In the December 1997 report, two main funding shortfalls were identified as impeding the implementation of public safety radio communications systems: (1) the lack of a dedicated funding source specifically for public safety radio communications, and (2) most of the money sources that catered to law enforcement agencies were not available to the fire and emergency medical services (EMS) portion of the public safety community. Funding was found to be a problem regardless of agency type or size. Overall, radio communications infrastructures are consistently overlooked and underfunded even though they are among the most essential elements to the successful completion of any public safety mission. The funding outlook has improved in some areas, but critical needs continue to be unmet. The two major funding shortfalls identified in 1997 have improved but have not been eliminated. Section 1 of the report presents background information relevant to the assessment and identifies the scope and shortcomings of revenue sources and funding mechanisms for public safety radio communications. Section 2 describes the methodology used to assess the availability of funding for public safety radio and to create the report card portion of the report. Section 3 presents the report card on funding mechanisms, which indicate improvement is still needed. A review of available funding mechanisms shows a decline of .49 percent for Federal funding between 1998 and 2001. Other findings reveal that the Federal Government has made more money available to fire and EMS agencies, but these funds are not specifically earmarked for communications needs. Section 4 recommends actions and suggests an agenda for addressing unmet funding needs, which include securing dedicated funding mechanisms for public safety radio communications. Finally, section 5 presents an update of funding mechanisms that were previously identified in the 1997 publications and offers data on new funding mechanisms. Figures, tables, appendix