BILL ANALYSIS
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SCR 21
Author: Kehoe (D)
Amended: As introduced
Vote: 21
SENATE RULES COMMITTEE : 4-0, 3/11/09
AYES: Dutton, Oropeza, Aanestad, Steinberg
NO VOTE RECORDED: Cedillo
SUBJECT : The Joint Legislative Committee on Emergency
Management
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This resolution 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
resolution 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.
ANALYSIS :
This resolution states:
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1.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.
2.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.
3.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.
4.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.
5.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.
6.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
7.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.
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8.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
9.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.
10.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.
11.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).
12.The Joint Legislative Committee on Emergency Management
is authorized to act until November 30, 2010, when its
existence shall terminate
13.The Joint Legislative Committee on Emergency Management
shall consist of 14 members, and shall include seven
Members of the Senate appointed by the Senate Rules
Committee, 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
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second largest number of members.
14.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.
15.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.
16.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.
17.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.
18.The Joint Legislative Committee on Emergency Management
may periodically report its progress and make
recommendations to the Governor and the Legislature.
19.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.
20.The Senate Rules Committee may make monies available
from the Senate Operating Fund, as it deems necessary,
to pay expenses of the Joint Legislative Committee on
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Emergency Management and its members, and that any
expenditure of monies shall be made in compliance with
policies set forth by the Senate Rules Committee and
shall be subject to the approval of the Senate Rules
Committee.
FISCAL EFFECT : Fiscal Com.: No
RJG:cm 3/16/09 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: NONE RECEIVED
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