State California GC Sec 8588 GOVERNMENT CODE SECTION 8588 8588. Whenever conditions exist within any region or regions of the state which warrant the proclamation by the Governor of a state of emergency and the Governor has not acted under the provisions of Section 8625, by reason of the fact that he has been inaccessible, the Director of the Office of Emergency Services may proclaim the existence of a state of emergency in the name of the Governor as to any region or regions of the state. Whenever the Director of the Office of Emergency Services has so proclaimed a state of emergency, such action shall be ratified by the Governor as soon as he becomes accessible, and in the event the Governor does not ratify the action he shall immediately terminate the state of emergency as proclaimed by the Director of the Office of Emergency Services. 8588.1. (a) The Legislature finds and declares that this state can only truly be prepared for the next disaster if the public and private sector collaborate. (b) The Office of Emergency Services may, as appropriate, include private businesses and nonprofit organizations within its responsibilities to prepare the state for disasters under this chapter. All participation by businesses and nonprofit associations in this program shall be voluntary. (c) The office may do any of the following: (1) Provide guidance to business and nonprofit organizations representing business interests on how to integrate private sector emergency preparedness measures into governmental disaster planning programs. (2) Conduct outreach programs to encourage business to work with governments and community associations to better prepare the community and their employees to survive and recover from disasters. (3) Develop systems so that government, businesses, and employees can exchange information during disasters to protect themselves and their families. (4) Develop programs so that businesses and government can work cooperatively to advance technology that will protect the public during disasters. (d) The office may share facilities and systems for the purposes of subdivision (b) with the private sector to the extent the cost for their use are reimbursed by the private sector. (e) Proprietary information or information protected by state or federal privacy laws, shall not be disclosed under this program. (f) Notwithstanding Section 11005, donations and private grants may be accepted by the office and shall not be subject to Section 11005. (g) The Disaster Resistant Communities Account is hereby created in the General Fund. Upon appropriation by the Legislature, the Director of the Office of Emergency Services may expend the money in the account for the costs associated within this section.(h) Any new activity undertaken by the office under this section shall be contingent upon the receipt of donations to the Disaster Resistant Communities Account. 8588.3. (a) The Legislature finds and declares that it is the responsibility of the State of California to protect and preserve the right of its citizens to a safe and peaceful existence. To accomplish this goal and to minimize the destructive impact of disasters and other massive emergencies, the actions of numerous public agencies must be coordinated to effectively manage all four phases of emergency activity: preparedness, mitigation, response, and recovery. In order to ensure that the state's response to disasters or massive emergencies is effective, specialized training is necessary. (b) The California Specialized Training Institute of the office of the Adjutant General is hereby transferred to the Office of Emergency Services. The institute shall assist the Governor in providing, pursuant to subdivision (f) of Section 8570, training to state agencies, cities, and counties in their planning and preparation for disasters. (c) The Director of the Office of Emergency Services may solicit, receive, and administer funds or property from federal, state, or other public agency sources for the support and operation of the institute. (d) The Director of the Office of Emergency Services may solicit and receive firearms, other weaponry, explosive materials, chemical agents, and other items confiscated by or otherwise in the possession of law enforcement officers as donations to the institute if he or she deems them to be appropriate for the institute's training purposes. (e) Any moneys received by the Director of the Office of Emergency Services from charges or fees imposed in connection with the operation of the institute shall be deposited in the General Fund. 8588.4. (a) The California Highway Patrol in cooperation with the Office of Emergency Services and the California National Guard and in consultation with the United States Coast Guard and all relevant federal, state, and local transportation and law enforcement agencies, shall perform a risk assessment of California's transportation system. The scope of this assessment shall include, but not be limited to, the transportation infrastructure within the scope of the California Highway Patrol's responsibilities. The assessment may not necessarily involve an inspection or examination of each individual facility and service but rather an overview of any risk that may exist within California's transportation system. For each potential threat or security deficiency identified in the risk assessment, there shall be included one or more recommended measures to mitigate those risks. (b) The California Highway Patrol shall submit a confidential report of its findings and recommendations to the Governor, the Speaker of the Assembly, the President pro Tempore of the Senate, the minority leader of the Assembly, and the minority leader of the Senate not later than January 1, 2003. 8588.5. To promote an increase in the number of trained disaster search dog teams, the Office of Emergency Services shall do all of the following: (a) Provide instruction to California disaster dog trainers in Swiss techniques. (b) Work to secure authorization to conduct training for disaster search dog teams at existing facilities operated by the California National Guard and the Department of Transportation on the grounds of Camp San Luis Obispo. (c) Engage in recruiting activities for the purpose of increasing the number of disaster search dog teams in southern California. (d) Reimburse disaster search dog handlers and instructors for the costs of their travel and that of their dogs to training facilities within California. 8588.7. (a) The Office of Emergency Services shall procure mobile communication translators to enable mutual-aid emergency response agencies to communicate effectively while operating on incompatible frequencies. (b) Translators shall be located in the San Francisco Bay area and the Los Angeles metropolitan area, made ready for use by local public safety officials by the Office of Emergency Services, and provided to the appropriate state-established mutual-aid region pursuant to Section 8600. (c) The Office of Emergency Services shall implement this section only to the extent that funds are appropriated to the office for this purpose in the Budget Act or in other legislation. 8588.8. The Office of Emergency Services shall serve as the central agency in state government for the emergency reporting of all disasters and sudden and severe energy shortages related to, or potentially related to, the Year 2000 Problem and shall coordinate the notification of the appropriate state and local administering agencies that may be required to respond to those situations as they arise. 8588.10. (a) The Emergency Response Training Advisory Committee shall be established pursuant to subdivision (d). The committee shall recommend the criteria for terrorism awareness curriculum content to meet the training needs of state and local emergency response personnel and volunteers. In addition, the committee shall identify any additional training that would be useful and appropriate but that may not be generally available in California, and shall make recommendations pertaining to any need for training oversight agencies for first responder disciplines to expedite their curriculum approval processes. (b) Basic terrorism awareness training shall include, but not be limited to, the following: (1) An overview of conventional, chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear threats. (2) Threat and hazard recognition, with an emphasis on ability to determine local vulnerabilities. (3) Understanding the structure and function of an incident command system. (4) Initial response actions, including preliminary assessment, notifications, resource needs, and safety considerations. (5) Coordination with other emergency service first responders. (6) Gathering, verifying, assessing, and communicating incident information. (7) Understanding mass casualty implications and decontamination requirements. (8) Balancing lifesaving activities with evidence preservation. (9) General awareness and additional training for each of the first responder categories specific to each discipline. (c) (1) The Legislature finds and declares that training on terrorism awareness for first responders is of critical importance to the people of California. (2) Every agency responsible for development of terrorism awareness training and every agency that employs or uses first responders shall give a high priority to the completion of that training. (d) The Emergency Response Training Advisory Committee is hereby created, which shall be chaired by the Governor's security advisor and shall consist of the following members, or their representatives: (1) The Governor's security advisor. (2) The Commissioner of the California Highway Patrol. (3) The Executive Director of the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training. (4) The State Fire Marshal. (5) The Director of Health Services. (6) The Director of Emergency Services. (7) The Director of the Emergency Medical Services Authority. (8) The Chairperson of the California Fire Fighter Joint Apprenticeship Committee. (9) The Attorney General. (10) Nine representatives, appointed by the Governor, comprised of all of the following: (A) One police chief from the California Police Chiefs Association. (B) One county sheriff from the California State Sheriffs' Association. (C) One representative of port security agencies. (D) Two fire chiefs, one from the California Fire Chiefs Association and one from the California Metropolitan Fire Chiefs Association. (E) Two firefighters, one from a statewide organization that represents career firefighters and one from a statewide organization that represents both career and volunteer firefighters. (F) Two law enforcement labor representatives, one from a state organization and one from a local organization. 8588.11. (a) The Office of Emergency Services shall contract with the California Fire Fighter Joint Apprenticeship Program to develop a fire service specific course of instruction on the responsibilities of first responders to terrorism incidents. The course shall include the criteria for the curriculum content recommended by the Emergency Response Training Advisory Committee established pursuant to Section 8588.10 to address the training needs of both of the following: (1) Firefighters in conformance with the standards established by the State Fire Marshal. (2) Paramedics and other emergency medical services fire personnel in conformance with the standards established by the State Emergency Medical Services Authority. (b) The course of instruction shall be developed in consultation with individuals knowledgeable about consequence management that addresses the topics of containing and mitigating the impact of a terrorist incident, including, but not limited to, a terrorist act using hazardous materials, as well as weapons of mass destruction, including any chemical warfare agent, weaponized biological agent, or nuclear or radiological agent, as those terms are defined in Section 11417 of the Penal Code, by techniques including, but not limited to, rescue, firefighting, casualty treatment, and hazardous materials response and recovery. (c) The contract shall provide for the delivery of training by the California Fire Fighter Joint Apprenticeship Program through reimbursement contracts with the state, local, and regional fire agencies who may, in turn, contract with educational institutions. (d) To maximize the availability and delivery of training, the California Fire Fighter Joint Apprenticeship Program shall develop a course of instruction to train the trainers in the presentation of the first responder training of consequence management for fire service personnel.