BILL NUMBER: SCR 21 INTRODUCED
BILL TEXT
INTRODUCED BY Senator Kehoe
MARCH 9, 2009
Relative to the Joint Legislative Committee on Emergency
Management.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SCR 21, as introduced, Kehoe. The Joint Legislative Committee on
Emergency Management.
This measure continues in existence the Joint Legislative
Committee on Emergency Services and Homeland Security, renames it as
the Joint Legislative Committee on Emergency Management, comprised of
7 Members of the Senate and 7 Members of the Assembly, as specified,
and authorizes the joint committee to act until November 30, 2010,
and to address California's emergency management issues. This measure
also authorizes the Senate Committee on Rules to make moneys
available from the Senate Operating Fund, as it deems necessary, to
pay the expenses of the joint committee.
Fiscal committee: no.
WHEREAS, California is the site of some of the most extraordinary
natural disasters in North America, including fires, earthquakes,
floods, landslides, mudslides, insect infestations, and drought; and
WHEREAS, California is the nation's most populous state and home
to many of the nation's most critical military installations,
industrial facilities, ports, academic institutions, and tourist
destinations, and as such California is especially vulnerable to
potential acts of terrorism; and
WHEREAS, The failed governmental response to Hurricane Katrina in
2005 indicates an immediate need to continue to assess and improve
upon California's emergency preparedness and response plans,
especially in the following areas: the specific roles of local,
state, and federal agencies; evacuation planning; interoperable
communication systems; emergency warning protocols; and private
sector preparedness; and
WHEREAS, The ongoing threat of avian and pandemic flu could also
present unprecedented challenges to the state's public health system
and thus place at risk the state's residents and our economy; and
WHEREAS, On November 2, 2003, Governor Gray Davis and
Governor-elect Arnold Schwarzenegger established a Blue Ribbon Fire
Commission representing federal, state, and local agencies, the
firefighting community, and certain communities; and
WHEREAS, The Blue Ribbon Fire Commission was established to
conduct a review of the efforts to fight the October 2003 fires and
present recommendations to make California less vulnerable to
disasters of such enormity in the future; and
WHEREAS, The Blue Ribbon Fire Commission, in its report to the
Governor, made numerous recommendations and prioritized their
importance, including the establishment of a permanent Joint
Legislative Committee on Emergency Services and Homeland Security;
and
WHEREAS, The Joint Legislative Committee on Emergency Services and
Homeland Security has been in continuous existence since it was
first established by Resolution Chapter 144 of the Statutes of 2004,
and subsequently reauthorized by Resolution Chapter 106 of the
Statutes of 2005 and Resolution Chapter 152 of the Statutes of 2006;
and
WHEREAS, The Joint Legislative Committee on Emergency Services and
Homeland Security has provided essential oversight of the Governor's
Office of Emergency Services and the Governor's Office of Homeland
Security and conducted numerous hearings on the subject of emergency
preparedness and homeland security issues; and
WHEREAS, The members of the Joint Legislative Committee on
Emergency Services and Homeland Security and the Legislature
recognize that the work of the joint committee needs to continue;
now, therefore, be it
Resolved, by the Senate of the State of California, the Assembly
thereof concurring, That the Joint Legislative Committee on Emergency
Services and Homeland Security is continued in existence from the
2007-08 Regular Session and shall hereafter be referred to as the
Joint Legislative Committee on Emergency Management in keeping with
the merger of the Governor's Office of Emergency Services and the
Governor's Office of Homeland Security into one agency known as the
California Emergency Management Agency, authorized pursuant to
Assembly Bill 38 (Chapter 372, Statutes of 2008); and be it further
Resolved, That the Joint Legislative Committee on Emergency
Management is authorized to act until November 30, 2010, when its
existence shall terminate; and be it further
Resolved, That the Joint Legislative Committee on Emergency
Management shall consist of 14 members, and shall include seven
Members of the Senate appointed by the Senate Committee on Rules,
four from the political party having the largest number of members in
the Senate and three from the political party having the second
largest number of members, and seven Members of the Assembly
appointed by the Speaker of the Assembly, four from the political
party having the largest number of members in the Assembly and three
from the political party having the second largest number of members;
and be it further
Resolved, That the Joint Legislative Committee on Emergency
Management shall be under the direction of a chairperson and vice
chairperson that shall alternate between the Senate and the Assembly
from session to session; and be it further
Resolved, That the Joint Legislative Committee on Emergency
Management may provide a public forum for discussion of California's
emergency management issues related to natural or human-caused
threats to California; and be it further
Resolved, That, in order to assist the Joint Legislative Committee
on Emergency Management in carrying out its duties, the joint
committee may form technical advisory committees, including
representatives from the public safety and emergency services
disciplines, to help evaluate federal, state, and local strategies,
provide technical assistance on an ongoing basis, and take active
roles in supporting the passage of any necessary legislation; and be
it further
Resolved, That the Joint Legislative Committee on Emergency
Management may work in cooperation with the Governor and the standing
committees and subcommittees of the Legislature to address the level
of support necessary for public safety and related safety agencies
to implement essential emergency management services and policies;
and be it further
Resolved, That the Joint Legislative Committee on Emergency
Management may periodically report its progress and make
recommendations to the Governor and the Legislature; and be it
further
Resolved, That the Joint Legislative Committee on Emergency
Management and its members shall have and exercise all of the rights,
duties, and powers conferred upon investigating committees and their
members by the Joint Rules of the Assembly and Senate as they are
adopted and amended from time to time, which provisions are
incorporated herein and made applicable to this joint committee and
its members; and be it further
Resolved, That the Senate Committee on Rules may make moneys
available from the Senate Operating Fund, as it deems necessary, to
pay expenses of the Joint Legislative Committee on Emergency
Management and its members, and that any expenditure of moneys shall
be made in compliance with policies set forth by the Senate Committee
on Rules and shall be subject to the approval of the Senate
Committee on Rules; and be it further
Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate transmit copies of this
resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.