Relates to local disaster preparedness plans; appropriation

Summary of specific provisions

Section one of this bill would amend paragraph a of subdivision 2 of section 20 of the Executive Law by adding to the definition of disaster to include an act of biological, chemical or radiological terrorism.

Section two of this bill would amend subdivision 6 of section 23 of the Executive Law to state that all plans for disaster preparedness devel- oped by local governments or revisions thereto shall comply with the National Incident Management System (NIMS).

Section three of this bill. would add eight new subparagraphs to subdi- vision 7 of section 23 of of the Executive Law to require Counties to include in their existing disaster preparedness plans the following:

*A roster of volunteer medical personnel within the county who would help in case of a disaster along with a plan to coordinate them;

*An assessment of the county's healthcare infrastructure including the number of hospital beds and doctor's offices;

*A system to collect disease or exposure data as a result of the disas- ter; Identification of a local stockpile of pharmaceuticals that might be used in case of a disaster;

*A plan to identify and coordinate emergency services organizations following a disaster;

*Identify a county health official that would serve as a risk communica- tor;

*Use drills to test the plans;

*An assessment as to the planning for and implementation of the National Incident Management System.

Section four of the bill would add a new section 221-e to the Executive Law to require all police agencies to report any chemical, biological or radiological threat to the Division of State Police,

Section five of this bill would add new sections 716, 717, 718, 719, 720, 721 and 722 to the Executive Law to establish a New York State Energy Transportation and Storage Security Program, New York State Government Continuity Program, New York State Business Continuity Program, New York State Post Disaster Recovery Program, New York State Energy Security Program, New York State Public Security Evacuation Program, and a New York State Disaster Preparedness Plan Program, respectively, as well as a new section 723, to establish an academic chair for the study of terrorism and homeland security within the state university of New York

Section six of this bill appropriates the sum of three hundred fifty thousand dollars for the study therewith.

Section seven states the effective date.

Justification

Current law does not recognize terrorism as a cause of a disaster. One of the greatest results of a terrorist attack is the fear it produces in the population and the disarray it aims to cause in government.

Requiring counties to take steps to better coordinate their emergency plans such as assessment of healthcare infrastructure including volun- teer personnel and to designating an official as a risk communicator aim to mitigate the impact of a disaster.

In addition, the Federal Office of Disaster Preparedness grant funding for 2006 will require that counties comply with the National Incident Management System,

In the last few years, there has been a marked increase in the instances of both actual and alleged cases of Anthrax dissemination through the U.S. Mail. Most to date have proven to be non-credible threats involving hoax cases of biological infection (white powder) spread through mail.

The purpose of the reporting requirement provided in this bill is not to enable the State Police to take over such cases, but to merely create a centralized database. It is critical for New York State to capture information regarding these types of incidents statewide for many reasons, including:

*Identification of trends or patterns;

*Enhanced perspective of future response needs;

*Connection of related incidents that may cross jurisdictional investi- gative agency boundaries; and

* Statistical compilation for additional federal funding justification for New York State.

Additionally, information regarding any incident involving a suspected or perceived Weapon of Mass Destruction (WMD) agent (radiological, biological or chemical) should be tracked in this manner.

Creation of this required reporting mechanism will allow New York to begin gathering and compiling reliable data on these types of incidents.

New York State presently exists in a dangerous and uncertain world. The lessons of September 11th and Hurricane Katrina. demonstrate that our State, its government, and its people need to be prepared for predict- able surprises, and have the capacity to respond and recover from such events when and if they occur.

This bill seeks to provide the mechanism for the establishment of a New. York State Energy Transportation and Storage Security Program, Govern- ment Continuity Program, Business Continuity Program, Post Disaster Recovery Program, Energy Security Program, Public Security Evacuation Program and Disaster Preparedness Plan Program.

Such programs are necessary and prudent steps toward preparing New York State's response and recovery to a predictable surprise. Such a program, by terms of this bill, would be developed in partnership with the New York State Office of Homeland Security, after thoughtful study and investigation.

The report and recommendations required under this bill would provide the framework for the establishment of the Program, upon which a successful establishment and implementation could be based. This bill seeks to direct New York State's Homeland Security efforts in a respon- sible, thoughtful manner, using experience, intelligence and the princi- ples of risk management to seek the best possible outcome for the citi- zens of New York State.

Every day news reports have shown the dangers of our world with respect to terrorism and the need for homeland security.

As a result, both issues have highlighted the threats and damage which we face on a worldwide scale. Terrorism has diminished our public safe- ty, disrupted world commerce, corrupted many financial institutions, and put our very lives and futures at risk. With the establishment and fund- ing of a homeland security program within the State University of New York, New York can once exercise leadership in the fields of terrorism prevention and response as well as homeland protection and security.

This program would provide a highly useful for=m and focal point for study and deliberation on the issues necessary to be deployed to address these serious public safety problems, and will help bring knowledge and develop appropriate strategies to effectively address them.

Prior legislative history

NEW BILL

Fiscal implications

None noted, for although some staff time at the New York State Office of Homeland Security would be required to accomplish the investigations, studies and reports required under this bill, its actions could easily be performed with current resources. This bill appropriates $350,000 for the establishment of the homeland security chair.

Effective date

This act shall take effect immediately, except that sections one, two and three shall take effect on the first of June next succeeding the date on which this act shall have become a law.