Chapter 175
2013 -- S 0501 AS AMENDED
Enacted 07/11/3
A N A C T
RELATING TO
MILITARY AFFAIRS AND DEFENSE -- EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT
Introduced By: Senators Felag, Lynch, Pichardo, Ciccone, and Picard
Date Introduced: February 28, 2013
It is enacted by the
General Assembly as follows:
SECTION 1. Chapter 30-15 of the General Laws entitled
"Emergency Management" is
hereby amended by adding thereto the following section:
30-15-44.
International emergency management assistance compact. --
The
International Emergency Management Assistance Compact
is hereby entered into and enacted
into law with any and all of the states legally joining
therein in the form substantially as follows:
Article I Purpose and
Authorities - The International Emergency Management Assistance
Memorandum of Understanding, hereinafter referred to
as the "compact," is made and entered
into by and among such of the jurisdictions as shall enact
or adopt this compact, hereinafter
referred to as "party jurisdictions." For the
purposes of this agreement, the term "jurisdictions"
may include any or all of the States of
Island, and
Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador, and such
other states and provinces as may
hereafter become a party to this compact.
The purpose of this
compact is to provide for the possibility of mutual assistance among
the jurisdictions entering into this compact in managing
any emergency or disaster when the
affected jurisdiction or jurisdictions ask for assistance,
whether arising from natural disaster,
technological hazard, man-made disaster or civil emergency aspects
of resource shortages.
This compact also
provides for the process of planning mechanisms among the agencies
responsible and for mutual cooperation, including, if need be,
emergency-related exercises,
testing, or other training activities using equipment and
personnel simulating performance of any
aspect of the giving and receiving of aid by party
jurisdictions or subdivisions of party
jurisdictions during emergencies, with such actions occurring
outside actual declared emergency
periods. Mutual assistance in this compact may include the
use of emergency forces by mutual
agreement among party jurisdictions.
Article II General
Implementation - Each party jurisdiction entering into this compact
recognizes that many emergencies may exceed the capabilities of
a party jurisdiction and that
intergovernmental cooperation is essential in such circumstances. Each
jurisdiction further
recognizes that there will be emergencies that may require
immediate access and present
procedures to apply outside resources to make a prompt and
effective response to such an
emergency because few, if any, individual jurisdictions have
all the resources they need in all
types of emergencies or the capability of delivering resources
to areas where emergencies exist.
The prompt, full and
effective utilization of resources of the participating jurisdictions,
including any resources on hand or available from any other
source that are essential to the safety,
care and welfare of the people in the event of any
emergency or disaster, shall be the underlying
principle on which all articles of this compact are understood.
On behalf of the
party jurisdictions participating in the compact, the legally designated
official who is assigned responsibility for emergency
management is responsible for formulation
of the appropriate inter-jurisdictional mutual aid plans
and procedures necessary to implement
this compact, and for recommendations to the jurisdiction
concerned with respect to the
amendment of any statutes, regulations or ordinances required
for that purpose.
Article III Party
Jurisdiction Responsibilities - (a) Formulate plans and programs. It is the
responsibility of each party jurisdiction to formulate procedural
plans and programs for inter-
jurisdictional cooperation in the performance of the
responsibilities listed in this section. In
formulating and implementing such plans and programs the party
jurisdictions, to the extent
practical, shall:
(1) Review individual
jurisdiction hazards analyses that are available and, to the extent
reasonably possible, determine all those potential emergencies
the party jurisdictions might
jointly suffer, whether due to natural disaster,
technological hazard, man-made disaster or
emergency aspects of resource shortages;
(2) Initiate a
process to review party jurisdictions' individual emergency plans and
develop a plan that will determine the mechanism for the
inter-jurisdictional cooperation;
(3) Develop
inter-jurisdictional procedures to fill any identified gaps and to resolve any
identified inconsistencies or overlaps in existing or developed
plans;
(4) Assist in warning
communities adjacent to or crossing jurisdictional boundaries;
(5) Protect and
ensure delivery of services, medicines, water, food, energy and fuel,
search and rescue and critical lifeline equipment, services
and resources, both human and material
to the extent authorized by law;
(6) Inventory and
agree upon procedures for the inter-jurisdictional loan and delivery of
human and material resources, together with procedures for
reimbursement or forgiveness.
(b) Request
assistance. The authorized representative of a party jurisdiction may request
assistance of another party jurisdiction by contacting the
authorized representative of that
jurisdiction. These provisions only apply to requests for
assistance made by and to authorized
representatives. Requests may be verbal or in writing. If verbal, the
request must be confirmed in
writing within fifteen (15) days of the verbal request.
Requests must provide the following
information:
(1) A description of
the emergency service function for which assistance is needed and of
the mission or missions, including, but not limited to,
fire services, emergency medical,
transportation, communications, public works and engineering,
building inspection, planning and
information assistance, mass care, resource support, health and
medical services and search and
rescue;
(2) The amount and
type of personnel, equipment, materials and supplies needed and a
reasonable estimate of the length of time they will be needed;
and
(3) The specific
place and time for staging of the assisting party's response and a point of
contact at the location.
(c) Consultation
among party jurisdiction officials. There shall be frequent consultation
among the party jurisdiction officials who have assigned
emergency management responsibilities,
such officials collectively known hereinafter as the
International Emergency Management Group,
and other appropriate representatives of the party
jurisdictions with free exchange of information,
plans and resource records relating to emergency
capabilities to the extent authorized by law.
Article IV Limitation
- Any party jurisdiction requested to render mutual aid or conduct
exercises and training for mutual aid shall undertake to
respond as soon as possible, except that it
is understood that the jurisdiction rendering aid may
withhold or recall resources to the extent
necessary to provide reasonable protection for that
jurisdiction. Each party jurisdiction shall
afford to the personnel of the emergency forces of any party
jurisdiction, while operating within
its jurisdictional limits under the terms and conditions
of this compact and under the operational
control of an officer of the requesting party, the same
powers, duties, rights, privileges and
immunities as are afforded similar or like forces of the
jurisdiction in which they are performing
emergency services. Emergency forces continue under the command
and control of their regular
leaders, but the organizational units come under the
operational control of the emergency services
authorities of the jurisdiction receiving assistance. These
conditions may be activated, as needed,
by the jurisdiction that is to receive assistance or
upon commencement of exercises or training for
mutual aid and continue as long as the exercises or training
for mutual aid are in progress, the
emergency or disaster remains in effect or loaned resources
remain in the receiving jurisdiction or
jurisdictions, whichever is longer. The receiving jurisdiction is
responsible for informing the
assisting jurisdictions of the specific moment when services
will no longer be required.
Article V Licenses
and Permits - Whenever a person holds a license, certificate or other
permit issued by any jurisdiction party to the compact
evidencing the meeting of qualifications
for professional, mechanical or other skills, and when
such assistance is requested by the
receiving party jurisdiction, such person is deemed to be
licensed, certified or permitted by the
jurisdiction requesting assistance to render aid involving such
skill to meet an emergency or
disaster, subject to such limitations and conditions as the
requesting jurisdiction prescribes by
executive order or otherwise.
Article VI Liability
- Any person or entity of a party jurisdiction rendering aid in another
jurisdiction pursuant to this compact are considered agents of the
requesting jurisdiction for tort
liability and immunity purposes. Any person or entity rendering
aid in another jurisdiction
pursuant to this compact are not liable on account of any act
or omission in good faith on the part
of such forces while so engaged or on account of the
maintenance or use of any equipment or
supplies in connection therewith. Good faith in this article
does not include willful misconduct,
gross negligence or recklessness.
Article VII
Supplementary Agreements - Because it is probable that the pattern and detail
of the machinery for mutual aid among two (2) or more
jurisdictions may differ from that among
the jurisdictions that are party to this compact, this
compact contains elements of a broad base
common to all jurisdictions, and nothing in this compact
precludes any jurisdiction from entering
into supplementary agreements with another jurisdiction or
affects any other agreements already
in force among jurisdictions. Supplementary agreements
may include, but are not limited to,
provisions for evacuation and reception of injured and other
persons and the exchange of medical,
fire, public utility, reconnaissance, welfare,
transportation and communications personnel,
equipment and supplies.
Article VIII Workers'
Compensation and Death Benefits - Each party jurisdiction shall
provide, in accordance with its own laws, for the payment of workers'
compensation and death
benefits to injured members of the emergency forces of that
jurisdiction and to representatives of
deceased members of those forces if the members sustain
injuries or are killed while rendering
aid pursuant to this compact, in the same manner and on
the same terms as if the injury or death
were sustained within their own jurisdiction.
Article IX
Reimbursement - Any party jurisdiction rendering aid in another jurisdiction
pursuant to this compact shall, if requested, be reimbursed by
the party jurisdiction receiving such
aid for any loss or damage to or expense incurred in the
operation of any equipment and the
provision of any service in answering a request for aid and for
the costs incurred in connection
with those requests. An aiding party jurisdiction may
assume in whole or in part any such loss,
damage, expense or other cost or may loan such equipment or
donate such services to the
receiving party jurisdiction without charge or cost. Any two or
more party jurisdictions may enter
into supplementary agreements establishing a different
allocation of costs among those
jurisdictions. Expenses under article VIII are not reimbursable
under this section.
Article X Evacuation
- Each party jurisdiction shall initiate a process to prepare and
maintain plans to facilitate the movement of and reception of
evacuees into its territory or across
its territory, according to its capabilities and powers.
The party jurisdiction from which the
evacuees came shall assume the ultimate responsibility for the
support of the evacuees, and after
the termination of the emergency or disaster, for the
repatriation of such evacuees.
Article XI
Implementation - (a) This compact is effective upon
its execution or adoption
by any two (2) jurisdictions, and is effective as to any
other jurisdiction upon its execution or
adoption thereby: subject to approval or authorization by the
subject to enactment of provincial or state legislation that
may be required for the effectiveness of
the Memorandum of Understanding.
(b) Any party
jurisdiction may withdraw from this compact, but the withdrawal does not
take effect until thirty (30) days after the governor or
premier of the withdrawing jurisdiction has
given notice in writing of such withdrawal to the governors
or premiers of all other party
jurisdictions. The action does not relieve the withdrawing
jurisdiction from obligations assumed
under this compact prior to the effective date of withdrawal.
(c) Duly
authenticated copies of this compact in the French and English languages and of
such supplementary agreements as may be entered into
shall, at the time of their approval, be
deposited with each of the party jurisdictions.
Article XII
Severability - This compact is construed to effectuate the purposes stated in
Article I. If any provision of this compact is
declared unconstitutional or the applicability of the
compact to any person or circumstances is held invalid, the
validity of the remainder of this
compact and the applicability of the compact to other persons
and circumstances are not affected.
Article XIII
Inconsistency of Language - The validity of the arrangements and
agreements consented to in this compact shall not be affected by
any insubstantial difference in
form or language as may be adopted by the various states
and provinces.
Article XIV Amendment
- This compact may be amended by agreement of the party
jurisdictions.
SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.
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LC01496
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