(1) The following entities may apply for funding under the program:
    (a) State agencies and local governments;
    (b) Private non-profit organizations or institutions that own or operate a private non-profit facility as defined in 44 C.F.R., §206.221(e), dated October 1, 2019, hereby incorporated by reference, http://www.flrules.org/Gateway/reference.asp?No=Ref-12340 a copy of which may be obtained by contacting the Division; and
    (c) Indian tribes or authorized tribal organizations.
    (2) The Division shall notify potential applicants of the availability of HMGP funds by publishing a Notice of Funding Availability in the Florida Administrative Register.
    (3) Applicants will have not less than ninety (90) days from the date of notification to submit project applications. The opening and closing dates will be specified in the Notice of Funding Availability. Applications mailed to the Division must be postmarked on or before the final due date. Hand-delivered applications must be stamped in at the Division no later than 5:00 p.m. (Eastern Time) on the final due date.
    (4) A LMS Working Group endorsement letter shall accompany each application from the Chairperson or Vice-Chairperson of the LMS Working Group endorsing the project. The endorsement shall verify that the proposed project does appear in the current LMS and state its priority in relation to other submitted projects. Applications without this letter of endorsement will not be considered.
    (5) Applications must be submitted using FDEM Form No. HMGP Application (01-2020) (Eff. 01-2020) which is incorporated into this rule by reference, http://www.flrules.org/Gateway/reference.asp?No=Ref-12341, a copy of which may be obtained by contacting the Division or visiting www.floridadisaster.org. In addition, the application form will be circulated as a part of the Notice of Funding Availability for its respective disaster grant cycle.
    (6) If the Division receives an incomplete application, the applicant will be notified in writing of the deficiencies. The applicant will have thirty (30) calendar days from the date of the letter to resolve the deficiencies. If the deficiencies are not corrected by the deadline the application will not be considered for funding.
    (7) Applications are to be delivered or sent to:
Division of Emergency Management
Bureau of Mitigation
2555 Shumard Oak Boulevard
Tallahassee, Florida 32399
ATTENTION: Hazard Mitigation Grant Program
Rulemaking Authority 252.35(2)(x) FS. Law Implemented 252.311, 252.32, 252.35 FS. History-New 2-24-02, Formerly 9G-22.007, Amended 7-18-13, 11-24-20.