Maryland SB 62: Emergency Management - Chief Resilience Officer - Appointment and Duties

Bill Text

EXPLANATION: CAPITALS INDICATE MATTER ADDED TO EXISTING LAW.
[Brackets] indicate matter deleted from existing law.
*sb0062*

SENATE BILL 62
M3, E4 1lr0793
SB 721/20 – EHE (PRE–FILED) CF 1lr1902
By: Senators Hester and Elfreth
Requested: September 30, 2020
Introduced and read first time: January 13, 2021
Assigned to: Education, Health, and Environmental Affairs

A BILL ENTITLED

AN ACT concerning 1

Emergency Management – Chief Resilience Officer – Appointment and Duties 2

FOR the purpose of requiring the Director of the Maryland Emergency Management 3
Agency to appoint a Chief Resilience Officer; providing that the Chief Resilience 4
Officer serves at the pleasure of the Director; providing for the salary of the Chief 5
Resilience Officer and the categorization of the Chief Resilience Officer in the State 6
Personnel Management System; establishing the duties and responsibilities of the 7
Chief Resilience Officer; requiring the Chief Resilience Officer to prioritize certain 8
efforts and ensure the collaboration of certain State agencies and programs in 9
addressing certain priorities in certain years; requiring the Adaptation and 10
Resiliency Workgroup of the Maryland Commission on Climate Change to provide 11
certain support and assistance to the Chief Resilience Officer and to take certain 12
actions with respect to the Workgroup’s membership under certain circumstances; 13
requiring the Department of the Environment to provide certain assistance to the 14
Chief Resilience Officer; requiring the University of Maryland Center for 15
Environmental Science to provide certain assistance to the Chief Resilience Officer; 16
requiring the Chief Resilience Officer to make a certain annual report to the 17
Governor, the State Treasurer, and the General Assembly on or before a certain date; 18
and generally relating to the Chief Resilience Officer. 19

BY repealing and reenacting, without amendments, 20
Article – Public Safety 21
Section 14–101 22
Annotated Code of Maryland 23
(2018 Replacement Volume and 2020 Supplement) 24

BY adding to 25
Article – Public Safety 26
Section 14–104.1 27
Annotated Code of Maryland 28

2 SENATE BILL 62

(2018 Replacement Volume and 2020 Supplement) 1

SECTION 1. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF MARYLAND, 2
That the Laws of Maryland read as follows: 3

Article – Public Safety 4

14–101. 5

(a) In this title the following words have the meanings indicated. 6

(b) “Director” means the Director of MEMA. 7

(c) “Emergency” means the imminent threat or occurrence of severe or 8
widespread loss of life, injury, or other health impacts, property damage or destruction, 9
social or economic disruption, or environmental degradation from natural, technological, or 10
human–made causes. 11

(d) (1) “Emergency management” means the planning, implementing, and 12
conducting of risk reduction and consequence management activities across the mission 13
areas of prevention, protection, mitigation, response, and recovery to enhance 14
preparedness, save lives, preserve public health and safety, protect public and private 15
property, and minimize or repair injury and damage that results or may result from 16
emergencies. 17

(2) “Emergency management” does not include the preparation for and 18
carrying out of functions in an emergency for which military forces are primarily 19
responsible. 20

(e) “Political subdivision” means a county or municipal corporation of the State. 21

(f) “Senior elected official” means: 22

(1) the mayor; 23

(2) the county executive; 24

(3) for a county that does not have a county executive, the president of the 25
board of county commissioners or county council or other chief executive officer of the 26
county; or 27

(4) for a municipal corporation that does not have a mayor, the burgess, 28
chairperson, or president of the municipal governing body or other chief executive officer of 29
the municipal corporation. 30

14–104.1. 31

SENATE BILL 62 3

(A) THE DIRECTOR SHALL APPOINT A CHIEF RESILIENCE OFFICER. 1

(B) THE CHIEF RESILIENCE OFFICER SERVES AT THE PLEASURE OF THE 2
DIRECTOR. 3

(C) THE CHIEF RESILIENCE OFFICER IS IN THE EXECUTIVE SERVICE OF 4
THE STATE PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT SYSTEM AND IS ENTITLED TO THE SALARY 5
PROVIDED IN THE STATE BUDGET. 6

(D) (1) THE CHIEF RESILIENCE OFFICER IS RESPONSIBLE FOR 7
COORDINATING STATE AND LOCAL EFFORTS TO BUILD RESILIENCE TO RISKS 8
IDENTIFIED IN THE MARYLAND HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN. 9

(2) DUTIES OF THE CHIEF RESILIENCE OFFICER SHALL INCLUDE: 10

(I) OVERSEEING THE DEVELOPMENT OF A STATE RESILIENCE 11
STRATEGY TO BUILD RESILIENCE TO RISKS IDENTIFIED IN THE MARYLAND HAZARD 12
MITIGATION PLAN; 13

(II) COORDINATING ACROSS STATE AND LOCAL AGENCIES TO 14
PREPARE AND IMPLEMENT RESILIENCE STRATEGIES; 15

(III) IDENTIFYING, SECURING, AND ASSISTING IN ACCESSING 16
FEDERAL, STATE, AND LOCAL FUNDING STREAMS AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE 17
THAT CAN BE USED TO SUPPORT STATE AND LOCAL RESILIENCE EFFORTS; AND 18

(IV) WORKING WITH BU