New Law Streamlines Emergency Response Coordination

July 12, 2013

Assemblyman James Skoufis (D-Woodbury) announced that Governor Cuomo has signed legislation into law that he sponsored which will help improve the way the state prepares for and responds to disaster emergencies. This new law will provide for better coordination of local, state, federal and private resources. It will allow the state to accept gifts and services for assistance, excluding money, and will help the state implement the NY-Text system (Chap. 101 of 2013).

“Just in the past two years the Hudson Valley has seen its share of disaster emergencies, including Hurricane Irene, Tropical Storm Lee and Hurricane Sandy,” Assemblyman Skoufis said. “This new law will go a long way to ensure that coordination between all levels of government and the private sector is more effective and efficient.”

Specifically, the new law consists of three parts:

• The measure will make technical changes to current law. Included in these changes would be changes in language to reflect that the NYS Office of Fire Prevention and Control (OFPC) is removed from the Department of State and consolidated into the Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services (DHSES). Additionally, the law will be updated to allow sheriffs to notify the Governor of a declaration of a state of special emergency by fax or other electronic means. Previously, sheriffs were required to provide notice to the Governor by telegram.
• The law will now allow the Office of Emergency Management (OEM) to accept assistance, in the forms of gifts or services, excluding money, from a public or private source in order to prepare for, respond to or recover from an emergency disaster. To ensure transparency, OEM will catalog these gifts in a public database, including the donor, value and type of assistance.
• The new law will help to implement the NY-Text emergency system so that mass text messages can be sent to wireless telephones in a specific area before, during and after an emergency. The measure will provide immunity to mobile service providers who are contracted with the state from liability for harm as the result of transmission or failure of transmission of an emergency alert, when the provider acted reasonably.

What's New