N.Y. Executive Law § 21: Disaster preparedness commission established; meetings; powers and duties

§ 21. Disaster preparedness commission established; meetings; powers

and duties. 1. There is hereby created in the executive department a

disaster preparedness commission consisting of the commissioners of

transportation, health, division of criminal justice services,

education, economic development, agriculture and markets, housing and

community renewal, general services, labor, environmental conservation,

mental health, addiction services and supports, parks, recreation and

historic preservation, corrections and community supervision, children

and family services, homeland security and emergency services, and

people with developmental disabilities, the president of the New York

state energy research and development authority, the superintendents of

state police and financial services, the secretary of state, the state

fire administrator, the chair of the public service commission, the

adjutant general, the office of information technology services, and the

office of victim services, the chairs of the thruway authority, the

office for the aging, the metropolitan transportation authority, the

port authority of New York and New Jersey, the chief professional

officer of the state coordinating chapter of the American Red Cross, the

chief professional officer of 2-1-1 New York state and three additional

members, to be appointed by the governor, two of whom shall be chief

executives. Each member agency may designate an executive level officer

of that agency, with responsibility for disaster preparedness matters,

who may represent that agency on the commission. The commissioner of the

division of homeland security and emergency services shall serve as

chair of the commission, and the governor shall designate the vice chair

of the commission. The members of the commission, except those who serve

ex officio, shall be allowed their actual and necessary expenses

incurred in the performance of their duties under this article but shall

receive no additional compensation for services rendered pursuant to

this article.

2. The commission, on call of the chairperson, shall meet at least

twice each year and at such other times as may be necessary. The agenda

and meeting place of all regular meetings shall be made available to the

public in advance of such meetings and all such meetings shall be open

to the public. The commission shall establish quorum requirements and

other rules and procedures regarding conduct of its meetings and other

affairs.

3. The commission shall have the following powers and

responsibilities:

a. study all aspects of man-made or natural disaster prevention,

response and recovery;

b. request and obtain from any state or local officer or agency any

information necessary to the commission for the exercise of its

responsibilities;

c. prepare and, as appropriate, revise a state comprehensive emergency

management plan. The commission shall report all revisions to such plan

by March thirty-first of each year to the governor, the legislature and

the chief judge of the state, unless a current version of the plan is

available to the public on the website of the division of homeland

security and emergency services. In preparing such plans, the commission

shall consult with federal and local officials, emergency service

organizations including both volunteer and commercial emergency response

organizations, and the public as it deems appropriate. To the extent

such plans impact upon administration of the civil and criminal justice

systems of the state, including their operational and fiscal needs in

times of disaster emergency, the commission, its staff and any working

group, task force, agency or other instrumentality to which it may

delegate responsibility to assist it in its duties shall consult with

the chief administrator of the courts and coordinate their preparation

with him or her or with his or her representatives;

d. prepare, keep current and distribute to chief executives and others

an inventory of programs directly relevant to prevention, minimization

of damage, readiness, operations during disasters, and recovery

following disasters;

e. direct state disaster operations and coordinate state disaster

operations with local disaster operations following the declaration of a

state disaster emergency;

f. (1) unless it deems it unnecessary, create, following the

declaration of a state disaster emergency, a temporary organization in

the disaster area to provide for integration and coordination of efforts

among the various federal, state, municipal and private agencies

involved. The commission, upon a request from a municipality and with

the approval of the governor, shall direct the temporary organization to

assume direction of the local disaster operations of such municipality,

for a specified period of time not to exceed thirty days, and in such

cases such temporary organization shall assume direction of such local

disaster operations, subject to the supervision of the commission. Upon

the expiration of the thirty day period the commission, at the request

of the municipality, may extend the temporary organization's direction

of such local disaster operations for additional periods not to exceed

thirty days. The commission, upon a finding that a municipality is

unable to manage local disaster operations, may, with the approval of

the governor, direct the temporary organization to assume direction of

the local disaster operations of such municipality, for a specified

period of time not to exceed thirty days, and in such cases such

temporary organization shall assume direction of such local disaster

operations, subject to the supervision of the commission. Upon

expiration of the thirty day period the commission, after consultation

with the municipality, and with the approval of the governor, may extend

the temporary organization's direction of such local disaster operations

for additional periods not to exceed thirty days. In such event, such

temporary organization may utilize such municipality's local resources,

provided, however, that the state shall not be liable for any expenses

incurred in using such municipality's resources. The state shall not be

liable for the expenses incurred in using third party, non-state

resources deployed to the affected area by the temporary organization,

which are necessary to protect life and safety;

(2) The state incident management team shall have the authority to act

as the operational arm of the temporary organization. When called to

duty and deployed by the state, members of any state or local incident

management team shall be deemed temporary employees of the state and

shall have the same privileges and immunities afforded to regular state

employees, subject to the rules and regulations promulgated by the

president of the state civil service commission pursuant to section one

hundred sixty-three of the civil service law;

g. assist in the coordination of federal recovery efforts and

coordinate recovery assistance by state and private agencies;

h. provide for periodic briefings, drills, exercises or other means to

assure that all state personnel with direct responsibilities in the

event of a disaster are fully familiar with response and recovery plans

and the manner in which they shall carry out their responsibilities, and

coordinate with federal, local or other state personnel. Such activities

may take place on a regional or county basis, and local and federal

participation shall be invited and encouraged;

i. submit to the governor, the legislature and the chief judge of the

state by March thirty-first of each year an annual report which shall

include but need not be limited to:

(1) a summary of commission and state agency activities for the year

and plans for the ensuing year with respect to the duties and

responsibilities of the commission;

(2) recommendations on ways to improve state and local capability to

prevent, prepare for, respond to and recover from disasters;

(3) the status of the state and local plans for disaster preparedness

and response, including the name of any locality which has failed or

refused to develop and implement its own disaster preparedness plan and

program; and the extent to which all forms of local emergency response

assets have been included, and accounted for in planning and preparation

for disaster preparedness and response; and

j. develop public service announcements to be distributed to

television and radio stations and other media throughout the state

informing the public how to prepare and respond to disasters. Such

public service announcements shall be distributed in English and such

other languages as such commission deems appropriate.

4. All powers of the state civil defense commission are assigned to

the commission.

5. The state office of emergency management within the division of

homeland security and emergency services shall serve as the operational

arm of the commission and shall be responsible for implementing

provisions of this article and the rules and policies adopted by the

commission. The director of the state office of emergency management

within the division of homeland security and emergency services shall

exercise the authority given to the disaster preparedness commission in

section twenty-nine of this article, to coordinate and direct state

agencies and assets in response to a state disaster emergency, through

their respective agency heads, on behalf of the governor and the chair

of the disaster preparedness commission, when the governor, the

lieutenant governor, and the chair of the disaster preparedness

commission are incapacitated or without an available means of reliable

communication with the state office of emergency management. If the

director of the state office of emergency management is unable to

exercise this authority, then the executive deputy commissioner of the

division of homeland security and emergency services shall act in this

capacity. In the event that the executive deputy commissioner is unable

to exercise this authority, then such authority shall be exercised by

the official willing and able to do so in the following order: the

superintendent of the division of state police; the state fire

administrator; or the director of the office of counterterrorism within

the division of homeland security and emergency services. Nothing in

this subdivision shall be construed to limit the authority of the

governor, lieutenant governor, or the chair of the disaster preparedness

commission to oversee the director of the state office of emergency

management within the division of homeland security and emergency

services or any official exercising authority given to the disaster

preparedness commission in section twenty-nine of this article.