KRS 39A.020: Definitions for KRS Chapters 39A to 39F.

As used in KRS Chapters 39A to 39F, unless the context requires otherwise:

(1) "Adjutant General" means the executive head of the Department of Military Affairs

vested with general direction and control authority for the department and the

division of emergency management;

(2) "Animal health emergency" means an incident or situation which poses a major

threat to the safety or health of livestock as defined in KRS 246.010, poultry as

defined in KRS 246.010, or other domesticated animal so as to cause or thre aten to

cause the spread of disease, starvation, deadly injury, or other potential loss of life;

(3) "Catastrophe" means a disaster or series of concurrent disasters which adversely

affect the entire Commonwealth of Kentucky or a major geographical portion

thereof;

(4) "Chief executive officer" means a:

(a) County judge/executive of a county;

(b) Mayor of a consolidated local government;

(c) Mayor of an urban-county government;

(d) Chief executive officer of a charter county government;

(e) Chief executive officer of a unified local government; or

(f) Mayor of a city;

(5) "Comprehensive emergency management program" means the public safety

program developed, organized, implemented, administered, maintained, and

coordinated by the Division of Emergency Management and local emergency

management agencies created pursuant to the provisions of KRS Chapters 39A to

39F, to assess, mitigate, prepar e for, respond to, or recover from, an emergency,

declared emergency, disaster, or catastrophe, or threat of any of those, as

contemplated in KRS 39A.010 or as defined in this section;

(6) "Coordination" means having and exercising primary state or local e xecutive

branch oversight for the purpose of organizing, planning, and implementing;

(7) "County" means a county, urban -county government, charter county government,

consolidated local government, or unified local government;

(8) "Declared emergency" means any incident or situation declared to be an

emergency, disaster, or catastrophe by executive order of the Governor, or a county

judge/executive, or a mayor, or the chief executive of other local governments in

the Commonwealth pursuant to the provisions of KRS Chapters 39A to 39F;

(9) "Director" means the director of the Division of Emergency Management of the

Department of Military Affairs;

(10) "Disaster" means any incident or situation declared as such by executive action of

the Governor, or the President of the United States, pursuant to federal law;

(11) "Disaster and emergency response" means the performance of all emergency

functions, other than war -related functions for which military forces are primarily

responsible, including but not limited to: d irection and control, incident command,

or management; communications; fire protection services; police services; medical

and health services; ambulance services; rescue; search and rescue or recovery;

urban search and rescue; engineering; alerting and war ning services; resource

management; public works services; nuclear, chemical, biological, or other

hazardous material or substance monitoring, containment, decontamination,

neutralization, and disposal; emergency worker protection, site safety, site

operations and response planning; evacuation of persons; emergency welfare

services; emergency transportation; physical plant protection; temporary restoration

of public utility services; emergency lighting and power services; emergency public

information; incident investigation, hazards analysis, and damage assessment; and

other functions related to effective reaction to a disaster or emergency or

catastrophe, or the potential, threatened, or impending threat of any disaster or

emergency or catastrophe, together with all other activities necessary or incidental

to the preparation for and carrying out of the functions set out in this subsection;

(12) "Division" means the Division of Emergency Management of the Department of

Military Affairs;

(13) "Emergency" means any incident or situation which poses a major threat to public

safety so as to cause, or threaten to cause, loss of life, serious injury, significant

damage to property, or major harm to public health or the environment;

(14) "Executive action":

(a) Means:

1. All orders and guidelines related to a COVID -19 declared emergency

issued by the Governor or any state agency, the President of the United

States or any federal agency, or a local governmental agency; and

2. Industry-specific guidelines related to a C OVID-19 declared emergency

adopted by a state agency that govern the industry; and

(b) Does not:

1. Mean informal or indefinite statements or recommendations made by

government officials; or

2. Create a duty of care;

(15) "Integrated emergency management s ystem" means the unified and

multidisciplinary disaster and emergency response infrastructure developed in the

Commonwealth, under the coordination of the division, using methods which align

state or local administrative, organizational, and operational re sources, to

accomplish the mission, goals, and objectives of the comprehensive emergency

management program of the Commonwealth;

(16) "Local disaster and emergency services organization" means that organization of

public and private entities developed to c arry out the multiagency disaster and

emergency response of a city, county, urban -county or charter county pursuant to

KRS Chapters 39A to 39F;

(17) "Local emergency management agency" means the agency created, operated, and

maintained to coordinate the local comprehensive emergency management program

and disaster and emergency response of a city, county, and urban -county or charter

county government pursuant to KRS Chapters 39A to 39F;

(18) "Local emergency management director" or "Local director" means th e executive

head of the local emergency management agency, appointed pursuant to the

provisions of KRS Chapters 39A to 39F;

(19) "State emergency management agency" means the Division of Emergency

Management of the Department of Military Affairs; and

(20) "State emergency management director" means the director of the Division of

Emergency Management.