N.Y. EXC Law § 709 — New York Code / Act EXC / Article 26 / Section 709
Division of homeland security and emergency services; creation; powers and duties
Status: in_force

§ 709. Division of homeland security and emergency services; creation;\npowers and duties. 1. There is hereby created within the executive\ndepartment the division of homeland security and emergency services,\nwhich shall have and exercise the powers and duties set forth in this\narticle. Any reference to the 'office of public security', the 'office\nof homeland security', the 'state emergency management office' or the\n'office of fire prevention and control' in the laws of New York state,\nexecutive orders, or contracts entered into on behalf of the state shall\nbe deemed to refer to the division of homeland security and emergency\nservices.\n  2. The division shall have the power and duty to:\n  (a) oversee and coordinate the state's homeland security and\ncomprehensive emergency management resources, subject to any laws, rules\nor regulations governing the budgeting and appropriation of funds;\n  (b) review homeland security and comprehensive emergency management\npolicies, protocols and strategies of state agencies. The agencies shall\ninclude, but not be limited to, the state agencies included on the\ndisaster preparedness commission as identified in section twenty-one of\nthis chapter;\n  (c) develop policies, protocols and strategies, which may be used to\nprevent, detect, respond to and recover from terrorist acts or threats\nand other natural and man-made disasters, which for purposes of this\nsection shall have the same meaning as defined in article two-B of this\nchapter;\n  (d) identify potential inadequacies in the state's policies, protocols\nand strategies to detect, respond to and recover from terrorist acts or\nthreats and other natural and man-made disasters;\n  (e) undertake periodic drills and simulations designed to assess and\nprepare responses to terrorist acts or threats and other natural and\nman-made disasters;\n  (f) coordinate state resources for the collection and analysis of\ninformation relating to natural and man-made disasters throughout the\nstate subject to any applicable laws, rules, or regulations;\n  (g) coordinate and facilitate information sharing among local, state,\nand federal agencies to ensure appropriate intelligence to assist in the\nearly identification of and response to natural and man-made disasters,\nsubject to any applicable laws, rules, or regulations governing the\nrelease, disclosure or sharing of any such information;\n  (h) assess the preparedness of state and local public health systems\nto respond to terrorist acts and other natural and man-made disasters,\nincluding ensuring the availability of early warning systems designed to\ndetect potential threats and determining adequacy and availability of\nnecessary vaccines and pharmaceuticals and hospital capacity;\n  (i) coordinate strategies, protocols and first-responder equipment\nneeds that may be used to monitor, detect, respond to and mitigate the\nconsequences of a potential biological, chemical or radiological\nterrorist act or threat;\n  (j) work with local, state and federal agencies and private entities\nto conduct assessments of the vulnerability of critical infrastructure\nto terrorist attack, cyber attack, and other natural and man-made\ndisasters, including, but not limited to, nuclear facilities, power\nplants, telecommunications systems, mass transportation systems, public\nroadways, railways, bridges and tunnels, and develop strategies that may\nbe used to protect such infrastructure from terrorist attack, cyber\nattack, and other natural and man-made disasters;\n  (k) develop plans that may be used to promote rapid recovery from\nterrorist attacks and other natural and man-made disasters, to ensure\nprompt restoration of transportation, utilities, critical communications\nand information systems and to protect such infrastructure;\n  (l) develop plans that may be used to contain and remove hazardous\nmaterials used in a terrorist attack or released as a result of natural\nor man-made disaster;\n  (m) act as primary contact with the federal department of homeland\nsecurity;\n  (n) adopt, promulgate, amend and rescind rules and regulations to\neffectuate the provisions and purposes of this article and the powers\nand duties of the division in connection therewith;\n  (o) consult with appropriate state and local governments, institutions\nof higher learning, first responders, health care providers and private\nentities as necessary to effectuate the provisions of this article, and\nwork with those entities to establish, facilitate and foster cooperation\nto better prepare the state to prevent and respond to threats and acts\nof terrorism and other natural and man-made disasters;\n  (p) to serve as a clearinghouse for the benefit of municipalities\nregarding information relating to available federal, state and regional\ngrant programs in connection with homeland security, disaster\npreparedness, communication infrastructure and emergency first responder\nservices, and to promulgate rules and regulations necessary to ensure\nthat grant information is timely posted on the division's website;\n  (q) request from any department, division, office, commission or other\nagency of the state or any political subdivision thereof, and the same\nare authorized to provide, such assistance, services and data as may be\nrequired by the division of homeland security and emergency services in\ncarrying out the purposes of this article, subject to applicable laws,\nrules, and regulations;\n  (r) develop standards and a certification process for training\nprograms for training of private security officers in commercial\nbuildings which shall:\n  (i) improve observation, detection and reporting skills;\n  (ii) improve coordination with local police, fire and emergency\nservices;\n  (iii) provide and improve skills in working with advanced security\ntechnology including surveillance and access control procedures;\n  (iv) require at least forty hours of training including three hours of\ntraining devoted to terrorism awareness; and\n  (v) have been certified as a qualified program by the division of\nhomeland security and emergency services;\n  (s) work in consultation with or make recommendations to the\ncommissioner of agriculture and markets in developing rules and\nregulations relating to ammonium nitrate security; and\n  (t) develop, maintain, and deploy state, regional and local all-hazard\nincident management teams.\n  (u) Notwithstanding article six-C of this chapter, or any other\nprovision of law to the contrary, the division of homeland security and\nemergency services shall establish best practices regarding training and\neducation for firefighters and first responders which shall include but\nnot be limited to: minimum basic training for firefighters and first\nresponders; in-service training and continuing education; and\nspecialized training as it may apply to the specific duties of a\ncategory of emergency personnel.\n  3. The division of homeland security and emergency services shall\nconsist of several offices including, but not limited to, the office of\ncounterterrorism, which shall have the powers, and be responsible for\ncarrying out the duties, including but not limited to those set forth in\nsection seven hundred nine-a of this article; the office of emergency\nmanagement, which shall have the powers, and be responsible for carrying\nout the duties, including but not limited to those set forth in article\ntwo-B of this chapter; the office of fire prevention and control, which\nshall have the powers, and be responsible for carrying out the duties,\nincluding but not limited to those set forth in article six-C of this\nchapter and the office of interoperable and emergency communications,\nwhich shall have the powers, and be responsible for carrying out the\nduties, including but not limited to those set forth in section seven\nhundred seventeen of this article.\n  4. As set forth in section seven hundred ten of this article, the\ncommissioner of the division of homeland security and emergency services\nshall be appointed by the governor, with the advice and consent of the\nsenate, and hold office at the pleasure of the governor. The directors\nof the offices of counterterrorism, emergency management, fire\nprevention and control, and interoperable and emergency communications,\nand such other offices as may be established, shall be appointed by, and\nhold office at the pleasure of, the governor and they shall report to\nthe commissioner of the division of homeland security and emergency\nservices.\n  5. The directors of the offices of counterterrorism, emergency\nmanagement, fire prevention and control, interoperable and emergency\ncommunications, and of such other offices as may be established, shall,\nin consultation with the commissioner, have the authority to promulgate\nrules and regulations to carry out the duties of their office, including\nthe establishment of fees necessary to compensate for costs associated\nwith the delivery of training and services.\n  6. The directors of the offices of counterterrorism, emergency\nmanagement, fire prevention and control, interoperable and emergency\ncommunications, and such other offices as may be established, shall have\nthe authority to enter into contracts with any person, firm,\ncorporation, municipality, or government entity.\n  7. Annual report of the division. The commissioner of the division of\nhomeland security and emergency services shall, on or before January\nfirst in each year, submit to the governor, the temporary president of\nthe senate, and the speaker of the assembly, a report concerning the\nperformance of the division with respect to outreach to businesses,\nnot-for-profit organizations, and the general public, which shall\ninclude information regarding the content and scope of seminars,\nconferences, surveys, programs, and other programmatic means of engaging\nsuch parties to identify and meet the needs of such parties with respect\nto emergency mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery, and the\nparticipation of such parties therein.\n