Bill Text: FL S1006 | 2018 | Regular Session | Comm Sub
Bill Title: Disaster Response and Preparedness
Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-1)
Status: (Failed) 2018-03-10 - Died in Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Tourism, and Economic Development [S1006 Detail]
Download: Florida-2018-S1006-Comm_Sub.html
Florida Senate - 2018 CS for SB 1006
By the Committee on Military and Veterans Affairs, Space, and
Domestic Security; and Senators Montford, Taddeo, and Torres
583-02995-18 20181006c1
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to disaster response and preparedness;
3 amending s. 252.35, F.S.; modifying requirements for
4 the state comprehensive emergency management plan and
5 statewide public awareness programs administered by
6 the Division of Emergency Management; requiring the
7 division to deploy resources to provide certain
8 guidance to entities to ensure the receipt of maximum
9 allowable reimbursements from the Federal Government
10 for disaster-related expenditures; creating s.
11 252.3551, F.S.; requiring the division to establish
12 and maintain a registry with homeless shelters and
13 service providers for specified purposes; amending s.
14 252.3568, F.S.; revising requirements for the
15 development of strategies regarding the sheltering of
16 persons with service animals; requiring the division
17 to publish information on its website regarding
18 policies on the acceptance of service animals or pets
19 at shelters; amending s. 252.38, F.S.; requiring that,
20 upon the request of the director of a local emergency
21 management agency, Florida College System institutions
22 and state universities participate in emergency
23 management activities through the provision of
24 facilities and personnel; requiring Florida College
25 System institutions and state universities that
26 provide transportation assistance in an emergency
27 evacuation to coordinate the use of vehicles and
28 personnel with local emergency management agencies;
29 amending s. 252.385, F.S.; updating references to
30 community colleges; providing an effective date.
31
32 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
33
34 Section 1. Paragraphs (a) and (i) of subsection (2) of
35 section 252.35, Florida Statutes, are amended, present paragraph
36 (y) of that subsection is redesignated as paragraph (z), and a
37 new paragraph (y) is added to that subsection, to read:
38 252.35 Emergency management powers; Division of Emergency
39 Management.—
40 (2) The division is responsible for carrying out the
41 provisions of ss. 252.31-252.90. In performing its duties, the
42 division shall:
43 (a) Prepare a state comprehensive emergency management
44 plan, which shall be integrated into and coordinated with the
45 emergency management plans and programs of the Federal
46 Government. The division must adopt the plan as a rule in
47 accordance with chapter 120. The plan shall be implemented by a
48 continuous, integrated comprehensive emergency management
49 program. The plan must contain provisions to ensure that the
50 state is prepared for emergencies and minor, major, and
51 catastrophic disasters, and the division shall work closely with
52 local governments and agencies and organizations with emergency
53 management responsibilities in preparing and maintaining the
54 plan. The state comprehensive emergency management plan shall be
55 operations oriented and:
56 1. Include an evacuation component that includes specific
57 regional and interregional planning provisions and promotes
58 intergovernmental coordination of evacuation activities. This
59 component must, at a minimum: contain guidelines for lifting
60 tolls on state highways; ensure coordination pertaining to
61 evacuees crossing county lines; set forth procedures for
62 directing people caught on evacuation routes to safe shelter;
63 establish strategies for ensuring sufficient, reasonably priced
64 fueling locations along evacuation routes; and establish
65 policies and strategies for emergency medical evacuations.
66 2. Include a shelter component that includes specific
67 regional and interregional planning provisions and promotes
68 coordination of shelter activities between the public, private,
69 and nonprofit sectors. This component must, at a minimum:
70 contain strategies to ensure the availability of adequate public
71 shelter space in each region of the state; establish strategies
72 for refuge-of-last-resort programs; provide strategies to assist
73 local emergency management efforts to ensure that adequate
74 staffing plans exist for all shelters, including medical and
75 security personnel; provide for a postdisaster communications
76 system for public shelters; establish model shelter guidelines
77 for operations, registration, inventory, power generation
78 capability, information management, and staffing; and set forth
79 policy guidance for sheltering people with special needs or
80 mental illness and individuals experiencing homelessness.
81 3. Include a postdisaster response and recovery component
82 that includes specific regional and interregional planning
83 provisions and promotes intergovernmental coordination of
84 postdisaster response and recovery activities. This component
85 must provide for postdisaster response and recovery strategies
86 according to whether a disaster is minor, major, or
87 catastrophic. The postdisaster response and recovery component
88 must, at a minimum: establish the structure of the state’s
89 postdisaster response and recovery organization; establish
90 procedures for activating the state’s plan; set forth policies
91 used to guide postdisaster response and recovery activities;
92 describe the chain of command during the postdisaster response
93 and recovery period; describe initial and continuous
94 postdisaster response and recovery actions; identify the roles
95 and responsibilities of each involved agency and organization;
96 provide for a comprehensive communications plan; establish
97 procedures for monitoring mutual aid agreements; provide for
98 rapid impact assessment teams; ensure the availability of an
99 effective statewide urban search and rescue program coordinated
100 with the fire services; ensure the existence of a comprehensive
101 statewide medical care and relief plan administered by the
102 Department of Health; and establish systems for coordinating
103 volunteers and accepting and distributing donated funds and
104 goods.
105 4. Include additional provisions addressing aspects of
106 preparedness, response, recovery, and mitigation as determined
107 necessary by the division.
108 5. Address the need for coordinated and expeditious
109 deployment of state resources, including the Florida National
110 Guard. In the case of an imminent major disaster, procedures
111 should address predeployment of the Florida National Guard, and,
112 in the case of an imminent catastrophic disaster, procedures
113 should address predeployment of the Florida National Guard and
114 the United States Armed Forces.
115 6. Establish a system of communications and warning to
116 ensure that the state’s population and emergency management
117 agencies are warned of developing emergency situations and can
118 communicate emergency response decisions.
119 7. Establish guidelines and schedules for annual exercises
120 that evaluate the ability of the state and its political
121 subdivisions to respond to minor, major, and catastrophic
122 disasters and support local emergency management agencies. Such
123 exercises shall be coordinated with local governments and, to
124 the extent possible, the Federal Government.
125 8. Assign lead and support responsibilities to state
126 agencies and personnel for emergency support functions and other
127 support activities.
128
129 The complete state comprehensive emergency management plan shall
130 be submitted to the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the
131 House of Representatives, and the Governor on February 1 of
132 every even-numbered year.
133 (i) Institute statewide public awareness programs. This
134 shall include an intensive public educational campaign on
135 emergency preparedness issues, including, but not limited to,
136 the personal responsibility of individual citizens to be self
137 sufficient for up to 72 hours following a natural or manmade
138 disaster. The public educational campaign shall include relevant
139 information on statewide disaster plans, evacuation routes, fuel
140 suppliers, and shelters. Information on shelters must address
141 the different types of shelters available, such as special needs
142 shelters and shelters that accept individuals with service
143 animals or pets. All educational materials must be available in
144 alternative formats and mediums to ensure that they are
145 available to persons with disabilities.
146 (y) Deploy public or private resources to provide guidance
147 regarding procedures and required documentation to any entity
148 entitled to receive reimbursements for disaster-related
149 expenditures from the Federal Emergency Management Agency in
150 order to ensure that such entities receive the maximum allowable
151 reimbursements.
152 Section 2. Section 252.3551, Florida Statutes, is created
153 to read:
154 252.3551 Registry for homeless shelters and service
155 providers.—The division, in coordination with each local
156 emergency management agency in the state, shall establish and
157 maintain a registry with each homeless shelter and homeless
158 service provider in the state. The purpose of the registry is to
159 help determine the number of individuals experiencing
160 homelessness who may need assistance or shelter during an
161 evacuation.
162 Section 3. Section 252.3568, Florida Statutes, is amended
163 to read:
164 252.3568 Emergency sheltering of persons with service
165 animals or pets.—
166 (1) In accordance with s. 252.35, the division shall
167 address strategies for the evacuation and sheltering of persons
168 with service animals or pets in the shelter component of the
169 state comprehensive emergency management plan and shall include
170 the requirement for similar strategies in its standards and
171 requirements for local comprehensive emergency management plans.
172 The Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services shall assist
173 the division in determining strategies regarding this activity.
174 (2) The division shall publish information on its website
175 regarding policies governing the acceptance of service animals
176 or pets at shelters.
177 Section 4. Paragraph (d) of subsection (1) of section
178 252.38, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
179 252.38 Emergency management powers of political
180 subdivisions.—Safeguarding the life and property of its citizens
181 is an innate responsibility of the governing body of each
182 political subdivision of the state.
183 (1) COUNTIES.—
184 (d) During a declared state or local emergency and upon the
185 request of the director of a local emergency management agency,
186 the district school board or school boards, Florida College
187 System institutions, and state universities in the affected area
188 shall participate in emergency management by providing
189 facilities and necessary personnel to staff such facilities.
190 Each school board, Florida College System institution, and state
191 university providing transportation assistance in an emergency
192 evacuation shall coordinate the use of its vehicles and
193 personnel with the local emergency management agency.
194 Section 5. Paragraph (a) of subsection (2) and paragraph
195 (a) of subsection (4) of section 252.385, Florida Statutes, are
196 amended to read:
197 252.385 Public shelter space.—
198 (2)(a) The division shall administer a program to survey
199 existing schools, state universities, Florida College System
200 institutions community colleges, and other state-owned,
201 municipally owned, and county-owned public buildings and any
202 private facility that the owner, in writing, agrees to provide
203 for use as a public hurricane evacuation shelter to identify
204 those that are appropriately designed and located to serve as
205 such shelters. The owners of the facilities must be given the
206 opportunity to participate in the surveys. The state university
207 boards of trustees, district school boards, Florida College
208 System institution community college boards of trustees, and the
209 Department of Education are responsible for coordinating and
210 implementing the survey of public schools, state universities,
211 and Florida College System institutions community colleges with
212 the division or the local emergency management agency.
213 (4)(a) Public facilities, including schools, postsecondary
214 education facilities, and other facilities owned or leased by
215 the state or local governments, but excluding hospitals, hospice
216 care facilities, assisted living facilities, and nursing homes,
217 which are suitable for use as public hurricane evacuation
218 shelters shall be made available at the request of the local
219 emergency management agencies. The local emergency management
220 agency shall coordinate with these entities to ensure that
221 designated facilities are ready to activate prior to a specific
222 hurricane or disaster. Such agencies shall coordinate with the
223 appropriate school board, state university, Florida College
224 System institution community college, state agency, or local
225 governing board when requesting the use of such facilities as
226 public hurricane evacuation shelters.
227 Section 6. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.
