2023 Tennessee Code › Title 58 - MILITARY AFFAIRS, EMERGENCIES AND CIVIL DEFENSE (§§ 58-1-101 — 58-9-105) › Chapter 8 - MUTUAL AID AND EMERGENCY AND DISASTER ASSISTANCE AGREEMENT ACT OF 2004 (§§ 58-8-101 — 58-8-115) › Section 58-8-102 - Chapter definitions

As used in this chapter, unless the context otherwise requires:
(1)
"Activities under service agreements" means day-to-day cooperation and activities based upon interlocal service or operational agreements or contracts between or among governmental entities;
(2)
"Aid" means the same as assistance, except that aid is provided in an occurrence during any period of time when a state of emergency has not been declared;
(3)
"Assistance" means the provision of personnel, equipment, facilities, services, supplies, and other resources to assist in firefighting, law enforcement, the provision of public works services, the provision of emergency medical care, the provision of civil defense services, or any other emergency assistance one governmental entity is able to provide to another in response to a request for assistance in a municipal, county, state, or federal state of emergency;
(4)
"Disaster" means any natural, technological, or civil emergency that results in substantial injury or harm to the population or substantial damage to or loss of property of sufficient severity and magnitude that there is a declaration, resulting from the emergency, of a disaster by the governor under state law or the president under federal law;
(5)
"Emergency" means an occurrence or threat of an occurrence, whether natural or man-made, that results in or may result in substantial injury or harm to the population or substantial damage to or loss of property and which results in a declaration of a state of emergency by a municipal mayor, a county mayor or executive, the governor, or the president;
(6)
"Emergency assistance" means assistance provided by a participating governmental entity to another under this chapter;
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"Emergency management employee or official" means an employee or official of a governmental entity with the authority to request aid;
(7)
"Employee" means paid, volunteer, and auxiliary personnel and emergency management workers of a governmental entity;
(8)
"Governmental entity" means any political subdivision of the state, including, but not limited to, any incorporated city or town, metropolitan government, county, utility district, school district, nonprofit volunteer fire department receiving public funds and recognized under title 68, chapter 102, part 3, rescue squad, human resource agency, public building authority, airport authority, and development district, or any instrumentality of government created by one (1) or more of these named governmental entities or the general assembly, or any entity otherwise recognized by state law as a local governmental entity;
(9)
"Occurrence" means the imminent threat of an event or an actual event and its aftermath, whether natural or man-made, that could lead to or results in bodily injury or property damage;
(10)
"Participating governmental entity" means any governmental entity in the state that requests or responds to a request for aid or assistance under this chapter;
(11)
"Responding party" means a governmental entity that has received and responded to a request to provide mutual aid or assistance to another governmental entity under this chapter; and
(12)
"Requesting party" means a governmental entity that requests aid or assistance from another governmental entity under this chapter.
Amended by 2024 Tenn. Acts, ch. 641,s 2, eff. 4/4/2024.
Amended by 2024 Tenn. Acts, ch. 641,s 1, eff. 4/4/2024.
Acts 2004, ch. 743, § 1.