HOUSE BILL 869

48th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2007

INTRODUCED BY

Janice E. Arnold-Jones

AN ACT

RELATING TO EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS; CREATING AN EMERGENCY OPERATIONS PREPAREDNESS AND PLANNING PROGRAM FOR SMALL MUNICIPALITIES AND COUNTIES; MAKING AN APPROPRIATION.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:

     Section 1. EMERGENCY OPERATIONS PREPAREDNESS AND PLANNING FOR SMALL MUNICIPALITIES AND COUNTIES.--

          A. The New Mexico institute of mining and technology, in collaboration with the department of public safety and the office of homeland security, shall develop an emergency operations preparedness and planning program for small municipalities and counties with a population of fifty thousand persons or fewer. The program shall include the development of a template for emergency response strategies to be used in myriad crisis situations and that can be repeated and customized to work in all small communities. The program shall also provide a process to enable small communities to establish emergency response teams and procedures.

          B. The institute shall assess the municipalities and counties in the state with a population of fifty thousand persons or fewer and shall select a municipality or county for the development of the template. In developing the template, the institute shall:

                (1) bring together experts, first responders, community officials and citizens to identify and index scenarios, strategies and existing capabilities, assets, limitations and resources of the community;

                (2) establish an emergency operations response team that would maintain, update and review, at least semiannually, the emergency response strategies for the community and that would implement the appropriate strategies in response to a crisis situation;

                (3) conduct exercises to test the effectiveness of strategies developed to meet various emergency scenarios and evaluate and improve those strategies as needed;

                (4) develop a training and exercise manual to guide a small community in its emergency planning and response process; and

                (5) develop plans and methods to hasten economic recovery in the event of an emergency.

          C. After development of the template pursuant to Subsection B of this section, the institute shall validate the template on other municipalities and counties with a population of fifty thousand persons or fewer and shall customize, evaluate and improve the template as necessary.

          D. The institute shall provide an interim report no later than November 2008 and a final report no later than September 2009, to the appropriate interim legislative committee on the emergency response and strategy template developed, the activities conducted and information obtained.

     Section 2. APPROPRIATION.--Three million dollars ($3,000,000) is appropriated from the general fund to the board of regents of New Mexico institute of mining and technology for expenditure in fiscal years 2008 and 2009 for the emergency operations preparedness and planning program for small municipalities and counties with a population of fifty thousand persons or fewer, including the development and testing of a template that can be repeated and customized to work in all small communities. No more than five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000) of the money appropriated shall be used to defray the expense of conducting exercises in the development of the template. Any unexpended or unencumbered balance remaining at the end of fiscal year 2009 shall revert to the general fund.

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