Governors unify strategy

The nation's governors have developed a unified homeland security strategy intended to strengthen coordination between federal and state efforts and reduce the vulnerability of states to terrorist attacks.

The governors are calling on federal officials to provide timely intelligence information to the states, assist them with bioterrorism preparedness efforts and integrate federal command systems into state and local incident systems.

They also want technical assistance to identify and protect critical infrastructure, as well as measures to protect sensitive information through tighter restrictions on freedom of information requests.

The governors want the federal government to provide annual grants to the states to support their homeland security efforts.

The strategy was developed by the NGA Center for Best Practices and state homeland security directors in consultation with the governors.