BILL ANALYSIS
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 1214
Author: Nava (D)
Amended: 6/26/09 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE BANKING, FINANCE, AND INS. COMM .: 11-0, 6/17/09
AYES: Calderon, Cogdill, Correa, Cox, Harman, Kehoe, Liu,
Lowenthal, Padilla, Runner, Wolk
NO VOTE RECORDED: Florez
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 79-0, 5/4/09 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Fire insurance: underwriters corps: liability
SOURCE : California Division of Forestry Firefighters
California Professional Firefighters
California State Firefighters Association
DIGEST : This bill requires any privately owned or
operated resources hired by an insurer to protect
structures threatened by fire or to perform firefighting
duties to report to and follow the direction of the
Incident Commander as that term is used in the California's
Standardized Emergency Management System (SEMS).
ANALYSIS : Existing law:
1.The SEMS Act was developed as part of the Emergency
Services Act adopted after the devastating Oakland Hills
Fire (1991) to overcome problems of incompatible
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equipment and inadequacies of resource mobilization,
communication and command structure.
2.SEMS is a system to facilitate effective emergency
response by establishing a structure with a clear and
consistently applied organizational structure to
facilitate setting of priorities, interagency
cooperation, and the efficient flow of resources and
information in emergency situations.
3.State agencies, counties, cities, special districts and
agencies such as the American Red Cross, the Salvation
Army and other Community-based organizations are required
to operate within the SEMS system.
4.The SEMS system is built around the nationally recognized
Incident Command System to provide for unified direction
of all responders through a single unified command
structure designed to maximize efficiency within the
identified incident priorities.
This bill requires any privately owned or operated
resources hired by an insurer for the purpose of protecting
structures endangered by fire or performing firefighting
duties to immediately report to the Incident Commander or
his or her designee upon arriving at the site of a fire.
All such insurer hired resources must obey all directions,
including evacuation orders, given by the incident
commander or his or her designee.
Background
California's Standardized Emergency Management System is
built around a unified command structure utilizing an
identified Incident Commander whose job is to organize the
disaster response in a way that makes efficient use of
resources, minimizes resource conflicts, and maintains a
steady focus on the top priorities of the emergency
response effort as circumstances change and the event
fluctuates.
The introduction of personnel into a disaster response that
are not subject to nor operating within the SEMS framework
introduces the possibility of confusion, resource
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conflicts, and disruption of the Incident Command System
command structure in ways that undermine its effectiveness
or the ability of its managers to focus fully on the
immediate demands of disaster response.
The emergence of private firefighting services present a
challenge to California's public disaster response
capabilities to the extent that they lead to the
introduction in a fire or other disaster event of personnel
who are entering the site of the disaster but are not
trained to understand and operate within the SEMS framework
nor accountable to the SEMS Incident Commander.
Prior Legislation
In 1992, SB 1841 (Petris) was passed adding Section 8607
to the Government Code to improve the coordination of State
and Local Emergency response in California. This bill
resulted in the creation of the SEMS system which has
continued to evolve and be refined to strengthen
California's disaster response capabilities.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 6/26/09)
California Division of Forestry Firefighters (co-source)
California Professional Firefighters (co-source)
California State Firefighters Association (co-source)
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : California's Incident Command
System is recognized as the best in the world but it only
works when every entity responding to a fire understands
completely the importance of adhering to the incident
response plan and following the direction of the Incident
Commander or their designee.
This bill is intended to clarify that privately owned
resources must obey all direction, including evacuation
orders, given by an Incident Commander or their designee.
To facilitate the coordination of such resources within
California's Standardized Emergency Management System, all
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such privately owned or operated resources hired to protect
structures or perform firefighting duties are required to
immediately report to the Incident Commander upon arriving
at the fire site.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR :
AYES: Adams, Ammiano, Anderson, Arambula, Beall, Bill
Berryhill, Tom Berryhill, Blakeslee, Block, Blumenfield,
Brownley, Buchanan, Caballero, Charles Calderon, Carter,
Chesbro, Conway, Cook, Coto, Davis, De La Torre, De Leon,
DeVore, Duvall, Emmerson, Eng, Evans, Feuer, Fletcher,
Fong, Fuentes, Fuller, Furutani, Gaines, Galgiani,
Garrick, Gilmore, Hagman, Hall, Harkey, Hayashi,
Hernandez, Hill, Huber, Jeffries, Jones, Knight,
Krekorian, Lieu, Logue, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Mendoza,
Miller, Monning, Nava, Nestande, Niello, Nielsen, John A.
Perez, V. Manuel Perez, Portantino, Price, Ruskin, Salas,
Saldana, Silva, Skinner, Smyth, Solorio, Audra
Strickland, Swanson, Torlakson, Torres, Torrico, Tran,
Villines, Yamada, Bass
NO VOTE RECORDED: Huffman
JA:nl 6/26/09 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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