PRINTER'S NO. 3020
No. 2112 Session of 2007
INTRODUCED BY COSTA, GOODMAN, FRANKEL, KOTIK, PRESTON, READSHAW, K. SMITH, BRENNAN, CALTAGIRONE, CAPPELLI, CARROLL, CREIGHTON, GEIST, GEORGE, GRUCELA, HALUSKA, HARKINS, HENNESSEY, HUTCHINSON, W. KELLER, KULA, MAHONEY, MARSHALL, McILHATTAN, MOYER, MURT, PAYNE, SANTONI, SAYLOR, SIPTROTH, SOLOBAY, THOMAS, J. WHITE, YOUNGBLOOD AND YUDICHAK, DECEMBER 13, 2007
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON VETERANS AFFAIRS AND EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS, DECEMBER 13, 2007
AN ACT 1 Amending Title 35 (Health and Safety) of the Pennsylvania 2 Consolidated Statutes, providing for mutual aid. 3 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania 4 hereby enacts as follows: 5 Section 1. Chapter 73 of Title 35 of the Pennsylvania 6 Consolidated Statutes is amended by adding a subchapter to read: 7 SUBCHAPTER C 8 INTRASTATE MUTUAL AID 9 Sec. 10 7331. Purpose of subchapter. 11 7332. Definitions. 12 7333. Intrastate Mutual Aid Committee. 13 7334. System. 14 7335. Assistance. 15 7336. License, certificate and permit portability.
1 7337. Insurance. 2 7338. Workers' compensation. 3 7339. Immunity. 4 7340. Effect on other agreements. 5 § 7331. Purpose of subchapter. 6 The purpose of this subchapter is to create a system of 7 intrastate mutual aid between participating political 8 subdivisions within this Commonwealth, whereby each 9 participating political subdivision recognizes that emergencies 10 transcend the boundaries of a political subdivision and that 11 intergovernmental coordination is essential for the protection 12 of lives and property and for the best use of available public 13 and private assets. The system shall provide for mutual 14 assistance among the participating political subdivisions in the 15 prevention of, response to and recovery from threats to public 16 health and safety that are beyond the capability of an affected 17 community to respond. The system shall provide for mutual 18 cooperation among the participating subdivisions in conducting 19 exercises, testing or other training activities. 20 § 7332. Definitions. 21 The following words and phrases when used in this subchapter 22 shall have the meanings given to them in this section unless the 23 context clearly indicates otherwise: 24 "Agency." The Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency. 25 "Dedicated emergency response organization." Any entity 26 organized, chartered or incorporated in this Commonwealth or 27 chartered by the Congress of the United States for the primary 28 purpose of providing emergency services. The term shall include 29 volunteer, career and combination organizations. 30 "Emergency responder." An individual in the public or 20070H2112B3020 - 2 -
1 private sector who has special skills, qualification, training, 2 knowledge or experience, whether or not the person possesses a 3 license, certificate, permit or other official recognition for 4 the skills, qualification, training, knowledge or experience, 5 that would benefit a participating political subdivision in 6 responding to an authorized mutual aid request or participating 7 in an authorized drill or exercise. The term shall include a law 8 enforcement officer, a firefighter, an emergency medical 9 services worker, a physician, nurse or other public health 10 worker, an emergency management official, a public works worker, 11 a building inspector, an architect, an engineer or other design 12 professional or a person with specialized equipment operations 13 skills or training or with any other skills needed to provide 14 aid in a declared emergency. 15 "Committee." The Intrastate Mutual Aid Committee. 16 "Incident." Any event or condition which constitutes an 17 actual or imminent threat to public health and safety, public or 18 private property or the economic well-being of the community. 19 "Incident commander." The individual responsible for all 20 incident-related activities, including the development of 21 strategies and tactics and the ordering and releasing of 22 resources as provided under the National Incident Management 23 System. 24 "Mutual aid." Mutual assistance and sharing of resources 25 among participating political subdivisions in the prevention of, 26 response to and recovery from threats to public health and 27 safety that are beyond the capability of an affected community 28 to respond. 29 "National Incident Management System." The National Incident 30 Management System established by the United States Department of 20070H2112B3020 - 3 -
1 Homeland Security. 2 "Participating political subdivision." A political 3 subdivision that has not opted out of the intrastate mutual aid 4 system. 5 "Political subdivision." Any county, city, borough, 6 incorporated town or township. The term shall include any 7 council of governments established among any of the above. 8 "Requesting political subdivision." A participating 9 political subdivision that requests assistance under this 10 subchapter. 11 "Responding political subdivision." A participating 12 political subdivision that responds to a request for assistance 13 under this subchapter. 14 "System." The intrastate mutual aid system. 15 § 7333. Intrastate Mutual Aid Committee. 16 (a) Establishment.--There is established the Intrastate 17 Mutual Aid Committee. 18 (b) Membership.--The committee shall be comprised of the 19 following members: 20 (1) The director of the agency or a designee, who shall 21 serve as the chairman of the committee. 22 (2) Two representatives each from the career fire 23 services, the volunteer fire services and the emergency 24 medical services. 25 (3) Three county emergency management agency directors, 26 one from each agency area, who shall be recommended by the 27 respective agency area directors. 28 (4) One representative each from the State Chiefs of 29 Police Association, the State Fraternal Order of Police and 30 the Pennsylvania State Police. 20070H2112B3020 - 4 -
1 (5) One representative each from the Statewide county 2 and municipal government associations' representative elected 3 officials. 4 (6) Three representatives from county-based 911 5 programs. 6 (c) Appointments.--Each member under subsection (b) shall be 7 appointed by the director of the agency, and the appointment may 8 be based on recommendations from the organizations and 9 associations represented. The county-based 911 members shall be 10 selected from recommendations made by the three agency area 11 directors. 12 (d) Terms of office.--Members shall serve a term of two 13 years, and may be appointed for subsequent terms. 14 (e) Duties of committee.--The committee shall do all of the 15 following: 16 (1) Hold at least one meeting each year to review the 17 progress and status of the intrastate mutual aid system. 18 (2) Provide participating political subdivisions with a 19 method to track and evaluate the system. 20 (3) Examine issues facing participating political 21 subdivisions regarding the implementation of this subchapter. 22 (4) Prepare an annual report on the condition and 23 effectiveness of mutual aid in this Commonwealth, which shall 24 be submitted to the chairperson and minority chairperson of 25 the Veterans Affairs and Emergency Preparedness Committee of 26 the Senate and the chairperson and minority chairperson of 27 the Veterans Affairs and Emergency Preparedness Committee of 28 the House of Representatives. This report may contain 29 recommendations for correcting any deficiencies within the 30 system. 20070H2112B3020 - 5 -
1 (5) Develop all of the following: 2 (i) Comprehensive guidelines and procedures that 3 address all of the following: 4 (A) Projected or anticipated costs potentially 5 incurred by a participating political subdivision. 6 (B) Recordkeeping for participating political 7 subdivisions. 8 (C) Reimbursement procedures and other necessary 9 implementation elements. 10 (D) Any other procedures that the committee 11 deems necessary. 12 (ii) Checklists for requesting and providing 13 assistance. 14 (iii) Forms for requests and other records to 15 document the deployment and return of assets. 16 § 7334. System. 17 (a) Establishment.--An intrastate mutual aid system is 18 established for the purpose of providing mutual aid within this 19 Commonwealth. 20 (b) Participation.-- 21 (1) All political subdivisions within this Commonwealth 22 shall be a part of the system unless the political 23 subdivision elects not to participate by enacting a 24 resolution declaring their desire not to participate and by 25 submitting a copy of the resolution to the agency and to its 26 county emergency management agency. 27 (2) Any political subdivision that elects not to 28 participate in the system, as provided under subsection (a), 29 may at a later date elect to participate in the system by 30 enacting a resolution declaring its desire to participate and 20070H2112B3020 - 6 -
1 by submitting a copy of the resolution to the agency and to 2 its county emergency management agency. 3 (c) Responsibilities.--It shall be the responsibility of 4 each participating political subdivision with jurisdiction over 5 and responsibility for emergency management within that 6 political subdivision to do all of the following: 7 (1) Identify potential hazards that could affect the 8 participating political subdivision using an identification 9 system as developed by the committee common to all 10 participating political subdivisions. 11 (2) Conduct joint planning, intelligence sharing and 12 threat assessment development with contiguous participating 13 political subdivisions. 14 (3) Conduct joint training with contiguous participating 15 political subdivisions at least biennially. 16 (4) Identify and inventory the current services, 17 equipment, supplies, personnel and other resources related to 18 planning, prevention, mitigation, response and recovery 19 activities of the participating political subdivisions in 20 accordance with the National Incident Management System 21 Integration Center resource management guidance. 22 (5) Adopt and implement the standardized incident 23 management system approved by the agency. 24 (6) Adopt and implement the National Incident Management 25 System requirements established by the United States 26 Department of Homeland Security. 27 § 7335. Assistance. 28 (a) Requests.--A participating political subdivision may 29 request assistance of other participating political subdivisions 30 or their designated emergency response organizations. All 20070H2112B3020 - 7 -
1 requests for assistance shall be initiated from the incident 2 commander or authorized designee at an incident location, the 3 county 911 center or the county emergency manager where the 4 incident occurs. All intrastate mutual aid requests for 5 assistance shall be made to the county 911 center or county 6 emergency management coordinator or authorized designee in the 7 responding county. Intrastate mutual aid requests for assistance 8 may also be made through the agency. A written request shall be 9 submitted after a verbal request is made as soon as practicable 10 or within the number of days that the agency, in its discretion, 11 may determine. 12 (b) Response to requests.--A participating political 13 subdivision's obligation to provide assistance in the prevention 14 of, response to and recovery from an incident or in authorized 15 drills or exercises shall be subject to all of the following 16 conditions: 17 (1) A responding political subdivision may withhold 18 resources to the extent necessary to provide reasonable 19 protection and services for its own jurisdiction. 20 (2) Emergency response personnel of a responding 21 political subdivision shall remain under the administrative 22 and policy procedures and control of their respective 23 jurisdiction, including medical protocols, standard operating 24 procedures and other protocols, but shall be under the 25 operational control of the appropriate officials within the 26 incident management system of the requesting political 27 subdivision. 28 (3) Assets and equipment of a responding political 29 subdivision shall remain under the administrative and policy 30 procedures and control of their respective jurisdiction but 20070H2112B3020 - 8 -
1 shall be under the control of the appropriate officials 2 within the incident management system of the requesting 3 political subdivision. 4 (4) The incident commander shall have overall authority 5 and responsibility for conducting incident operations and 6 shall be responsible for the management of all incident 7 operations at the incident site. 8 (c) Reimbursement.--A requesting political subdivision shall 9 reimburse the responding political subdivision in accordance 10 with procedures established by the committee. A responding 11 political subdivision may donate assets of any kind to a 12 participating political subdivision. If a dispute arises 13 regarding reimbursement, involved parties shall make every 14 effort to resolve the dispute within 30 days of written notice 15 of the dispute by the party asserting noncompliance. In the 16 event that the dispute is not resolved within 90 days of the 17 notice of the claim, either party may request the dispute be 18 resolved through arbitration. Any arbitration requested under 19 this subsection shall be conducted under the commercial 20 arbitration rules of the American Arbitration Association. 21 (d) Exceptions.--The provisions of this section shall not 22 apply to specific mutual aid agreements which exist on the 23 effective date of this section and which were made between 24 political subdivisions and emergency response organizations to 25 cover response to routine incidents. 26 § 7336. License, certificate and permit portability. 27 If a person holds a license, certificate or other permit 28 issued by a participating political subdivision or the 29 Commonwealth evidencing qualification in a professional, 30 mechanical or other skill and the assistance of that person or 20070H2112B3020 - 9 -
1 entity is requested by a participating political subdivision, 2 the person shall be deemed to be licensed, certified or 3 permitted in the political subdivision requesting assistance for 4 the duration of the incident response or authorized drills or 5 exercises and subject to any limitations and conditions the 6 chief executive of the participating political subdivision 7 receiving the assistance may prescribe by executive order or 8 otherwise. 9 § 7337. Insurance. 10 A responding political subdivision shall ensure that adequate 11 insurance protection is in effect covering all vehicles and 12 equipment used in response to an intrastate mutual aid request. 13 Personnel of the responding political subdivision shall maintain 14 direct and overall control of all vehicles and equipment 15 utilized in an intrastate mutual aid response and shall ensure 16 that vehicles and equipment are used within intended design 17 specifications. 18 § 7338. Workers' compensation. 19 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a responding 20 political subdivision shall provide appropriate workers' 21 compensation insurance protection for municipal employees and 22 volunteers representing the responding political subdivision 23 when responding to a request under this system. Personnel of a 24 responding political subdivision who sustain injury or death in 25 the course of and arising out of their employment shall be 26 entitled to all applicable benefits normally available to 27 personnel while performing their duties for their employer. 28 Responders shall receive any additional Federal and State 29 benefits that may be available to them for line-of-duty deaths. 30 § 7339. Immunity. 20070H2112B3020 - 10 -
1 All activities performed under the intrastate mutual aid 2 system are deemed to be governmental functions. For the purposes 3 of liability, all persons responding under the operational 4 control of the requesting political subdivision shall be deemed 5 to be employees of the requesting participating political 6 subdivision. Except in cases of willful misconduct, gross 7 negligence or bad faith, neither the participating political 8 subdivisions nor their employees shall be liable for the death 9 of or injury to persons or for damage to property when complying 10 or attempting to comply with the system. This subchapter shall 11 provide no immunity, rights or privileges for any individual 12 responding to an incident where the response has not been 13 requested by a participating political subdivision. 14 § 7340. Effect on other agreements. 15 Nothing in this subchapter shall preclude participating 16 political subdivisions from entering into supplementary 17 agreements with another political subdivision. Nothing in this 18 subchapter shall affect any other agreement to which a political 19 subdivision may, on the effective date of this section, be a 20 party. 21 Section 2. This act shall take effect immediately. K20L35MSP/20070H2112B3020 - 11 -