BILL NUMBER: ACR 38	ENROLLED
	BILL TEXT

	ADOPTED IN SENATE  JUNE 6, 2011
	ADOPTED IN ASSEMBLY  JUNE 9, 2011
	AMENDED IN SENATE  JUNE 1, 2011

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Bonnie Lowenthal

                        MARCH 14, 2011

   Relative to the Joint Legislative Committee on Emergency
Management.



	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   ACR 38, Bonnie Lowenthal. The Joint Legislative Committee on
Emergency Management.
   This measure continues in existence the Joint Legislative
Committee on Emergency Management, comprised of 7 Members of the
Senate and 7 Members of the Assembly, as specified, to address
California's emergency management issues, until abolished by the
Legislature.



   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 recurrent 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, then-Governor Gray Davis and
then-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, Resolution Chapter 152 of the Statutes of 2006, and
reauthorized and renamed as the Joint Legislative Committee on
Emergency Management by Resolution Chapter 36 of the Statutes of
2009; and
   WHEREAS, The Joint Legislative Committee on Emergency Management
has provided essential oversight of the California Emergency
Management Agency 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 Management and the Legislature recognize that the work of
the joint committee needs to continue; now, therefore, be it
   Resolved, by the Assembly of the State of California, the Senate
thereof concurring, That the Joint Legislative Committee on Emergency
Management is continued in existence from the 2009-10 Regular
Session; and be it further
   Resolved, That the Joint Legislative Committee on Emergency
Management shall be in continuous existence until abolished by the
Legislature; 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 shall, during each biennial session of the Legislature,
report to the Governor and the Legislature on the joint committee's
progress and includes any recommendations relating to the status of
the services and policies that are necessary to have in place to
adequately address public safety and essential emergency management
services and policies; 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 Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies of
this resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.