California Emergency Management and Homeland Security Statutory Authorities Summarized

Publication Date: March 2004

Publisher: Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

Author(s):

Research Area: Government

Type:

Coverage: California

Abstract:

The key emergency management and homeland security statutes for the state of California include the Emergency Services Act, the Disaster Recovery Reconstruction Act and the Disaster Assistance Act. These statutes allow the governor to declare an emergency, provide funds to small businesses and residents for disaster recovery, plan for and mitigate the effects of disasters, and establish a process for the continuation of government should gubernatorial or legislative vacancies occur as the result of a disaster. Although California is not a member of the Emergency Management Assistance Compact the legislature has enacted intrastate mutual aid agreements; the governor has authority to enter into interstate agreements. Other statutes address issues such as disaster dog teams, state employees volunteering for emergency service and agricultural terrorism.

This report is one of a series that profiles the emergency management and homeland security statutory authorities of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and three territories (American Samoa, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands). Each profile identifies the more significant elements of state statutes, generally as codified. Congressional readers may wish to conduct further searches for related provisions using the Internet link presented in the last section of this report. The National Conference of State Legislatures provided primary research assistance in the development of these profiles under contract to the Congressional Research Service (CRS). Summary information on all of the profiles is presented in CRS Report RL32287. This report will be updated as developments warrant.