Calendar No. 621

104TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. J. RES. 61

JOINT RESOLUTION

Granting the consent of Congress to the Emergency

Management Assistance Compact.

SEPTEMBER 19, 1996

Read the second time and placed on the calendar
II

Calendar No. 621

104TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. J. RES. 61

Granting the consent of Congress to the Emergency Management Assistance

Compact.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

SEPTEMBER 18, 1996

Mr. THURMOND (for himself and Mr. HEFLIN) introduced the following joint

resolution; which was read the first time

SEPTEMBER 19, 1996

Read the second time and placed on the calendar

JOINT RESOLUTION

Granting the consent of Congress to the Emergency

Management Assistance Compact.

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 The Congress consents to the Emergency Manage5 ment Assistance Compact entered into by Delaware, Flor6 ida, Georgia, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri,

7 Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Vir-
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1 ginia, and West Virginia. The compact reads substantially

2 as follows:

3 ‘‘Emergency Management Assistance

4 Compact

5 ‘‘ARTICLE I.

6 ‘‘PURPOSE AND AUTHORITIES.

7 ‘‘This compact is made and entered into by and be8 tween the participating member states which enact this

9 compact, hereinafter called party states. For the purposes

10 of this compact, the term ‘states’ is taken to mean the

11 several states, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Dis12 trict of Columbia, and all U.S. territorial possessions.

13 ‘‘The purpose of this compact is to provide for mutual

14 assistance between the states entering into this compact

15 in managing any emergency disaster that is duly declared

16 by the Governor of the affected state, whether arising from

17 natural disaster, technological hazard, man-made disaster,

18 civil emergency aspects of resources shortages, community

19 disorders, insurgency, or enemy attack.

20 ‘‘This compact shall also provide for mutual coopera21 tion in emergency-related exercises, testing, or other train22 ing activities using equipment and personnel simulating

23 performance of any aspect of the giving and receiving of

24 aid by party states or subdivisions of party states during

25 emergencies, such actions occurring outside actual de-
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1 clared emergency periods. Mutual assistance in this com2 pact may include the use of the states’ National Guard

3 forces, either in accordance with the National Guard Mu4 tual Assistance Compact or by mutual agreement between

5 states.

6 ‘‘ARTICLE II.

7 ‘‘GENERAL IMPLEMENTATION.

8 ‘‘Each party state entering into this compact recog9 nizes that many emergencies transcend political jurisdic10 tional boundaries and that intergovernmental coordination

11 is essential in managing these and other emergencies

12 under this compact. Each state further recognizes that

13 there will be emergencies which require immediate access

14 and present procedures to apply outside resources to make

15 a prompt and effective response to such an emergency.

16 This is because few, if any, individual states have all the

17 resources they may need in all types of emergencies or

18 the capability of delivering resources to areas where emer19 gencies exist.

20 ‘‘The prompt, full, and effective utilization of re21 sources of the participating states, including any resources

22 on hand or available from the federal government or any

23 other source, that are essential to the safety, care, and

24 welfare of the people in the event of any emergency or

25 disaster declared by a party state, shall be the underlying
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1 principle on which all articles of this compact shall be un2 derstood.

3 ‘‘On behalf of the Governor of each state participat4 ing in the compact, the legally designated state official

5 who is assigned responsibility for emergency management

6 will be responsible for formulation of the appropriate

7 interstate mutual aid plans and procedures necessary to

8 implement this compact.

9 ‘‘ARTICLE III.

10 ‘‘PARTY STATE RESPONSIBILITIES.

11 ‘‘A. It shall be the responsibility of each party state

12 to formulate procedural plans and programs for interstate

13 cooperation in the performance of the responsibilities list14 ed in this article. In formulating such plans, and in carry15 ing them out, the party states, insofar as practical, shall:

16 ‘‘1. Review individual state hazards analyses

17 and, to the extent reasonably possible, determine all

18 those potential emergencies the party states might

19 jointly suffer, whether due to natural disaster, tech20 nological hazard, man-made disaster, emergency as21 pects of resources shortages, civil disorders, insur22 gency, or enemy attack;

23 ‘‘2. Review party states’ individual emergency

24 plans and develop a plan which will determine the

25 mechanism for the interstate management and pro-
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1 vision of assistance concerning any potential emer2 gency;

3 ‘‘3. Develop interstate procedures to fill any

4 identified gaps and to resolve any identified incon5 sistencies or overlaps in existing or developed plans;

6 ‘‘4. Assist in warning communities adjacent to

7 or crossing the state boundaries;

8 ‘‘5. Protect and assure uninterrupted delivery

9 of services, medicines, water, food, energy and fuel,

10 search and rescue, and critical lifeline equipment,

11 services, and resources, both human and material;

12 ‘‘6. Inventory and set procedures for the inter13 state loan and delivery of human and material re14 sources, together with procedures for reimbursement

15 or forgiveness; and

16 ‘‘7. Provide, to the extent authorized by law, for

17 temporary suspension of any statutes or ordinances

18 that restrict the implementation of the above respon19 sibilities.

20 ‘‘B. The authorized representative of a party state

21 may request assistance to another party state by contact22 ing the authorized representative of that state. The provi23 sions of this compact shall only apply to requests for as24 sistance made by and to authorized representatives. Re25 quests may be verbal or in writing. If verbal, the request
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1 shall be confirmed in writing within thirty days of the

2 verbal request. Requests shall provide the following infor3 mation:

4 ‘‘1. A description of the emergency service func5 tion for which assistance is needed, including, but

6 not limited to, fire services, law enforcement, emer7 gency medical, transportation, communications, pub8 lic works and engineering, building, inspection, plan9 ning and information assistance, mass care, resource

10 support, health and medical services, and search and

11 rescue;

12 ‘‘2. The amount and type of personnel, equip13 ment, materials and supplies needed, and a reason14 able estimate of the length of time they will be need15 ed; and

16 ‘‘3. The specific place and time for staging of

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

18 at that location.

19 ‘‘C. There shall be frequent consultation between

20 state officials who have assigned emergency management

21 responsibilities and other appropriate representatives of

22 the party states with affected jurisdictions and the United

23 States Government, with free exchange of information,

24 plans, and resource records relating to emergency capabili25 ties.
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1 ‘‘ARTICLE IV.

2 ‘‘LIMITATIONS.

3 ‘‘Any party state requested to render mutual aid or

4 conduct exercises and training for mutual aid shall take

5 such action as is necessary to provide and make available

6 the resources covered by this compact in accordance with

7 the terms hereof; provided that it is understood that the

8 state rendering aid may withhold resources to the extent

9 necessary to provide reasonable protection for such state.

10 ‘‘Each party state shall afford to the emergency

11 forces of any party state, while operating within its state

12 limits under the terms and conditions of this compact, the

13 same powers, except that of arrest unless specifically au14 thorized by the receiving state, duties, rights, and privi15 leges as are afforded forces of the state in which they are

16 performing emergency services. Emergency forces will con17 tinue under the command and control of their regular

18 leaders, but the organizational units will come under the

19 operational control of the emergency services authorities

20 of the state receiving assistance. These conditions may be

21 activated, as needed, only subsequent to a declaration of

22 a state emergency or disaster by the governor of the party

23 state that is to receive assistance or upon commencement

24 of exercises or training for mutual aid and shall continue

25 so long as the exercises or training for mutual aid are in
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1 progress, the state of emergency or disaster remains in

2 effect, or loaned resources remain in the receiving state,

3 whichever is longer.

4 ‘‘ARTICLE V.

5 ‘‘LICENSES AND PERMITS.

6 ‘‘Whenever any person holds a license, certificate, or

7 other permit issued by any state party to the compact evi8 dencing the meeting of qualifications for professional, me9 chanical, or other skills, and when such assistance is re10 quested by the receiving party state, such person shall be

11 deemed licensed, certified, or permitted by the state re12 questing assistance to render aid involving such skill to

13 meet a declared emergency or disaster, subject to such

14 limitations and conditions as the Governor of the request15 ing state may prescribe by executive order or otherwise.

16 ‘‘ARTICLE VI.

17 ‘‘LIABILITY.

18 ‘‘Officers or employees of a party state rendering aid

19 in another state pursuant to this compact shall be consid20 ered agents of the requesting state for tort liability and

21 immunity purposes. No party state or its officers or em22 ployees rendering aid in another state pursuant to this

23 compact shall be liable on account of any act or omission

24 in good faith on the part of such forces while so engaged

25 or on account of the maintenance or use of any equipment
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1 or supplies in connection therewith. Good faith in this arti2 cle shall not include willful misconduct, gross negligence,

3 or recklessness.

4 ‘‘ARTICLE VII.

5 ‘‘SUPPLEMENTARY AGREEMENTS.

6 ‘‘Inasmuch as it is probable that the pattern and de7 tail of the machinery for mutual aid among two or more

8 states may differ from that among the states that are

9 party hereto, this compact contains elements of a broad

10 base common to all states, and nothing herein shall pre11 clude any state entering into supplementary agreements

12 with another state or affect any other agreements already

13 in force between states. Supplementary agreements may

14 comprehend, but shall not be limited to, provisions for

15 evacuation and reception of injured and other persons and

16 the exchange of medical, fire, police, public utility, recon17 naissance, welfare, transportation and communications

18 personnel, and equipment and supplies.

19 ‘‘ARTICLE VIII.

20 ‘‘COMPENSATION.

21 ‘‘Each party state shall provide for the payment of

22 compensation and death benefits to injured members of

23 the emergency forces of that state and representatives of

24 deceased members of such forces in case such members

25 sustain injuries or are killed while rendering aid pursuant
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1 to this compact, in the same manner and on the same

2 terms as if the injury or death were sustained within their

3 own state.

4 ‘‘ARTICLE IX.

5 ‘‘REIMBURSEMENT.

6 ‘‘Any party state rendering aid in another state pur7 suant to this compact shall be reimbursed by the party

8 state receiving such aid for any loss or damage to or ex9 pense incurred in the operation of any equipment and the

10 provision of any service in answering a request for aid and

11 for the costs incurred in connection with such requests;

12 provided, that any aiding party state may assume in whole

13 or in part such loss, damage, expense, or other cost, or

14 may loan such equipment or donate such services to the

15 receiving party state without charge or cost; and provided

16 further, that any two or more party states may enter into

17 supplementary agreements establishing a different alloca18 tion of costs among those states. Article VIII expenses

19 shall not be reimbursable under this article.

20 ‘‘ARTICLE X.

21 ‘‘EVACUATION.

22 ‘‘Plans for the orderly evacuation and interstate re23 ception of portions of the civilian population as the result

24 of any emergency or disaster of sufficient proportions to

25 so warrant, shall be worked out and maintained between
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1 the party states and the emergency management/services

2 directors of the various jurisdictions where any type of in3 cident requiring evacuations might occur. Such plans shall

4 be put into effect by request of the state from which evacu5 ees come and shall include the manner of transporting

6 such evacuees, the number of evacuees to be received in

7 different areas, the manner in which food, clothing, hous8 ing, and medical care will be provided, the registration of

9 the evacuees, the providing of facilities for the notification

10 of relatives or friends, and the forwarding of such evacuees

11 to other areas or the bringing in of additional materials,

12 supplies, and all other relevant factors. Such plans shall

13 provide that the party state receiving evacuees and the

14 party state from which the evacuees come shall mutually

15 agree as to reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenses in16 curred in receiving and caring for such evacuees, for ex17 penditures for transportation, food, clothing, medicines,

18 and medical care, and like items. Such expenditures shall

19 be reimbursed as agreed by the party state from which

20 the evacuees come. After the termination of the emergency

21 or disaster, the party state from which the evacuees come

22 shall assume the responsibility for the ultimate support

23 of repatriation of such evacuees.
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1 ‘‘ARTICLE XI.

2 ‘‘IMPLEMENTATION.

3 ‘‘A. This compact shall become effective immediately

4 upon its enactment into law by any two states. Thereafter,

5 this compact shall become effective as to any other state

6 upon enactment by such state.

7 ‘‘B. Any party state may withdraw from this compact

8 by enacting a statute repealing the same, but no such

9 withdrawal shall take effect until thirty days after the

10 Governor of the withdrawing state has given notice in

11 writing of such withdrawal to the Governors of all other

12 party states. Such action shall not relieve the withdrawing

13 state from obligations assumed hereunder prior to the ef14 fective date of withdrawal.

15 ‘‘C. Duly authenticated copies of this compact and

16 of such supplementary agreements as may be entered into

17 shall, at the time of their approval, be deposited with each

18 of the party states and with the Federal Emergency Man19 agement Agency and other appropriate agencies of the

20 United States Government.

21 ‘‘ARTICLE XII.

22 ‘‘VALIDITY.

23 ‘‘This compact shall be construed to effectuate the

24 purposes stated in Article I. If any provision of this com25 pact is declared unconstitutional, or the applicability
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1 thereof to any person or circumstances is held invalid, the

2 constitutionality of the remainder of this compact and the

3 applicability thereof to other persons and circumstances

4 shall not be affected.

5 ‘‘ARTICLE XIII.

6 ‘‘ADDITIONAL PROVISIONS.

7 ‘‘Nothing in this compact shall authorize or permit

8 the use of military force by the National Guard of a state

9 at any place outside that state in any emergency for which

10 the President is authorized by law to call into federal serv11 ice the militia, or for any purpose for which the use of

12 the Army or the Air Force would in the absence of express

13 statutory authorization be prohibited under § 1385 of

14 Title 18 of the United States Code.’’.

15 SEC. 2. RIGHT TO ALTER, AMEND, OR REPEAL.

16 The right to alter, amend, or repeal this joint resolu17 tion is hereby expressly reserved. The consent granted by

18 this joint resolution shall—

19 (1) not be construed as impairing or in any

20 manner affecting any right or jurisdiction of the

21 United States in and over the subject of the com22 pact;

23 (2) not be construed as consent to the National

24 Guard Mutual Assistance Compact;
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1 (3) be construed as understanding that the first

2 paragraph of Article II of the compact provides that

3 emergencies will require procedures to provide imme4 diate access to existing resources to make a prompt

5 and effective response;

6 (4) not be construed as providing authority in

7 Article III A.7. that does not otherwise exist for the

8 suspension of statutes or ordinances;

9 (5) be construed as understanding that Article

10 III C. does not impose any affirmative obligation to

11 exchange information, plans, and resource records

12 on the United States or any party which has not en13 tered into the compact; and

14 (6) be construed as understanding that Article

15 XIII does not affect the authority of the President

16 over the National Guard provided by article I of the

17 Constitution and title 10 of the United States Code.

18 SEC. 3. CONSTRUCTION AND SEVERABILITY.

19 It is intended that the provisions of this compact shall

20 be reasonably and liberally construed to effectuate the

21 purposes thereof. If any part or application of this com22 pact, or legislation enabling the compact, is held invalid,

23 the remainder of the compact or its application to other

24 situations or persons shall not be affected.
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1 SEC. 4. INCONSISTENCY OF LANGUAGE.

2 The validity of this compact shall not be affected by

3 any insubstantial difference in its form or language as

4 adopted by the States.