ENROLLED
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR
H. B. 3328
(By Mr. Speaker, Mr. Kiss, and Delegate Trump)
[By Request of the Executive]
[Passed April 8, 2005; in effect from passage.]
AN ACT 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 the Office of Emergency Services; changing the name of the
Office of Emergency Services to the Division of Homeland
Security and Emergency Management; transferring duties,
functions, personnel and related entities; specifying
qualifications of the Director; directing entities to
coordinate and cooperate with the Secretary of the Department
of Military Affairs and Public Safety as to the receipt of
federal funds for homeland security and emergency services
purposes; providing that the Governor may require certain
reports from entities receiving services, equipment, supplies,
materials or funds for homeland security and emergency
services purposes; and requiring copies of reports to be furnished to the Legislature.
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.
§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 the Division of Homeland Security and
Emergency Management 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 comprehensive homeland security and
emergency management 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 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, detect, deter and mitigate, 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 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) "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;
(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;
(l) "Recovery fund" means the West Virginia Disaster Recovery
Trust Fund created by this article;
(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
(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 Secretary of the West Virginia Department of Military Affairs and Public Safety.
§15-5-3. Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management
created.
(a) The Office of Emergency Services is continued as the
Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management within the
Department of Military Affairs and Public Safety.
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 transferred to, incorporated
in and administered as a part of the Division of Homeland Security
and Emergency Management. Wherever the words "Office of Emergency
Services" appear in this code, they shall mean the Division of
Homeland Security and Emergency Management.
(b) A Director of the Division of Homeland Security and
Emergency Management shall be appointed by the Governor, by and
with the advice and consent of the Senate. The Governor shall
consider 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.
(c) The Director may employ such technical, clerical,
stenographic and other personnel, fix their compensation and make
expenditures within the appropriation to the Division or from other
funds made available for the purpose of providing homeland security
and emergency management services to carry out the purpose of this
article. Employees of the Division of Homeland Security and
Emergency Management 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.
(d) The Director and other personnel of the Division of
Homeland Security and Emergency Management 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.
(e) 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 Division
of Homeland Security and Emergency Management 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
homeland security and emergency management in this state. 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
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 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.
(f) 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 control center.
§15-5-13. Appropriations; acceptance of services, gifts, grants
and loans.
(a) 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.
(b) 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 a 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 the offer. Upon acceptance, the Governor
of the state or executive officer or governing body of the
political subdivision may authorize any officer of the state or of
the political subdivision, as the case may be, to receive services,
equipment, supplies, materials or funds on behalf of the state or
the political subdivision and subject to the terms of the offer and
the rules and regulations, if any, of the agency making the offer.
(c) 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 the political
subdivision after consultation and in coordination with the
Secretary and acting through its executive officer or governing
body, may accept the offer. Upon acceptance, the Governor of the state or executive officer or governing body of the political
subdivision may authorize any officer of the state or of the
political subdivision, as the case may be, to receive services,
equipment, supplies, materials or funds on behalf of the state or
the political subdivision and subject to the terms of the offer.
(e) The Governor may require any agency, authority,
corporation, partnership or other entity to furnish a report, in
both written and electronic form, detailing the source and receipt
of all services, equipment, supplies, materials or funds for
purposes relating to homeland security or emergency services as a
condition of receiving these from the state. Within ten days of
the receipt of any reports required under this subsection, the
Governor shall furnish copies thereof to the Legislature.