Appropriations Requests FY 2027
Proposed Recipient: Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station
Proposed Project: Modular, Sensor-Agnostic Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) for Multi-Modal Threat Detection and Identification
Recipient Location: 1111 RELLIS Parkway, Suite 5226, Bryan, TX 77807
Request Amount: $10,000,000.00
Explanation of Request: The objective of this program is to design, develop, integrate, and experimentally validate a modular, multi-sensor UAS capable of detecting, identifying, and classifying threats through onboard and edge-enabled artificial intelligence, achieving TRL 7 within two years. The UAS shall support rapid integration of multiple sensor modalities (chemical, explosive, radiological, biological surrogates, environmental, and third-party sensors), employ AI and neural network architectures for real-time threat recognition and sensor fusion, operate independently of any single sensor vendor or sensing technology, and provide standardized data outputs suitable for downstream command-and-control, analytics, and decision-support systems.
Federal Nexus and Financial Disclosure Letter
Proposed Recipient: Fulshear, TX Police Department
Proposed Project: Fulshear, TX Police Department Chemical Detection Equipment
Recipient Location: 6639 W. Cross Creek Bend Ln, Fulshear, TX77441
Request Amount: $257,500.00
Explanation of Request: $257,500 for the procurement of multiple units of Raman spectrometers for the Fulshear Police Department. This technology would allow officers in the field to utilize hand-held technology to accurately test substances, including illicit drugs. This technology would greatly enhance the capabilities of the Fulshear Police Department by providing officers with highly accurate testing devices to confirm the chemical makeup of various substances. Raman spectrometers will reduce the officer's exposure to substances such as synthetic opiates like fentanyl. Furthermore, these devices will improve officer's probable cause determinations while simultaneously reducing the Department's reliance on confirmatory laboratories.
Federal Nexus and Financial Disclosure Letter
Proposed Recipient: Fulshear Police Department
Proposed Project: Fulshear Public Safety – Communications Equipment
Recipient Location: 6639 W. Cross Creek Bend Ln, Fulshear, TX 77441
Request Amount: $987,000
Explanation of Request: This equipment would ensure that the Fulshear Police Department has redundancy to all capabilities needed to respond to emergency and natural disaster situations, in addition to everyday duties and responsibilities. Due to its geographic location, the city of Fulshear is prone to flooding, which often separates them from the rest of the county emergency services, which they rely on for augmentation and dispatch services. Similarly, the state and region has experienced repetitive freezes which have interrupted internet and communication networks. During these episodes, the Fulshear Police Department has gone without communication systems. This project would enable them to use communication trailers to extend internet and communication services out into the community, away from their headquarters, during these emergency weather events. This will allow patrol officers and other critical services to maintain GPS and communication abilities across the community. Patrol officers have, in the past, lost communication with their headquarters, with the county dispatch service, and GPS capabilities while out in the community. This project will allow them to extend communication signal and connection to prevent this from occurring in future weather emergencies.
Federal Nexus and Financial Disclosure Letter
Proposed Recipient: Fort Bend County Sheriff's Office
Proposed Project: Fort Bend County Sheriff's Office- Chemical Detection Project
Recipient Location: 1840 Richmond Parkway, Richmond, TX 77469
Request Amount: $654,000
Explanation of Request: $654,000 for Raman spectrometers for chemical detection. This technology would allow deputies in the field to utilize hand-held technology to accurately test substances, including illicit drugs. This technology would greatly enhance the capabilities of the Fort Bend County Sheriff's Office by providing deputies with highly accurate testing devices to confirm the chemical makeup of various substances. Raman spectrometers will reduce the deputies' exposure to substances such as synthetic opiates like fentanyl. Furthermore, these devices will improve deputies’ probable cause determinations while simultaneously reducing the department's reliance on confirmatory laboratories. This investment will promote consistency in response capabilities throughout the county, strengthen interoperability with municipal and regional partners, and better equip the Sheriff's office to protect residents of Fort Bend County.
Federal Nexus and Financial Disclosure Letter
Proposed Recipient: Stafford Police Department
Proposed Project: Stafford Police Department Chemical Detection Project
Recipient Location: 2702 South Main St, Stafford, TX 77477
Request Amount: $275,500
Explanation of Request: The requested $275,500 in funds would provide for the procurement of multiple units of Raman spectrometers for the Stafford Police Department. This technology would allow officers in the field to utilize hand-held technology to accurately test substances, including illicit drugs. This technology would greatly enhance the capabilities of the Stafford Police Department by providing officers with highly accurate testing devices to confirm the chemical makeup of various substances. Raman spectrometers will reduce the officer's exposure to substances such as synthetic opiates like fentanyl. Furthermore, these devices will improve officers’ probable cause determinations while simultaneously reducing the Department's reliance on confirmatory laboratories.
Federal Nexus and Financial Disclosure Letter
Proposed Recipient: Child Advocates of Fort Bend
Proposed Project: Child Advocates of Fort Bend Services for Child Victims of Abuse through Advocacy, Treatment and Prevention
Recipient Location: 5403 Avenue N, Rosenberg, TX 77471
Request Amount: $1,000,000.00
Explanation of Request: This project will provide advocacy and direct services to children ages birth to 18+ years old who have suffered abuse or neglect. The project will also support educating the community on abuse dynamics so that abuse can be reduced and prevented. Our clients are limited income (80%) children, predominantly Black, Hispanic or Multi-Racial (82%). All services are free and provided in English, Spanish and other languages. The center provides a safe, child-friendly Children’s Advocacy Center where children who have experienced sexual abuse (83% of clients), severe physical abuse or witness to violence, come for forensic interviews, therapy, case management, forensic medical exams, psychiatric services, clinical family advocacy, criminal court advocacy and identification and recovery services for commercially sexually exploited youth. Our services have been demonstrated to reduce PTSD, anxiety, depression and suicidality. Longer term outcome is the improvement of mental and physical health to alleviate and prevent children from suffering lifelong mental and physical health symptoms into adulthood. In CASA, we recruit and train community volunteers to serve as CASA Advocates for each child in foster care so that services are personalized and outcomes are improved. We train in trauma-informed care and identifying risks for youth vulnerable to exploitation and trafficking. We address the unique needs of children by age, promote and support advancement to the next grade and high school graduation and help build supportive family and community networks for ongoing support systems. Recognizing that abuse is a public health issue, we incorporate Community Engagement to reduce incidences of abuse through prevention education and training. We teach children, parents, teachers and other adults about abuse, child safety and prevention and how to report. By tracking intakes by school zip code, we are targeting high risk areas with focused messaging.
Federal Nexus and Financial Disclosure Letter
Proposed Recipient: Big Brothers Big Sisters Lone Star
Proposed Project: Big Brothers Big Sisters Lone Star- Greater Houston Mentorship Program
Recipient Location: 1003 Washington Ave, Houston, TX 77002
Request Amount: $300,000
Explanation of Request: The $300,000 in funding would be used for juvenile mentorship programs. In accordance with the guidelines of the Byrne Justice Assistance Grant program, one-to-one, goal-oriented mentorship programing is a strategy for crime prevention and education that impacts behavioral actions and mental health of our youth. Many of the youth we serve come from single parent households, homes with incarcerated parents and/or family members, and low-income families. Youth with incarcerated family members have an alarmingly increased rate of incarceration, themselves. Rigorous research conducted by mentoring researchers David DuBois and Carla Herrera, demonstrates measurable benefits of mentoring for participating youth. Their randomized controlled trial of Big Brothers Big Sisters’ community-based mentoring model, involving more than 1,300 youth over four years, found significant reductions in several risk behaviors: youth receiving mentoring were less likely to engage in violence-related delinquency and recurring substance use than their peers who did not receive mentoring. Mentored youth are significantly less likely to be arrested than matched peers and the National Institute of Justice’s Crime Solutions initiative has rated mentoring interventions as an effective solution and strategy in reducing delinquency and criminal involvement. Through improved school engagement, reduced absenteeism and suspensions, higher graduation rates, and enhanced self-esteem, mentorship is a long term, cost-efficient investment that produces lifelong results. The cost of matching one “Little” with a “Big” mentor for a year is about 127 times less than the annual cost of youth imprisonment, per child. Expansion of Big Brothers Big Sisters mentorship programing is needed and a worthwhile investment of tax dollars based on proven evidence that our organization significantly reduces youth risk behavior, improves key developmental outcomes, and plays a meaningful role in crime prevention.
Federal Nexus and Financial Disclosure Letter
Proposed Recipient: Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service
Proposed Project: Texas CoastWISE (Watershed Integrity, Stewardship, and Engagement)
Recipient Location: 600 John Kimbrough Blvd, Suite 509, College Station, TX 77843
Request Amount: $ 5,000,000.00
Explanation of Request: The Texas CoastWISE (Watershed Integrity, Stewardship, and Engagement) program is a strategic initiative designed to restore and protect coastal watersheds along the Texas coast. The program will deploy regional coordinators to work directly with landowners, water authorities, and local stakeholders, providing outreach, training, and technical assistance to implement Best Management Practices (BMPs) such as riparian buffers, erosion control, stormwater infrastructure, and prescribed grazing. A coastwide technical assessment will identify priority watersheds and guide the strategic application of conservation funding through programs like the NRCS National Water Quality Initiative. This program is necessary because many communities lack the technical capacity and resources to carry out watershed protection plans, leaving water quality, ecosystem health, and local economies at risk. By strengthening local capacity, promoting proven conservation strategies, and coordinating across multiple stakeholders, CoastWISE ensures that clean water, resilient ecosystems, and economic vitality are sustained for the long term.
Federal Nexus and Financial Disclosure Letter