Enrolled HB 366: Establishing an Alaska intrastate mutual aid system and relating to the duties of the Alaska division of homeland security and emergency management and the duties of the Alaska State Emergency Response Commission.
00Enrolled HB 366 01 Establishing an Alaska intrastate mutual aid system and relating to the duties of the Alaska 02 division of homeland security and emergency management and the duties of the Alaska State 03 Emergency Response Commission. 04 _______________ 05 * Section 1. AS 26.23.040(b) is amended to read: 06 (b) The Alaska division of homeland security and emergency management 07 shall play an integral part in the development and revision of local and 08 interjurisdictional disaster plans prepared under AS 26.23.060 and 26.23.500 - 09 26.23.549. To this end, it may employ or otherwise secure the services of professional 10 and technical personnel capable of providing expert assistance to political 11 subdivisions, their disaster agencies, and representatives of interjurisdictional disaster 12 planning and service areas. These personnel shall consult with political subdivisions 13 and agencies on a regular basis and shall make field examinations of the areas, 14 circumstances, and conditions to which particular local and interjurisdictional disaster
01 plans are intended to apply and may suggest or require revisions. 02 * Sec. 2. AS 26.23.040(e) is amended to read: 03 (e) The Alaska division of homeland security and emergency management 04 shall 05 (1) determine requirements of the state and its political subdivisions 06 for food, clothing, and other necessities in the event of a disaster emergency; 07 (2) procure and pre-position supplies, medicines, materials, and 08 equipment; 09 (3) adopt standards and requirements for local and interjurisdictional 10 disaster plans; 11 (4) periodically review local and interjurisdictional disaster plans; 12 (5) establish and operate, or assist political subdivisions, their disaster 13 agencies, and representatives of interjurisdictional disaster planning and service areas 14 to establish and operate, training programs; 15 (6) plan and make arrangements for the availability and use of any 16 private facilities, services, and property and, if necessary and if in fact used, provide 17 for payment for use under terms and conditions agreed upon by the parties; 18 (7) establish a register of persons with types of training and skills 19 important in disaster prevention, preparedness, response, and recovery; 20 (8) prepare, for issuance by the governor, orders, proclamations, and 21 regulations as necessary or appropriate in coping with disasters; 22 (9) cooperate with the federal government and any public or private 23 agency or entity in achieving any purpose of this chapter and in implementing 24 programs for disaster prevention, preparedness, response, and recovery; 25 (10) develop and carry out procedures and policies to effectively 26 employ disaster relief funds made available by the governor's authority or by special 27 legislative action; these procedures shall include application and documentation by 28 disaster victims or applicants, review, verification and funding approval, and 29 processing of appeals; 30 (11) do other things necessary or proper for the implementation of this 31 chapter;
01 (12) coordinate the operation of the Alaska intrastate mutual aid 02 system among participating political subdivisions of the state and develop, in 03 coordination with the political subdivisions and appropriate state and federal 04 agencies, comprehensive guidelines and procedures for the Alaska intrastate 05 mutual aid system, including record keeping and reimbursement procedures and 06 forms for use by political subdivisions requesting and providing assistance; 07 (13) to the extent that money is available from an appropriation for the 08 purposes of this paragraph, 09 (A) award grants for the purpose of forming local emergency 10 planning committees under AS 26.23.073; 11 (B) in order to comply with 49 U.S.C. 5116(a)(2)(B), make 12 funds available to local emergency planning committees for developing and 13 maintaining emergency plans under AS 26.23.073 and 26.23.075; 14 (C) make funds available to local emergency planning 15 committees to implement 42 U.S.C. 11022(e) and 42 U.S.C. 11044; and 16 (D) award grants for training local emergency planning 17 committees and for training and equipping the emergency response 18 organizations identified in the local plans that execute the plans developed by 19 the committees under AS 26.23.073 and 26.23.075. 20 * Sec. 3. AS 26.23.071(e) is amended to read: 21 (e) The commission shall 22 (1) serve as the state emergency response commission required under 23 42 U.S.C. 11001 - 11005; 24 (2) facilitate the preparation and implementation of all emergency 25 plans prepared by state agencies under other authorities; the statewide, 26 interjurisdictional, and local plans prepared under this chapter, including the Alaska 27 intrastate mutual aid system; and the state and regional plans prepared under 28 AS 46.04.200 - 46.04.210; 29 (3) review the plans described in (2) of this subsection according to the 30 criteria established in AS 26.23.077; 31 (4) designate, and revise as necessary, the boundaries of emergency
01 planning districts under AS 26.23.073; 02 (5) establish a local emergency planning committee under 03 AS 26.23.073(d) for each emergency planning district; 04 (6) supervise and coordinate the activities of local emergency planning 05 committees; 06 (7) establish procedures for receiving and processing requests from the 07 public for information under 42 U.S.C. 11044, including tier II information under 42 08 U.S.C. 11022; procedures established under this paragraph shall designate the 09 Department of Environmental Conservation as the state agency to receive and process 10 these requests on behalf of the commission; 11 (8) review reports about responses to disaster emergencies and make 12 recommendations to the appropriate parties involved in the response concerning 13 improved prevention and preparedness; 14 (9) perform other coordinating, advisory, or planning tasks related to 15 emergency planning and preparedness for all types of hazards, community right-to- 16 know reporting, toxic chemical release reporting, or management of hazardous 17 substances; 18 (10) recommend procedures to integrate, as appropriate, hazardous 19 substance response planning under 42 U.S.C. 11001 - 11005, federal contingency 20 planning under 33 U.S.C. 1321 and other federal laws applicable to hazardous 21 substance discharges, and state, regional, and local planning under this chapter and 22 AS 46.04.200 - 46.04.210; 23 (11) to the extent consistent with the constitution and law of the state, 24 perform all other functions prescribed for state emergency response commissions 25 under 42 U.S.C. 11001 - 11005; and 26 (12) adopt regulations necessary to carry out the purposes of 27 AS 26.23.071 - 26.23.077, 26.23.500 - 26.23.549, and 42 U.S.C. 11001 - 11005. 28 * Sec. 4. AS 26.23.077(a) is amended to read: 29 (a) The commission shall review and make recommendations about local, 30 interjurisdictional, regional, and state emergency plans, including the Alaska 31 intrastate mutual aid system established in AS 26.23.500, other plans prepared
01 under this chapter and AS 46.04.200 - 46.04.210, and all emergency plans prepared by 02 state agencies under other authorities. 03 * Sec. 5. AS 26.23 is amended by adding new sections to read: 04 Article 3A. Alaska Intrastate Mutual Aid System. 05 Sec. 26.23.500. Alaska intrastate mutual aid system established. (a) The 06 Alaska intrastate mutual aid system is established to provide for mutual assistance 07 among participating political subdivisions of the state in preparing for and responding 08 to a disaster. Except as provided in (b) of this section, all political subdivisions of the 09 state shall participate in the system. 10 (b) A political subdivision may withdraw from participation in the Alaska 11 intrastate mutual aid system established in (a) of this section. To withdraw, the 12 governing board of a political subdivision shall adopt a resolution declaring that the 13 political subdivision elects not to participate in the system and provide a copy of the 14 resolution to the Alaska division of homeland security and emergency management. A 15 political subdivision that withdraws may later elect to participate by adopting a 16 resolution declaring the election of the political subdivision to participate and by 17 delivering a copy of the resolution to the Alaska division of homeland security and 18 emergency management. 19 (c) The provisions in AS 26.23.500 - 26.23.549 may not be construed to affect 20 other mutual aid systems or agreements authorized elsewhere by law, do not prohibit a 21 participating political subdivision from entering into other agreements with another 22 political subdivision, including agreements entered into under AS 26.23.070 - 23 26.23.077, 26.23.180, AS 46.04.200, or 46.04.210, and do not affect any other 24 agreement to which a political subdivision may be a party now or in the future. 25 (d) The provisions of AS 26.23.500 - 26.23.549 may not be interpreted to 26 preclude the eligibility of a political subdivision for state or federal disaster funding or 27 disaster readiness funding. 28 Sec. 26.23.510. Requests for assistance from another political subdivision. 29 (a) Except as otherwise provided in this section, a political subdivision of the state that 30 is a participating political subdivision under AS 26.23.500(a) may request and receive 31 assistance from another participating political subdivision for
01 (1) response, mitigation, or recovery activities related to a local 02 disaster emergency declared under AS 26.23.140; 03 (2) response to a disaster emergency declared by the governor under 04 AS 26.23.020; 05 (3) disaster prevention training exercises conducted under 06 AS 26.23.150; or 07 (4) other drills or exercises conducted in preparation for a disaster. 08 (b) The principal executive officer or an authorized designee of the principal 09 executive officer of a participating political subdivision that is requesting assistance 10 shall request assistance directly from the principal executive officer or authorized 11 designee of the principal executive officer of another participating political 12 subdivision. Requests may be made orally or in writing and shall be reported directly 13 to the Alaska division of homeland security and emergency management as soon as is 14 practicable. A request for assistance that is made orally must be confirmed in writing 15 within 30 days after the date of the initial oral request. 16 (c) A responding political subdivision shall have sole discretion to withhold or 17 withdraw requested assistance to provide reasonable protection and services within its 18 own territorial limits. 19 (d) Consistent with guidelines and procedures developed by the Alaska 20 division of homeland security and emergency management under AS 26.23.040(e), a 21 responding political subdivision shall document all assistance that is being provided to 22 a requesting political subdivision at the time the assistance is provided and deliver 23 copies of the documentation to the political subdivision that requested assistance 24 within 30 days after the assistance is provided. 25 (e) The political subdivision requesting assistance shall have sole operational 26 control over assistance provided under AS 26.23.500 - 26.23.549. This subsection 27 does not prohibit a responding political subdivision from withdrawing assistance. 28 Sec. 26.23.515. Qualifications of emergency responders. An emergency 29 responder holding a license, certificate, or other permit issued by a state agency or a 30 political subdivision of the state evidencing the responder's qualification in a 31 professional, mechanical, or other skill shall be considered to be licensed, certified, or
01 permitted in the requesting political subdivision during the emergency, disaster, drill, 02 or exercise, subject to limitations and conditions prescribed by the principal executive 03 officer of the requesting political subdivision in writing. 04 Sec. 26.23.520. Emergency responder not an employee of a requesting 05 political subdivision. An emergency responder from a political subdivision that 06 responds to a political subdivision requesting assistance is not an employee of the 07 political subdivision requesting assistance and is not entitled to any right, privilege, or 08 benefit of employment from the requesting political subdivision, including 09 compensation, wages, salary, leave, pension, health, or another benefit. 10 Sec. 26.23.525. Workers' compensation and benefits following injury to or 11 death of emergency responder. An emergency responder that is responding to and 12 rendering assistance in a political subdivision that has requested assistance under 13 AS 26.23.510 who sustains an injury or dies in the course of providing assistance to 14 the requesting political subdivision under AS 26.23.500 - 26.23.549 is entitled to 15 receive only the benefits otherwise authorized by law for an injury sustained, or a 16 death that occurs, in the course of employment with, or while providing services to, 17 the responding political subdivision. This section does not affect the right of a person 18 to receive benefits to which the person would otherwise be entitled under any law, nor 19 does it affect entitlement to any other benefits or compensation authorized by state or 20 federal law. 21 Sec. 26.23.530. Reimbursement for assistance provided and disputes 22 relating to reimbursement. (a) A political subdivision that has received assistance 23 from another political subdivision under AS 26.23.510 shall reimburse the political 24 subdivision that provided assistance for the true and full value of the assistance 25 provided. Requests for reimbursement shall be made in accordance with procedures 26 and guidelines developed by the Alaska division of homeland security and emergency 27 management under AS 26.23.040(e). However, if authorized by law, a responding 28 political subdivision may donate its assistance provided under AS 26.23.500 - 29 26.23.549 to a requesting political subdivision. 30 (b) If a dispute regarding reimbursement arises between political subdivisions, 31 the political subdivision asserting the dispute shall provide written notice to the other
01 political subdivision identifying the reimbursement issues in dispute. If the dispute is 02 not resolved within 90 days after receipt of the dispute notice by the political 03 subdivision asserting the dispute, either party to the dispute may request arbitration 04 under AS 09.43.300 - 09.43.595 (Revised Uniform Arbitration Act) by giving written 05 notice to the other party. Costs of the arbitration, including compensation for the 06 arbitrator's services, must be borne equally by the political subdivisions participating 07 in the arbitration, and each political subdivision shall bear its own costs and expenses, 08 including legal fees and witness expenses, in connection with the arbitration 09 proceeding. 10 Sec. 26.23.540. Tort liability of participating political subdivisions and 11 emergency responders. For purposes of liability, all persons responding under the 12 operational control of the requesting political subdivision shall be considered to be 13 agents of the requesting political subdivision. An action for damages for an act or 14 omission may not be brought against a responding political subdivision, or an officer 15 or employee of a responding political subdivision, in providing assistance under 16 AS 26.23.500 - 26.23.549. This section does not preclude liability for civil damages 17 that are the result of gross negligence or reckless or intentional misconduct. 18 Sec. 26.23.549. Definitions. In AS 26.23.500 - 26.23.549, 19 (1) "assistance" means emergency responders and resources provided 20 by a responding political subdivision in response to a request from a requesting 21 political subdivision; 22 (2) "emergency responder" means an employee of a responding 23 political subdivision or of a contractor under contract with a responding political 24 subdivision or a member of a volunteer fire department registered with the state fire 25 marshal that provides services to the responding political subdivision, who is 26 designated in writing by that responding political subdivision as possessing skills, 27 qualifications, training, knowledge, or experience that may be needed, under a request 28 for assistance under AS 26.23.500 - 26.23.549, for 29 (A) response, mitigation, or recovery activities related to a 30 disaster; or 31 (B) participation in drills or exercises in preparation for a
01 disaster; 02 (3) "operational control" 03 (A) means the limited authority to direct tasks, assignments, 04 and use of assistance provided pursuant to a request for assistance under 05 AS 26.23.500 - 26.23.549 for 06 (i) response, mitigation, or recovery activities related to 07 a disaster; or 08 (ii) participation in drills or exercises in preparation for 09 a disaster; 10 (B) does not include medical protocols or standard operating 11 procedures observed in the responding political subdivision, or any right, 12 privilege, or benefit of ownership or employment, including disposition, 13 compensation, wages, salary, pensions, health benefits, leave, seniority, 14 discipline, promotion, hiring, or firing; 15 (4) "resources" means supplies, materials, equipment, facilities, 16 energy, services, information systems, and other assets, except for emergency 17 responders, that may be needed, under a request for assistance from a political 18 subdivision, for 19 (A) response, mitigation, or recovery activities related to a 20 disaster; or 21 (B) participation in drills or exercises in preparation for a 22 disaster; 23 (5) "state agency" has the meaning given in AS 37.05.990.