Kentucky Public Safety Grants

KYTC’s December 2025 Memorandum and FHWA Letter

KYTC Design & Construction Memorandum CM 25-09 / DM 06-25, dated December 19, 2025, directs highway design and construction staff and active consultants and contractors on federal-funded work. It says agency-owned covered UAS must cease procurement, operation and maintenance by December 22, 2025, and anticipated industry-partner compliance by May 20, 2026. The memo identifies the aircraft, flight controller, camera and ground control station supplied by a manufacturer based in or controlled by a foreign-adversary country, specifically China. Consult the Cabinet for current contract instructions rather than treating its 2025 forecast as a separate statewide statute.

The attached FHWA Kentucky Division letter says no FHWA funds may pay for procurement, operation or maintenance of covered UAS for costs incurred after December 22, 2025. It instructs existing fleets to cease operation, maintenance and data processing on FHWA-funded projects or grants. FHWA recommends physical quarantine to prevent accidental federally funded use; the letter does not itself order every local police or fire fleet to be grounded.

Federal Funding Is a Separate Screen

OMB M-26-02 Appendix D implements the American Security Drone Act restriction on federal financial assistance. Beginning December 22, 2025, a recipient or subrecipient generally cannot use federal award funds to procure or in connection with operating a FASC-prohibited UAS, subject to the applicable exemptions and waivers. The federal FASC definition and award terms should control the federal determination; the KYTC memo describes a particular implementation for FHWA projects.

NDAA Section 889 covers certain telecommunications and video-surveillance equipment and services. FCC Covered List authorization rules, TAA requirements for covered federal acquisitions and Blue UAS vetting have different scopes. See NDAA, TAA, FCC & Blue UAS Explained before translating a vendor label into a purchasing decision.

Kentucky IT Procurement and Cybersecurity

COT policy CIO-050, revised October 10, 2025, applies to executive-branch agencies and non-executive agencies using COT infrastructure or services. It calls for Strategic Procurement Request (SPR1) review before purchase of IT hardware at $1,000 or more, all software and all IT-related services; requests outside Kentucky Information Technology Standards (KITS) require an exception business case. Whether a particular drone or camera package is an IT asset under that policy depends on its commodity code or enterprise-network interface. Local agencies should follow their own purchasing rules.

COT security policies cover access management, network architecture, incident response, risk assessment and media protection. Evaluate where imagery and telemetry travel, remote vendor access, software updates, encryption, retention and evidence handling across aircraft, controller, modem and cloud, then document the review with agency IT staff.

Funding Routes and Award Timing

BJA’s FY 2026 formula table gives Kentucky $2,357,084 for the state-administered JAG route and $1,022,006 for listed direct-local jurisdictions. The direct Local JAG notice is open: Grants.gov is due October 9 and JustGrants October 16, 2026, both Eastern time. Disparate groups designate one fiscal agent and document shares by memorandum of understanding. The Kentucky JPSC page also lists 2026–27 state subawards, which are different awards.

KOHS administers homeland-security and cyber grants; its current SHSGP page discusses FFY 2025 and 2026 applications and asks applicants to use the posted notice. LEPP is limited to specified duty gear and body-worn cameras, not drones, and says not to purchase before a signed contract. Traffic safety grants require a specific highway-safety outcome. Match each technology to the notice rather than assuming general grant eligibility.

Statewide Purchasing Is an Additional Step

Kentucky’s procurement resources describe master agreements and local government access. A listed statewide contract may simplify an authorized purchasing route, but it does not establish that a particular aircraft is eligible under ASDA, the FHWA project rules, the state IT review or a grant. Verify the current master-agreement scope, seller and product configuration with the procurement officer.

Practical Kentucky UAS Procurement Checklist

1. 1Identify funding and project. Record direct federal, state pass-through and local shares; match the proposed UAS or surveillance system to the approved mission and award conditions.
2. 2Screen federal UAS status. For federal funds, check the FASC-prohibited UAS restriction in OMB M-26-02 Appendix D and whether an authorized exemption or waiver applies.
3. 3Apply KYTC guidance where relevant. For an FHWA-funded highway project or KYTC industry-partner work, review the December 2025 KYTC/FHWA notice before procurement or deployment.
4. 4Separate existing fleets by charge code. Keep covered UAS and their operating, maintenance and data-processing costs off restricted federal work. FHWA recommends physical segregation to prevent accidental use.
5. 5Review the connected system. Document aircraft, flight controller, camera, ground station, cellular radios, companion software, telemetry, storage, firmware and supplier access.
6. 6Complete state or local IT review. Where CIO-050 applies, route software and IT services and qualifying hardware through COT’s review; classify data and assess cloud and access controls.
7. 7Keep approval evidence. Retain award terms, vendor representations, security findings, procurement clearance, any exemption or waiver and FAA flight authorization.