{"data":{"id":"us-ky/krs-39a.070","jurisdiction":"us-ky","citation":"KRS 39A.070","heading":"Powers, responsibilities, and duties of director.","body":"The  director, with the approval of the adjutant general, shall exercise the following\npowers, responsibilities, and duties:\n(1) To  represent the Governor on all matters pertaining to the comprehensive\nemergency  management  program and the disaster and emergency response\nof the Commonwealth;\n(2) To  coordinate the development of a statewide comprehensive emergency\nmanagement  program, and through it, an integrated emergency management\nsystem for the disaster and emergency response of the Commonwealth;\n(3) To  promulgate administrative regulations and  issue orders, directives,\nstandards, rules, procedures, guidance, or recommended  practices necessary\nto  coordinate the development, administration, organization, operation,\nimplementation, and maintenance of the statewide comprehensive emergency\nmanagement  program and the integrated emergency management  system of\nthe Commonwealth;\n(4) To  coordinate the development of comprehensive emergency  management\nprograms  by  the cities, counties, and  urban-county or charter county\ngovernments  as  functional components  of  the  integrated emergency\nmanagement  system of the Commonwealth;\n(5) To supervise the development and maintenance of the Kentucky Emergency\nOperations Plan, and to review and give concurrence to local emergency\noperations plans required pursuant to KRS Chapters 39A to 39F;\n(6) To  coordinate the comprehensive emergency  management  program of the\nCommonwealth  with the emergency  management  or other emergency\nresponse-related programs of the federal government, and of other states, to\nthe fullest appropriate extent;\n(7) To  advise the Governor  and  the adjutant general immediately of the\noccurrence  or threatened or impending occurrence of any  disaster or\nemergency,  and to recommend  to the Governor any emergency  executive\naction that the Governor should execute;\n(8) To serve as the Governor's primary liaison with local officials in the event of the\noccurrence, or threatened or impending occurrence, of any  disaster or\nemergency  in the cities, counties, urban-counties, or charter counties of the\nCommonwealth;\n(9) To  take any other preparedness or response actions deemed  necessary for\nadequate response to a disaster or emergency situation to include: requesting\nincreased readiness activities by state or local agencies in advance of an\nactual disaster or emergency; requesting implementation of local emergency\noperations plans or the activation of local emergency  operations centers;\nrequesting reports from state or local agencies regarding emergency situations,\ndamage  assessments, or the taking of emergency  response actions; and\nrequesting the mobilization or deployment of any trained and equipped forces\nof state or local government  for the disaster and  emergency  response\npurposes set forth in KRS Chapters 39A to 39F;\n(10) To  request and utilize the personnel, equipment, services, and facilities of\nexisting officers and  agencies of the Commonwealth  and  of all political\nsubdivisions and special districts. All these officers and agencies shall fully\ncooperate with and extend their resources to the director as requested to the\nextent that local public safety is not unreasonably compromised;\n(11) To employ measures and give directions to the state or local boards of health\nas necessary for the purpose of securing compliance with the provisions of\nKRS  Chapters 39A to 39F, or with the findings or recommendations of the\nboards of health, because of conditions arising from disasters, emergency\nsituations, national security emergencies, or the threat thereof;\n(12) To request and utilize the services of state and local law enforcement officers\nfor the purpose of securing compliance with the provisions of KRS  Chapters\n39A to 39F, or any order of the Governor pertaining to disaster and emergency\nresponse;\n(13) On  behalf of this Commonwealth,  with the approval of the Governor or act of\nthe General Assembly, to enter into reciprocal aid agreements or compacts\nwith other states and the federal government, either on a statewide, local,\ncounty, or city basis, or with other states or a province of a foreign country. The\nmutual aid agreements shall be limited to the furnishing or exchange of food,\nclothing, medicine, and  other supplies; engineering services; emergency\nhousing; police services; National Guard personnel and resources while under\nthe control of the state; health, medical, and related services; firefighting;\nrescue; search and rescue or recovery; urban search and rescue; hazardous\nmaterials response services, transportation and construction services and\nequipment; personnel necessary to provide or conduct these services and\nother supplies, equipment, facilities, personnel, and services as needed; the\nreimbursement of costs and expenses for equipment, supplies, personnel, and\nsimilar items for mobile support units, firefighting, search and rescue, and\npolice units, and health units; and on the terms and conditions deemed\nnecessary;\n(14) To  sponsor and  develop mutual aid plans and  agreements among  the\nurban-county or charter county governments, counties, cities, and  other\npolitical subdivisions and special districts of the Commonwealth,  similar to the\nmutual aid arrangements with other states referred to in subsection (13) of this\nsection;\n(15) To  procure motor  vehicles, radio and  telecommunications equipment,\nprotective clothing, safety equipment, and  other necessary supplies and\nmaterials to meet the emergency  response, operational, and administrative\nneeds of the division;\n(16) To  identify deficiencies existing in the emergency  management  program\norganization, facilities, and capabilities of the Commonwealth, including but not\nlimited to: personnel and administrative resources; state, sub-state, area, or\nlocal emergency  operations centers; mobile command  posts; emergency\ntelecommunications and computer systems; alerting and warning systems;\nstockpiles of critical resources; or any other necessary elements, and to\nrecommend  to the adjutant general, for consideration by the Governor or the\nGeneral Assembly or other appropriate funding authority, the administrative or\noperational funding requirements, and  long-range capital construction or\nimprovement  projects needed  to  meet  the  emergency  management\ninfrastructure needs of the Commonwealth;\n(17) To  serve as the state coordinating officer and notify the Governor of the\nappropriations necessary to fund the expected emergency  operational or\nresponse costs of the division, and the Commonwealth's share of the grants\nprovided by Pub.L.No. 93-288, Title V, Federal Disaster Assistance Programs\nas amended  by Pub.L.No. 100-707, the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and\nEmergency  Assistance Act, or successor acts or titles, and further, take action\nnecessary  to ensure entitlement to all other federal relief or assistance\nprograms;\n(18) To cooperate with the President of the United States, the Federal Emergency\nManagement  Agency, and other appropriate federal offices and agencies, and\nthe  offices and  agencies of other states in matters pertaining to the\ncomprehensive emergency management  program of the Commonwealth  and\nnation; and in connection with these, to take any measures  considered\nnecessary to implement any request of the President and the appropriate\nfederal offices and agencies, for any action requiring effective disaster and\nemergency  response, including the direction or control and mobilization of\ndisaster and emergency response forces; tests and exercises, warnings, and\nsignals for drills or other emergency response activities and the mechanical\ndevices to be used in connection with these; the shutting off of water mains,\ngas mains, electric power connections, and the suspension of all other utility\nservices; the conduct of civilians and  the movement  and  cessation of\nmovement  of pedestrians and vehicular traffic during, prior, and subsequent to\na  drill, emergency, declared emergency, or disaster; public meetings or\ngatherings; and the evacuation and sheltering of the civilian population; and\n(19) To delegate any authority vested in the director under KRS  Chapters 39A to\n39F and to provide for the subdelegation of any such authority.","path":["KRS Chapter 39A"],"source_url":"https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=50904","current_through":"Includes enactments through the 2026 Regular Session","vintage":"09/05/2026","retrieved_at":"2026-09-05T20:48:58Z","sha256":"58b55194ef117dd9ab4d256751b010684c2599e0730567b28bf87331ee6f1b0f","source_id":"us-ky","stale":false,"prev":"us-ky/krs-39a.060","next":"us-ky/krs-39a.080"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}