intelligence on terrorism threats.

Another provision in the bill would mandate that the Homeland Security Department set minimum standards for emergency preparedness that states and cities would have to comply with before receiving anti-terrorism money. Also, the measure would change the rules for the nation’s color-coded terrorist alert system so that future warnings are more specific in terms of which region or sector of the economy faces the threat.

First-responder money is expected to total $2.7 billion in FY 2005.

Cox’s legislation will not affect the police and firefighter grants that were around before September 11, 2001.