KRS 39A.050: Responsibility of division for coordinating disaster and emergency

services -- Powers, authorities, and duties.

(1) The Division of Emergency Management shall coordinate for the Governor all

matters pertaining to the comprehensive emergency manag ement program and

disaster and emergency response of the Commonwealth. The division shall be the

executive branch agency of state government having primary jurisdiction,

responsibility, and authority for the planning and execution of disaster and

emergency assessment, mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery for the

Commonwealth; the coordination of all disaster and emergency response by and

between all state agencies, all agencies of city, county, and urban -county or charter

county government, all local entities, and all political subdivisions of the

Commonwealth for an emergency, declared emergency, disaster, or catastrophe as

contemplated in KRS 39A.010, 39A.020, or 39A.030; the coordination of, and

liaison with, related or concerned federal gover nment agencies, elected officials of

other states, private organizations or private sector companies dealing with disaster

and emergency response; the coordination of all recovery operations and mitigation

initiatives subsequent to disasters or emergencies; and the coordination of all public

information activities regarding state government disaster and emergency response

operations.

(2) The Division of Emergency Management shall have and exercise the following

powers, authorities, and duties:

(a) To develop, administer, and maintain a statewide comprehensive emergency

management program for the Commonwealth, and through it an integrated

emergency management system for the disaster and emergency response of

the Commonwealth, which shall be coordinated with t he emergency

management programs, and other related public safety, emergency response,

mitigation, or disaster recovery programs, of all appropriate federal

government agencies including the Federal Emergency Management Agency,

the federal Department of Ho meland Security, the State Department, the

Federal Aviation Administration, the Centers for Disease Control and

Prevention, the Department of Transportation, the Environmental Protection

Agency, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the Depart ment

of Defense, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the

Department of Justice, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, the

National Transportation Safety Board, the Chemical Safety and Hazard

Investigation Board, the Army Corps of E ngineers, the National Security

Council, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Federal Railroad

Administration, the United States Geological Survey, the Department of

Energy, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the Department of Agriculture,

the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the American Red

Cross, the other states, and other appropriate public or private agencies, to the

fullest appropriate extent;

(b) To coordinate the development, implementation, and maintenance of

comprehensive emergency management programs by local emergency

management agencies in the cities, counties, and urban -county or charter

county governments of the Commonwealth to ensure that all such programs,

agencies, and organizations are organized, administered, and operated as

functional components of the integrated emergency management system of

the Commonwealth;

(c) To develop and maintain a comprehensive, risk -based, all -hazards disaster

and emergency response plan entitled "Kentucky Emergency Operations

Plan," the provisions of which shall establish the organizational structure to be

utilized by state government for managing disaster and emergency response,

and set forth the policies, procedures, and guidelines for the coordination and

execution of all disaster an d emergency response for an emergency, declared

emergency, disaster, or catastrophe in the Commonwealth. The Kentucky

Emergency Operations Plan shall be submitted to the Governor for approval

when the Governor assumes office following each gubernatorial election, or at

other times as the director deems appropriate. The Governor shall provide

written approval of the Kentucky Emergency Operations Plan through

issuance of an executive order, and the division shall file a copy of the

executive order with the Le gislative Research Commission. The Kentucky

Emergency Operations Plan shall be the primary strategic disaster and

emergency response planning component of the integrated emergency

management system of the Commonwealth, and shall be utilized and followed

by all state agencies, all local government agencies, all local public agencies

or entities, and all other political subdivisions of the Commonwealth which

may be involved in disaster and emergency response in the Commonwealth.

The Kentucky Emergency Operati ons Plan shall be updated by the division

not less than annually;

(d) To maintain and operate the State Emergency Operations Center facility,

which shall be the official and primary state government twenty -four (24)

hour warning point, communications, and command center, from which the

Governor, cabinet secretaries, department heads, and other state agency

officials can, at any time, rapidly, adequately, and effectively manage the

disaster and emergency response of the Commonwealth. The State Emergency

Operations Center facility shall be the primary state direction and control

component of the integrated emergency management system of the

Commonwealth for the coordination of all disaster and emergency response in

the Commonwealth;

(e) To develop, monitor, an d operate, on a twenty -four (24) hour per day basis,

the appropriate alerting or warning systems, public safety telecommunications

systems, or radio networks; any state trunked, fiber, or interactive

communication systems; computer, fax, other telecommunic ations or

information networks; and systems needed for communication and

coordination with all necessary or appropriate federal, state, or local public

safety, law enforcement, emergency management, or other disaster and

emergency response agencies, and st ate or local dispatch centers in the

Commonwealth, and other appropriate interests, and through these agencies

and systems to receive or disseminate emergency information, or to receive

timely notification of, and continual assessment of, all threatened or actual

emergency incidents or disaster situations occurring anywhere in or near the

Commonwealth;

(f) To immediately notify the Governor, the adjutant general, and the executive

director of the Kentucky Office of Homeland Security, or his or her designee,

in the event of any major emergency incidents or disaster occurrences, or the

threatened or impending occurrence of any of these events, and to keep the

Governor, the adjutant general, and the executive director of the Kentucky

Office of Homeland Security , or his or her designee, informed of all actions

being taken in response to these events;

(g) To respond to the scenes of emergencies or disasters, or their threatened or

impending occurrence and to directly and immediately investigate, analyze,

and assess the nature and seriousness of these situations; to convene meetings,

gather information, conduct briefings, and evaluate ongoing emergency

response activities; take actions to execute the appropriate provisions of the

Kentucky Emergency Operations Plan; coordinate the establishment and

operation of a state incident management system; establish or manage sub -

state or area emergency operations centers, or on -scene command posts; and

fully expedite and coordinate the disaster and emergency response of the

Commonwealth;

(h) To establish and operate area field offices of the division, each office to be

headed by an area manager, responsible for administering the policies, plans,

programs, and duties of the division in specific geographic areas of the

Commonwealth, including the coordination of comprehensive emergency

management programs developed by the cities, counties, urban -county, or

charter county governments in the areas;

(i) To provide funds to the cities, counties, and urban -county or charter county

governments of the Commonwealth to support the development,

administration, operation, and maintenance of local emergency management

agencies created pursuant to KRS Chapters 39A to 39F;

(j) To require the regular submission of program administration data, records,

materials, reports, or documents from local emergency management agencies

as may be necessary and sufficient to conduct performance reviews and

assessments to ensure com pliance with all state or federal funding and

program requirements, and to ensure local program compatibility and

consistency with the mission, goals, and objectives of the comprehensive

emergency management program and integrated emergency management

system of the Commonwealth;

(k) To ascertain the requirements of the Commonwealth and its cities and

counties for emergency resources and the necessities of life in the event of

disaster or emergency; institute an emergency resource management plan and

procure emergency supplies, materials, and equipment; and use or employ in

time of emergency any of the property, services, and resources of state or

local government in the Commonwealth for the purposes set forth in KRS

Chapters 39A to 39F;

(l) To institute publ ic information and education programs, emergency

management training programs, and exercise programs to test and evaluate

emergency operations plans and disaster and emergency response and

recovery capabilities;

(m) To institute and maintain the Kentucky Q ualification System, which shall be

used to establish qualification procedures, certification programs, and

credentialing standards for professionals involved in disaster and incident

management, including incident management teams and emergency

operations centers; and

(n) To promulgate administrative regulations to carry out the provisions of KRS

Chapters 39A to 39F.