20. Natural and man-made disasters; policy; definitions. 1. It shall be the policy of the state that:
a. local government and emergency service organizations continue their essential role as the first line of defense in times of disaster, and that the state provide appropriate supportive services to the extent necessary;
b. local chief executives take an active and personal role in the development and implementation of disaster preparedness programs and be vested with authority and responsibility in order to insure the success of such programs;
c. state and local natural disaster and emergency response functions be coordinated using recognized practices in incident management in order to bring the fullest protection and benefit to the people;
d. state resources be organized and prepared for immediate effective response to disasters which are beyond the capability of local governments and emergency service organizations; and
e. state and local plans, organizational arrangements, and response capability required to execute the provisions of this article shall at all times be the most effective that current circumstances and existing resources allow.
2. As used in this article the following terms shall have the following meanings:
a. "disaster" means occurrence or imminent threat of wide spread or severe damage, injury, or loss of life or property resulting from any natural or man-made causes, including, but not limited to, fire, flood, earthquake, hurricane, tornado, high water, landslide, mudslide, wind, storm, wave action, volcanic activity, epidemic, air contamination, terrorism, cyber event, blight, drought, infestation, explosion, radiological accident, nuclear, chemical, biological, or bacteriological release, water contamination, bridge failure or bridge collapse.
b. "state disaster emergency" means a period beginning with a declaration by the governor that a disaster exists and ending upon the termination thereof.
c. "municipality" means a public corporation as defined in subdivision one of section sixty-six of the general construction law and a special district as defined in subdivision sixteen of section one hundred two of the real property tax law.
d. "commission" means the disaster preparedness commission created pursuant to section twenty-one of this article.
e. "emergency services organization" means a public or private agency, voluntary organization or group organized and functioning for the purpose of providing fire, medical, ambulance, rescue, housing, food or other services directed toward relieving human suffering, injury or loss of life or damage to property as a result of an emergency, including non-profit and governmentally-supported organizations, but excluding governmental agencies.
f. "chief executive" means:
(1) a county executive or manager of a county;
(2) in a county not having a county executive or manager, the chairman or other presiding officer of the county legislative body;
(3) a mayor of a city or village, except where a city or village has a manager, it shall mean such manager; and
(4) a supervisor of a town, except where a town has a manager, it shall mean such manager.
g. "Disaster emergency response personnel" means agencies, public officers, employees, or affiliated volunteers having duties and responsibilities under or pursuant to a comprehensive emergency management plan.
h. "Emergency management director" means the government official responsible for emergency preparedness, response and recovery for a county, city, town, or village.
i. "incident management team" means a state certified team of trained personnel from different departments, organizations, agencies, and jurisdictions within the state, or a region of the state, activated to support and manage major and/or complex incidents requiring a significant number of local, regional, and state resources.
j. "executive level officer" means a state agency officer with the authority to deploy agency assets and resources and make decisions binding a state agency.
k. "third party non-state resources" means any contracted resource that is not owned or controlled by the state or a political subdivision including, but not limited to, ambulances, construction crews, or contractors.
Last modified: February 3, 2019