IIA 

Calendar No. 397 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. J. RES. 13 

Granting the consent of Congress to the International Emergency 

Management Assistance Memorandum of Understanding. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 21, 2007 

Mr. LEAHY (for himself, Mr. SANDERS, Mr. KENNEDY, Ms. SNOWE, Mr. 

REED, Ms. COLLINS, Mr. KERRY, Mr. WHITEHOUSE, and Mr. 

LIEBERMAN) introduced the following joint resolution; which was read 

twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

SEPTEMBER 27, 2007 

Reported by Mr. LEAHY, without amendment 

JOINT RESOLUTION 

Granting the consent of Congress to the International Emergency Management Assistance Memorandum of Understanding. 

1 Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives

2 of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. CONGRESSIONAL CONSENT. 

4 Congress consents to the International Emergency 

5 Management Assistance Memorandum of Understanding 

6 entered into between the States of Maine, New HampVerDate Aug 31 2005 02:22 Sep 28, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\SJ13.RS SJ13

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1 shire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Con2 necticut and the Provinces of Quebec, New Brunswick, 

3 Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland. 

4 The compact is substantially as follows: 

5 ‘‘Article I—International Emergency Management As6 sistance Memorandum of Understanding 

7 Purpose and Authorities 

8 ‘‘The International Emergency Management Assist9 ance Memorandum of Understanding, hereinafter referred 

10 to as the ‘compact,’ is made and entered into by and 

11 among such of the jurisdictions as shall enact or adopt 

12 this compact, hereinafter referred to as ‘party jurisdic13 tions.’ For the purposes of this agreement, the term ‘juris14 dictions’ may include any or all of the States of Maine, 

15 New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, 

16 and Connecticut and the Provinces of Quebec, New Bruns17 wick, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia and Newfound18 land, and such other states and provinces as may hereafter 

19 become a party to this compact. 

20 ‘‘The purpose of this compact is to provide for the 

21 possibility of mutual assistance among the jurisdictions 

22 entering into this compact in managing any emergency or 

23 disaster when the affected jurisdiction or jurisdictions ask 

24 for assistance, whether arising from natural disaster, techVerDate Aug 31 2005 02:22 Sep 28, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\SJ13.RS SJ13

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1 nological hazard, manmade disaster or civil emergency as2 pects of resources shortages. 

3 ‘‘This compact also provides for the process of plan4 ning mechanisms among the agencies responsible and for 

5 mutual cooperation, including, if need be, emergency-re6 lated exercises, testing, or other training activities using 

7 equipment and personnel simulating performance of any 

8 aspect of the giving and receiving of aid by party jurisdic9 tions or subdivisions of party jurisdictions during emer10 gencies, with such actions occurring outside actual de11 clared emergency periods. Mutual assistance in this com12 pact may include the use of emergency forces by mutual 

13 agreement among party jurisdictions. 

14 ‘‘Article II—General Implementation 

15 ‘‘Each party jurisdiction entering into this compact 

16 recognizes that many emergencies may exceed the capa17 bilities of a party jurisdiction and that intergovernmental 

18 cooperation is essential in such circumstances. Each juris19 diction further recognizes that there will be emergencies 

20 that may require immediate access and present procedures 

21 to apply outside resources to make a prompt and effective 

22 response to such an emergency because few, if any, indi23 vidual jurisdictions have all the resources they need in all 

24 types of emergencies or the capability of delivering re25 sources to areas where emergencies exist. 


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1 ‘‘The prompt, full, and effective utilization of re2 sources of the participating jurisdictions, including any re3 sources on hand or available from any other source that 

4 are essential to the safety, care, and welfare of the people 

5 in the event of any emergency or disaster, shall be the 

6 underlying principle on which all articles of this compact 

7 are understood. 

8 ‘‘On behalf of the party jurisdictions participating in 

9 the compact, the legally designated official who is assigned 

10 responsibility for emergency management is responsible 

11 for formulation of the appropriate inter-jurisdictional mu12 tual aid plans and procedures necessary to implement this 

13 compact, and for recommendations to the jurisdiction con14 cerned with respect to the amendment of any statutes, 

15 regulations, or ordinances required for that purpose. 

16 ‘‘Article III—Party Jurisdiction Responsibilities 

17 ‘‘(a) FORMULATE PLANS AND PROGRAMS.—It is the 

18 responsibility of each party jurisdiction to formulate pro19 cedural plans and programs for inter-jurisdictional co20 operation in the performance of the responsibilities listed 

21 in this section. In formulating and implementing such 

22 plans and programs the party jurisdictions, to the extent 

23 practical, shall— 

24 ‘‘(1) review individual jurisdiction hazards anal25 yses that are available and, to the extent reasonably 


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1 possible, determine all those potential emergencies 

2 the party jurisdictions might jointly suffer, whether 

3 due to natural disaster, technological hazard, man4 made disaster or emergency aspects of resource 

5 shortages; 

6 ‘‘(2) initiate a process to review party jurisdic7 tions’ individual emergency plans and develop a plan 

8 that will determine the mechanism for the inter-ju9 risdictional cooperation; 

10 ‘‘(3) develop inter-jurisdictional procedures to 

11 fill any identified gaps and to resolve any identified 

12 inconsistencies or overlaps in existing or developed 

13 plans; 

14 ‘‘(4) assist in warning communities adjacent to 

15 or crossing jurisdictional boundaries; 

16 ‘‘(5) protect and ensure delivery of services, 

17 medicines, water, food, energy and fuel, search and 

18 rescue, and critical lifeline equipment, services and 

19 resources, both human and material to the extent 

20 authorized by law; 

21 ‘‘(6) inventory and agree upon procedures for 

22 the inter-jurisdictional loan and delivery of human 

23 and material resources, together with procedures for 

24 reimbursement or forgiveness; and 


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1 ‘‘(7) provide, to the extent authorized by law, 

2 for temporary suspension of any statutes or ordi3 nances, over which the province or state has jurisdic4 tion, that impede the implementation of the respon5 sibilities described in this subsection. 

6 ‘‘(b) REQUEST ASSISTANCE.—The authorized rep7 resentative of a party jurisdiction may request assistance 

8 of another party jurisdiction by contacting the authorized 

9 representative of that jurisdiction. These provisions only 

10 apply to requests for assistance made by and to authorized 

11 representatives. Requests may be verbal or in writing. If 

12 verbal, the request must be confirmed in writing within 

13 15 days of the verbal request. Requests must provide the 

14 following information: 

15 ‘‘(1) A description of the emergency service 

16 function for which assistance is needed and of the 

17 mission or missions, including but not limited to fire 

18 services, emergency medical, transportation, commu19 nications, public works and engineering, building in20 spection, planning and information assistance, mass 

21 care, resource support, health and medical services, 

22 and search and rescue. 

23 ‘‘(2) The amount and type of personnel, equip24 ment, materials, and supplies needed and a reasonVerDate Aug 31 2005 02:22 Sep 28, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\SJ13.RS SJ13

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1 able estimate of the length of time they will be need2 ed. 

3 ‘‘(3) The specific place and time for staging of 

4 the assisting party’s response and a point of contact 

5 at the location. 

6 ‘‘(c) CONSULTATION AMONG PARTY JURISDICTION

7 OFFICIALS.—There shall be frequent consultation among 

8 the party jurisdiction officials who have assigned emer9 gency management responsibilities, such officials collec10 tively known hereinafter as the International Emergency 

11 Management Group, and other appropriate representa12 tives of the party jurisdictions with free exchange of infor13 mation, plans, and resource records relating to emergency 

14 capabilities to the extent authorized by law. 

15 ‘‘Article IV—Limitation 

16 ‘‘Any party jurisdiction requested to render mutual 

17 aid or conduct exercises and training for mutual aid shall 

18 undertake to respond as soon as possible, except that it 

19 is understood that the jurisdiction rendering aid may with20 hold or recall resources to the extent necessary to provide 

21 reasonable protection for that jurisdiction. Each party ju22 risdiction shall afford to the personnel of the emergency 

23 forces of any party jurisdiction, while operating within its 

24 jurisdictional limits under the terms and conditions of this 

25 compact and under the operational control of an officer 


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1 of the requesting party, the same powers, duties, rights, 

2 privileges, and immunities as are afforded similar or like 

3 forces of the jurisdiction in which they are performing 

4 emergency services. Emergency forces continue under the 

5 command and control of their regular leaders, but the or6 ganizational units come under the operational control of 

7 the emergency services authorities of the jurisdiction re8 ceiving assistance. These conditions may be activated, as 

9 needed, by the jurisdiction that is to receive assistance or 

10 upon commencement of exercises or training for mutual 

11 aid and continue as long as the exercises or training for 

12 mutual aid are in progress, the emergency or disaster re13 mains in effect or loaned resources remain in the receiving 

14 jurisdiction or jurisdictions, whichever is longer. The re15 ceiving jurisdiction is responsible for informing the assist16 ing jurisdictions of the specific moment when services will 

17 no longer be required. 

18 ‘‘Article V—Licenses and Permits 

19 ‘‘Whenever a person holds a license, certificate, or 

20 other permit issued by any jurisdiction party to the com21 pact evidencing the meeting of qualifications for profes22 sional, mechanical, or other skills, and when such assist23 ance is requested by the receiving party jurisdiction, such 

24 person is deemed to be licensed, certified, or permitted by 

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1 ing such skill to meet an emergency or disaster, subject 

2 to such limitations and conditions as the requesting juris3 diction prescribes by Executive order or otherwise. 

4 ‘‘Article VI—Liability 

5 ‘‘Any person or entity of a party jurisdiction ren6 dering aid in another jurisdiction pursuant to this compact 

7 are considered agents of the requesting jurisdiction for 

8 tort liability and immunity purposes. Any person or entity 

9 rendering aid in another jurisdiction pursuant to this com10 pact are not liable on account of any act or omission in 

11 good faith on the part of such forces while so engaged 

12 or on account of the maintenance or use of any equipment 

13 or supplies in connection therewith. Good faith in this arti14 cle does not include willful misconduct, gross negligence, 

15 or recklessness. 

16 ‘‘Article VII—Supplementary Agreements 

17 ‘‘Because it is probable that the pattern and detail 

18 of the machinery for mutual aid among 2 or more jurisdic19 tions may differ from that among the jurisdictions that 

20 are party to this compact, this compact contains elements 

21 of a broad base common to all jurisdictions, and nothing 

22 in this compact precludes any jurisdiction from entering 

23 into supplementary agreements with another jurisdiction 

24 or affects any other agreements already in force among 

25 jurisdictions. Supplementary agreements may include, but 


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1 are not limited to, provisions for evacuation and reception 

2 of injured and other persons and the exchange of medical, 

3 fire, public utility, reconnaissance, welfare, transportation 

4 and communications personnel, equipment, and supplies. 

5 ‘‘Article VIII—Workers’ Compensation and Death 

6 Benefits 

7 ‘‘Each party jurisdiction shall provide, in accordance 

8 with its own laws, for the payment of workers’ compensa9 tion and death benefits to injured members of the emer10 gency forces of that jurisdiction and to representatives of 

11 deceased members of those forces if the members sustain 

12 injuries or are killed while rendering aid pursuant to this 

13 compact, in the same manner and on the same terms as 

14 if the injury or death were sustained within their own ju15 risdiction. 

16 ‘‘Article IX—Reimbursement 

17 ‘‘Any party jurisdiction rendering aid in another ju18 risdiction pursuant to this compact shall, if requested, be 

19 reimbursed by the party jurisdiction receiving such aid for 

20 any loss or damage to, or expense incurred in, the oper21 ation of any equipment and the provision of any service 

22 in answering a request for aid and for the costs incurred 

23 in connection with those requests. An aiding party juris24 diction may assume in whole or in part any such loss, 

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1 ment or donate such services to the receiving party juris2 diction without charge or cost. Any 2 or more party juris3 dictions may enter into supplementary agreements estab4 lishing a different allocation of costs among those jurisdic5 tions. Expenses under article VIII are not reimbursable 

6 under this section. 

7 ‘‘Article X—Evacuation 

8 ‘‘Each party jurisdiction shall initiate a process to 

9 prepare and maintain plans to facilitate the movement of 

10 and reception of evacuees into its territory or across its 

11 territory, according to its capabilities and powers. The 

12 party jurisdiction from which the evacuees came shall as13 sume the ultimate responsibility for the support of the 

14 evacuees, and after the termination of the emergency or 

15 disaster, for the repatriation of such evacuees. 

16 ‘‘Article XI—Implementation 

17 ‘‘(a) This compact is effective upon its execution or 

18 adoption by any 2 jurisdictions, and is effective as to any 

19 other jurisdiction upon its execution or adoption thereby: 

20 subject to approval or authorization by the United States 

21 Congress, if required, and subject to enactment of provin22 cial or State legislation that may be required for the effec23 tiveness of the Memorandum of Understanding. 

24 ‘‘(b) Any party jurisdiction may withdraw from this 

25 compact, but the withdrawal does not take effect until 30 


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1 days after the governor or premier of the withdrawing ju2 risdiction has given notice in writing of such withdrawal 

3 to the governors or premiers of all other party jurisdic4 tions. The action does not relieve the withdrawing jurisdic5 tion from obligations assumed under this compact prior 

6 to the effective date of withdrawal. 

7 ‘‘(c) Duly authenticated copies of this compact in the 

8 French and English languages and of such supplementary 

9 agreements as may be entered into shall, at the time of 

10 their approval, be deposited with each of the party juris11 dictions. 

12 ‘‘Article XII—Severability 

13 ‘‘This compact is construed to effectuate the purposes 

14 stated in Article I. If any provision of this compact is de15 clared unconstitutional or the applicability of the compact 

16 to any person or circumstances is held invalid, the validity 

17 of the remainder of this compact and the applicability of 

18 the compact to other persons and circumstances are not 

19 affected. 

20 ‘‘Article XIII—Consistency of Language 

21 ‘‘The validity of the arrangements and agreements 

22 consented to in this compact shall not be affected by any 

23 insubstantial difference in form or language as may be 

24 adopted by the various states and provinces. 


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1 ‘‘Article XIV—Amendment 

2 ‘‘This compact may be amended by agreement of the 

3 party jurisdictions.’’. 

4 SEC. 2. INCONSISTENCY OF LANGUAGE. 

5 The validity of the arrangements consented to by this 

6 Act shall not be affected by any insubstantial difference 

7 in their form or language as adopted by the States and 

8 provinces. 

9 SEC. 3. RIGHT TO ALTER, AMEND, OR REPEAL. 

10 The right to alter, amend, or repeal this Act is hereby 

11 expressly reserved. 


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Calendar No. 397 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. J. RES. 13 

JOINT RESOLUTION 

Granting the consent of Congress to the InterMemorandum of Understanding. national Emergency Management Assistance 

SEPTEMBER 27, 2007 

Reported without amendment 


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