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Introduced Version House Bill 3328 History

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Key: Green = existing Code. Red = new code to be enacted
H. B. 3328


(By Mr. Speaker, Mr. Kiss, and Delegate Trump)
[By Request of the Executive]
[Introduced March 25, 2005; referred to the
Committee on Government Organization.]



A BILL to amend and reenact §15-5-1, §15-5-2, §15-5-3 and §15-5-13 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, all relating to changing the name of the office of emergency services and specifying additional responsibilities.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §15-5-1, §15-5-2, §15-5-3 and §15-5-13 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended and reenacted, all to read as follows:
ARTICLE 5. DIVISION OF HOMELAND SECURITY AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY.

§15-5-1. Policy and purpose.
In view of the existing and increasing possibility of the occurrence of disasters of unprecedented size and destructiveness, resulting from terrorism, enemy attack, sabotage or other hostile action, or from fire, flood, earthquakes or other natural or man-made causes and in order to insure that preparations of this state will be adequate to deal with such disasters, and generally to provide for the common defense and to protect the public peace, health and safety and to preserve the lives and property of the people of the state, it is hereby found and declared to be necessary: (1) To create a state emergency services homeland security and emergency management agency and to authorize the creation of local and regional organizations for emergency services in the political subdivisions of the state; (2) to confer upon the Governor, and upon the executive heads of governing bodies of the political subdivisions of the state the emergency powers provided herein; (3) to provide for the rendering of mutual aid among the political subdivisions of the state and with other states and to cooperate with the federal government with respect to the carrying out of emergency services and homeland security functions; (4) and to establish and implement a comprehensive emergency services homeland security and emergency management plan plans to deal with such disasters. It is further declared to be the purpose of this article and the policy of the state that all homeland security and emergency management funds and emergency services functions of this state be coordinated to the maximum extent with the Secretary of the Department of Military Affairs and Public Safety and with the comparable functions of the federal government including its various departments and agencies, of other states and localities and of private agencies of every type, so that the most effective preparation and use may be made of the nation's and this state's manpower, resources and facilities for dealing with any disaster that may occur.
§15-5-2. Definitions. As used in this article:
(a) "Emergency services" means the preparation for and the carrying out of all emergency functions, other than functions for which military forces are primarily responsible, to protect, respond and recover, to prevent including detection, deterrence and mitigation, to minimize and repair injury and damage resulting from disasters or other event caused by flooding, terrorism, enemy attack, sabotage or other natural or other man-made causes. These functions include, without limitation, fire-fighting services, police services, medical and health services, communications, radiological, chemical and other special weapons defense, evacuation of persons from stricken areas, emergency welfare services, emergency transportation, existing or properly assigned functions of plant protection, temporary restoration of public utility services and other functions related to civilian protection the health, safety and welfare of the citizens of this state, together with all other activities necessary or incidental to the preparation for and carrying out of the foregoing functions. Disaster includes the imminent threat of disaster as well as its occurrence and any power or authority exercisable on account of a disaster that may be exercised during the period when there is an imminent threat thereof;
(b) "Local organization for emergency services" means an organization created in accordance with the provisions of this article by state or local authority to perform local emergency services function;
(c) "Mobile support unit" means an organization for emergency services created in accordance with the provisions of this article by state or local authority to be dispatched by the Governor to supplement local organizations for emergency services in a stricken area;
(d) "Political subdivision" means any county or municipal corporation in this state;
(e) "Board" means the West Virginia Disaster Recovery Board created by this article;
(f) "Code" means the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended;
(g) "Community facilities" means a specific work or improvement within this state or a specific item of equipment or tangible personal property owned or operated by any political subdivision or nonprofit corporation and used within this state to provide any essential service to the general public;
(h) "Disaster" means the occurrence or imminent threat of widespread or severe damage, injury, or loss of life or property resulting from any natural or terrorist or man-made cause, including weapons of mass destruction, fire, flood, earthquake, wind, snow, storm, chemical or oil spill or other water or soil contamination, epidemic, air contamination, blight, drought, infestation or other public calamity requiring emergency action;
(i) "Disaster recovery activities" means activities undertaken prior to, during or following a disaster to provide, or to participate in the provision of, emergency services, temporary housing, residential housing, essential business activities and community facilities;
(j) "Emergency services" means the preparation for and the carrying out of all emergency functions to prevent, minimize and repair injury and damage resulting from a isaster, including, without limitation, fire-fighting services, police services, medical and health services, communications, evacuation of persons and property from stricken areas, welfare services, transportation, temporary restoration of public utility services, and other functions related to the health, safety and welfare of the citizens of this state, together with all other activities necessary or incidental to the preparation for and the carrying out of the foregoing functions;
(k) (j) "Essential business activities" means a specific work or improvement within this state or a specific item of equipment or tangible personal property used within this state by any person to provide any essential goods or service deemed by the authority to be necessary for recovery from a disaster;
(l) (k) "Person" means any individual, corporation, voluntary organization or entity, partnership, firm or other association, organization or entity organized or existing under the laws of this or any other state or country;
(m) (l) "Recovery fund" means the West Virginia Disaster Recovery Trust Fund created by this article;
(n) (m) "Residential housing" means a specific work or improvement within this state undertaken primarily to provide dwelling accommodations, including the acquisition, construction or rehabilitation of land, buildings and improvements thereto, for residential housing, including, but not limited to, facilities for temporary housing and emergency housing, and such other nonhousing facilities as may be incidental or appurtenant thereto; and
(o) (n) "Temporary housing" means a specific work or improvement within this state undertaken primarily to provide dwelling accommodations, including the acquisition, construction or rehabilitation of land, buildings and improvements thereto, for temporary residential shelters or housing for victims of a disaster and such other nonhousing facilities as may be incidental or appurtenant thereto.
(o) "Secretary" means the Cabinet Secretary of the West Virginia Department of Military Affairs and Public Safety.
§15-5-3. Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency created.

There is hereby was created within the office of the Governor and later transferred to, incorporated in and administered as a part of the Department of Military Affairs and Public Safety, an office to be known as the office of emergency services. The functions of the office of emergency services, heretofore established and transferred, shall be continued and hereafter shall be known as the Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency. All of the allied, advisory, affiliated or related entities and funds associated with the office of emergency services and all its functions, personnel and property, are hereby transferred in and to and incorporated in and administered as a part of the Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency. Wherever the words "Office of Emergency Services" appear in this code, they shall mean the Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency. A Director of the office of emergency services Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency, hereinafter called the director, shall be nominated and appointed by the Governor, in accordance with the provisions of section two-a, article seven, chapter six of this code. by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, to be the Executive and Administrative Head of the Division. On and after the effective date of this article, the director of civil and defense mobilization referred to in said section two-a shall be known and designated as the director of emergency services. The Governor shall consider those applicants for Director who at a minimum: (1) Have at least five years managerial or strategic planning experience; (2) are knowledgeable in matters relating to public safety, homeland security, emergency management and emergency response; and (3) have at a minimum, a federally issued secret level security clearance or have submitted to or will submit to a security clearance investigation for the purpose of obtaining at a minimum, a federally issued secret level security clearance.
The Director may employ such technical, clerical, stenographic and other personnel and fix their compensation and may make such expenditures within the appropriation therefore or from other funds made available to him for the purpose of providing emergency homeland security and emergency management services as may be necessary to carry out the purpose of this article. Employees of the office of emergency services Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency shall be members of the State Civil Service System and all appointments of the office, except those required by law to be exempt, shall be a part of the classified service under the Civil Service System.
The Director and other personnel of the office of emergency services Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency shall be provided with appropriate office space, furniture, equipment, supplies, stationery and printing in the same manner as provided for personnel of other state agencies.
The Director, subject to the direction and control of the Governor through the Secretary of the Department of Military Affairs and Public Safety, shall be executive head of the office of emergency services Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency and shall be responsible to the Governor and the Secretary of the Department of Military Affairs and Public Safety for carrying out the program for emergency services homeland security and emergency management in this state. He The Director in consultation with the Secretary of the Department of Military Affairs and Public Safety shall coordinate the activities of all organizations for homeland security and emergency management emergency services within the state and maintain liaison with and cooperate with homeland security, emergency management and other emergency service and civil defense agencies and organizations of other states and of the federal government and shall have such additional authority, duties and responsibilities authorized by this article as may be prescribed by the Governor or the Secretary of the Department of Military Affairs and Public Safety.
The Director shall have the power to acquire in the name of the state by purchase, lease or gift, real property and rights or easements necessary or convenient to construct thereon the necessary building or buildings for housing and homeland security and emergency management emergency services control center.
The office of emergency planning in the department of finance and administration is hereby abolished and its functions, personnel and property transferred to the office of emergency services. The department of civil and defense mobilization is hereby abolished and its functions, personnel and property transferred to the office of emergency services.
§15-5-13. Appropriations; acceptance of services, gifts, grants and loans.

Each political subdivision shall have the power to make appropriations in the manner provided by law for making appropriations for the ordinary expenses of such political subdivision for the payment of expenses of its local organization for emergency services or of its proportionate share of expenses of a regional organization for emergency services, or both.
Whenever the federal government or any agency or officer thereof shall offer to any authority, corporation, partnership or other entity, public or private or the state, or through the state to any political subdivision thereof, services, equipment, supplies, materials or funds by way of gift, grant or loan, for purposes relating to homeland security or emergency services, the state, after consultation and in coordination with the Secretary and acting through the Governor, or such political subdivision, after consultation and in coordination with the Secretary and acting with the consent of the Governor and through its executive officer or governing body, may accept such offer and upon such acceptance the Governor of the state or executive officer or governing body of such political subdivision may authorize any officer of the state or of the political subdivision, as the case may be, to receive such services, equipment, supplies, materials or funds on behalf of the state or such political subdivision and subject to the terms of the offer and the rules and regulations, if any, of the agency making the offer.
Whenever any person, firm or corporation shall offer to the state or to any political subdivision thereof, services equipment, supplies, materials or funds by way of gift, grant or loan, for purposes relating to homeland security or emergency services, the state, after consultation and in coordination with the Secretary and acting through the Governor, or such political subdivision, after consultation and in coordination with the Secretary and acting through its executive officer or governing body, may accept such offer and upon such acceptance the Governor of the state or executive officer or governing body of such political subdivision may authorize any officer of the state or of the political subdivision, as the case may be, to receive such services, equipment, supplies, materials or funds on behalf of the state or such political subdivision and subject to the terms of the offer.

NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to change the name of the office of emergency services to reflect current and future responsibilities.

Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.
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