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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.