2023 New York Laws › EXC - Executive › Article 26 - Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services › 709 - Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services; Creation; Powers and Duties.

§ 709. Division of homeland security and emergency services; creation;
powers  and  duties.  1.  There  is  hereby created within the executive
department the division of homeland  security  and  emergency  services,
which  shall  have  and exercise the powers and duties set forth in this
article. Any reference to the 'office of public security',  the  'office
of  homeland  security',  the 'state emergency management office' or the
'office of fire prevention and control' in the laws of New  York  state,
executive orders, or contracts entered into on behalf of the state shall
be  deemed  to  refer to the division of homeland security and emergency
services.
2. The division shall have the power and duty to:
(a)  oversee  and  coordinate  the  state's  homeland   security   and
comprehensive emergency management resources, subject to any laws, rules
or regulations governing the budgeting and appropriation of funds;
(b)  review  homeland  security and comprehensive emergency management
policies, protocols and strategies of state agencies. The agencies shall
include, but not be limited to,  the  state  agencies  included  on  the
disaster  preparedness commission as identified in section twenty-one of
this chapter;
(c) develop policies, protocols and strategies, which may be  used  to
prevent,  detect,  respond to and recover from terrorist acts or threats
and other natural and man-made disasters, which  for  purposes  of  this
section  shall have the same meaning as defined in article two-B of this
chapter;
(d) identify potential inadequacies in the state's policies, protocols
and strategies to detect, respond to and recover from terrorist acts  or
threats and other natural and man-made disasters;
(e)  undertake  periodic drills and simulations designed to assess and
prepare responses to terrorist acts or threats  and  other  natural  and
man-made disasters;
(f)  coordinate  state  resources  for  the collection and analysis of
information relating to natural and man-made  disasters  throughout  the
state subject to any applicable laws, rules, or regulations;
(g)  coordinate and facilitate information sharing among local, state,
and federal agencies to ensure appropriate intelligence to assist in the
early identification of and response to natural and man-made  disasters,
subject  to  any  applicable  laws,  rules, or regulations governing the
release, disclosure or sharing of any such information;
(h) assess the preparedness of state and local public  health  systems
to  respond  to terrorist acts and other natural and man-made disasters,
including ensuring the availability of early warning systems designed to
detect potential threats and determining adequacy  and  availability  of
necessary vaccines and pharmaceuticals and hospital capacity;
(i)  coordinate  strategies,  protocols  and first-responder equipment
needs that may be used to monitor, detect, respond to and  mitigate  the
consequences   of  a  potential  biological,  chemical  or  radiological
terrorist act or threat;
(j) work with local, state and federal agencies and  private  entities
to  conduct  assessments of the vulnerability of critical infrastructure
to terrorist attack,  cyber  attack,  and  other  natural  and  man-made
disasters,  including,  but  not  limited  to, nuclear facilities, power
plants, telecommunications systems, mass transportation systems,  public
roadways, railways, bridges and tunnels, and develop strategies that may
be  used  to  protect  such  infrastructure from terrorist attack, cyber
attack, and other natural and man-made disasters;
(k) develop plans that may be used  to  promote  rapid  recovery  from
terrorist  attacks  and  other natural and man-made disasters, to ensure

prompt restoration of transportation, utilities, critical communications
and information systems and to protect such infrastructure;
(l)  develop  plans  that  may be used to contain and remove hazardous
materials used in a terrorist attack or released as a result of  natural
or man-made disaster;
(m)  act  as  primary  contact with the federal department of homeland
security;
(n) adopt, promulgate, amend and  rescind  rules  and  regulations  to
effectuate  the  provisions  and purposes of this article and the powers
and duties of the division in connection therewith;
(o) consult with appropriate state and local governments, institutions
of higher learning, first responders, health care providers and  private
entities  as necessary to effectuate the provisions of this article, and
work with those entities to establish, facilitate and foster cooperation
to better prepare the state to prevent and respond to threats  and  acts
of terrorism and other natural and man-made disasters;
(p)  to  serve  as  a  clearinghouse for the benefit of municipalities
regarding information relating to available federal, state and  regional
grant   programs   in   connection   with  homeland  security,  disaster
preparedness, communication infrastructure and emergency first responder
services, and to promulgate rules and regulations  necessary  to  ensure
that grant information is timely posted on the division's website;
(q) request from any department, division, office, commission or other
agency  of  the state or any political subdivision thereof, and the same
are authorized to provide, such assistance, services and data as may  be
required  by the division of homeland security and emergency services in
carrying out the purposes of this article, subject to  applicable  laws,
rules, and regulations;
(r)  develop  standards  and  a  certification  process  for  training
programs  for  training  of  private  security  officers  in  commercial
buildings which shall:
(i) improve observation, detection and reporting skills;
(ii)  improve  coordination  with  local  police,  fire  and emergency
services;
(iii) provide and improve skills in  working  with  advanced  security
technology including surveillance and access control procedures;
(iv) require at least forty hours of training including three hours of
training devoted to terrorism awareness; and
(v)  have  been  certified  as  a qualified program by the division of
homeland security and emergency services;
(s)  work  in  consultation  with  or  make  recommendations  to   the
commissioner   of  agriculture  and  markets  in  developing  rules  and
regulations relating to ammonium nitrate security; and
(t) develop, maintain, and deploy state, regional and local all-hazard
incident management teams.
(u) Notwithstanding article  six-C  of  this  chapter,  or  any  other
provision  of law to the contrary, the division of homeland security and
emergency services shall establish best practices regarding training and
education for firefighters and first responders which shall include  but
not  be  limited  to:  minimum basic training for firefighters and first
responders;  in-service   training   and   continuing   education;   and
specialized  training  as  it  may  apply  to  the  specific duties of a
category of emergency personnel.
3. The division of homeland  security  and  emergency  services  shall
consist  of several offices including, but not limited to, the office of
counterterrorism, which shall have the powers, and  be  responsible  for
carrying out the duties, including but not limited to those set forth in
section  seven  hundred  nine-a of this article; the office of emergency

management, which shall have the powers, and be responsible for carrying
out the duties, including but not limited to those set forth in  article
two-B  of this chapter; the office of fire prevention and control, which
shall  have  the powers, and be responsible for carrying out the duties,
including but not limited to those set forth in article  six-C  of  this
chapter  and  the  office of interoperable and emergency communications,
which shall have the powers, and be responsible  for  carrying  out  the
duties,  including  but  not limited to those set forth in section seven
hundred seventeen of this article.
4. As set forth in section seven hundred  ten  of  this  article,  the
commissioner of the division of homeland security and emergency services
shall  be  appointed by the governor, with the advice and consent of the
senate, and hold office at the pleasure of the governor.  The  directors
of   the   offices   of  counterterrorism,  emergency  management,  fire
prevention and control, and interoperable and emergency  communications,
and such other offices as may be established, shall be appointed by, and
hold  office  at  the pleasure of, the governor and they shall report to
the commissioner of the division  of  homeland  security  and  emergency
services.
5.  The  directors  of  the  offices  of  counterterrorism,  emergency
management, fire prevention and  control,  interoperable  and  emergency
communications,  and of such other offices as may be established, shall,
in consultation with the commissioner, have the authority to  promulgate
rules and regulations to carry out the duties of their office, including
the  establishment  of fees necessary to compensate for costs associated
with the delivery of training and services.
6.  The  directors  of  the  offices  of  counterterrorism,  emergency
management,  fire  prevention  and  control, interoperable and emergency
communications, and such other offices as may be established, shall have
the  authority  to  enter  into  contracts  with   any   person,   firm,
corporation, municipality, or government entity.
7.  Annual report of the division. The commissioner of the division of
homeland security and emergency services shall,  on  or  before  January
first  in  each year, submit to the governor, the temporary president of
the senate, and the speaker of the assembly,  a  report  concerning  the
performance  of  the  division  with  respect to outreach to businesses,
not-for-profit  organizations,  and  the  general  public,  which  shall
include  information  regarding  the  content  and  scope  of  seminars,
conferences, surveys, programs, and other programmatic means of engaging
such parties to identify and meet the needs of such parties with respect
to emergency mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery,  and  the
participation of such parties therein.