                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

COMPACT ENACTED INTO LAW; TERMS (§ 44-146.28:1)

The Emergency Management Assistance Compact is hereby enacted into law and
entered into by the Commonwealth of Virginia with all other states legally
joining therein, in the form substantially as follows:
		EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT ASSISTANCE COMPACT
		ARTICLE I. PURPOSE AND AUTHORITIES.
		This compact is made and entered into by and between the participating member
states which enact this compact, hereinafter called party states. For the
purposes of this compact, the term &#8220;states&#8221; is taken to mean the
several states, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the District of Columbia, and
all U.S. territorial possessions.
		The purpose of this compact is to provide for mutual assistance between the
states entering into this compact in managing any emergency or disaster that is
duly declared by the Governor of the affected state, whether arising from
natural disaster, technological hazard, man-made disaster, civil emergency
aspects of resources shortages, community disorders, insurgency, or enemy
attack.
		This compact shall also provide for mutual cooperation in emergency-related
exercises, testing, or other training activities using equipment and personnel
simulating performance of any aspect of the giving and receiving of aid by party
states or subdivisions of party states during emergencies, such actions
occurring outside actual declared emergency periods. Mutual assistance in this
compact may include the use of the states&#8217; National Guard forces, either
in accordance with the National Guard Mutual Assistance Compact or by mutual
agreement between states.
		ARTICLE II. GENERAL IMPLEMENTATION.
		Each party state entering into this compact recognizes that many emergencies
transcend political jurisdictional boundaries and that intergovernmental
coordination is essential in managing these and other emergencies under this
compact. Each state further recognizes that there will be emergencies which
require immediate access and present procedures to apply outside resources to
make a prompt and effective response to such an emergency. This is because few,
if any, individual states have all the resources they may need in all types of
emergencies or the capability of delivering resources to areas where emergencies
exist.
		The prompt, full, and effective utilization of resources of the participating
states, including any resources on hand or available from the federal government
or any other source, that are essential to the safety, care, and welfare of the
people in the event of any emergency or disaster declared by a party state,
shall be the underlying principle on which all articles of this compact shall be
understood.
		On behalf of the Governor of each state participating in the compact, the
legally designated state official who is assigned responsibility for emergency
management will be responsible for formulation of the appropriate interstate
mutual aid plans and procedures necessary to implement this compact.
		ARTICLE III. PARTY STATE RESPONSIBILITIES.

A. It shall be the responsibility of each party state to formulate procedural
plans and programs for interstate cooperation in the performance of the
responsibilities listed in this article. In formulating such plans, and in
carrying them out, the party states, insofar as practical, shall:

   1. Review individual state hazards analyses and, to the extent reasonably
   possible, determine all those potential emergencies the party states might
   jointly suffer, whether due to natural disaster, technological hazard,
   man-made disaster, emergency aspects of resources shortages, civil disorders,
   insurgency, or enemy attack;

   2. Review party states&#8217; individual emergency plans and develop a plan
   which will determine the mechanism for the interstate management and provision
   of assistance concerning any potential emergency;

   3. Develop interstate procedures to fill any identified gaps and to resolve
   any identified inconsistencies or overlaps in existing or developed plans;

   4. Assist in warning communities adjacent to or crossing the state boundaries;

   5. Protect and assure uninterrupted delivery of services, medicines, water,
   food, energy and fuel, search and rescue, and critical lifeline equipment,
   services, and resources, both human and material;

   6. Inventory and set procedures for the interstate loan and delivery of human
   and material resources, together with procedures for reimbursement or
   forgiveness; and

   7. Provide, to the extent authorized by law, for temporary suspension of any
   statutes or ordinances that restrict the implementation of the above
   responsibilities.

B. The authorized representative of a party state may request assistance of
another party state by contacting the authorized representative of that state.
The provisions of this compact shall only apply to requests for assistance made
by and to authorized representatives. Requests may be verbal or in writing. If
verbal, the request shall be confirmed in writing within thirty days of the
verbal request. Requests shall provide the following information:

   1. A description of the emergency service function for which assistance is
   needed, including, but not limited to, fire services, law enforcement,
   emergency medical, transportation, communications, public works and
   engineering, building inspection, planning and information assistance, mass
   care, resource support, health and medical services, and search and rescue;

   2. The amount and type of personnel, equipment, materials and supplies needed,
   and a reasonable estimate of the length of time they will be needed; and

   3. The specific place and time for staging of the assisting party&#8217;s
   response and a point of contact at that location.

C. There shall be frequent consultation between state officials who have
assigned emergency management responsibilities and other appropriate
representatives of the party states with affected jurisdictions and the United
States Government, with free exchange of information, plans, and resource
records relating to emergency capabilities.
			ARTICLE IV. LIMITATIONS.
			Any party state requested to render mutual aid or conduct exercises and
training for mutual aid shall take such action as is necessary to provide and
make available the resources covered by this compact in accordance with the
terms hereof; provided that it is understood that the state rendering aid may
withhold resources to the extent necessary to provide reasonable protection for
such state.
			Each party state shall afford to the emergency forces of any party state,
while operating within its state limits under the terms and conditions of this
compact, the same powers, except that of arrest unless specifically authorized
by the receiving state, duties, rights, and privileges as are afforded forces of
the state in which they are performing emergency services. Emergency forces will
continue under the command and control of their regular leaders, but the
organizational units will come under the operational control of the emergency
services authorities of the state receiving assistance. These conditions may be
activated, as needed, only subsequent to a declaration of a state emergency or
disaster by the governor of the party state that is to receive assistance or
upon commencement of exercises or training for mutual aid and shall continue so
long as the exercises or training for mutual aid are in progress, the state of
emergency or disaster remains in effect, or loaned resources remain in the
receiving state, whichever is longer.
			ARTICLE V. LICENSES AND PERMITS.
			Whenever any person holds a license, certificate, or other permit issued by
any state party to the compact evidencing the meeting of qualifications for
professional, mechanical, or other skills, and when such assistance is requested
by the receiving party state, such person shall be deemed licensed, certified,
or permitted by the state requesting assistance to render aid involving such
skill to meet a declared emergency or disaster, subject to such limitations and
conditions as the Governor of the requesting state may prescribe by executive
order or otherwise.
			ARTICLE VI. LIABILITY.
			Officers or employees of a party state rendering aid in another state
pursuant to this compact shall be considered agents of the requesting state for
tort liability and immunity purposes. No party state or its officers or
employees rendering aid in another state pursuant to this compact shall be
liable on account of any act or omission in good faith on the part of such
forces while so engaged or on account of the maintenance or use of any equipment
or supplies in connection therewith. Good faith in this article shall not
include willful misconduct, gross negligence, or recklessness.
			ARTICLE VII. SUPPLEMENTARY AGREEMENTS.
			Inasmuch as it is probable that the pattern and detail of the machinery for
mutual aid among two or more states may differ from that among the states that
are party hereto, this compact contains elements of a broad base common to all
states, and nothing herein shall preclude any state entering into supplementary
agreements with another state or affect any other agreements already in force
between states. Supplementary agreements may comprehend, but shall not be
limited to, provisions for evacuation and reception of injured and other persons
and the exchange of medical, fire, police, public utility, reconnaissance,
welfare, transportation and communications personnel, and equipment and
supplies.
			ARTICLE VIII. COMPENSATION.
			Each party state shall provide for the payment of compensation and death
benefits to injured members of the emergency forces of that state and
representatives of deceased members of such forces in case such members sustain
injuries or are killed while rendering aid pursuant to this compact, in the same
manner and on the same terms as if the injury or death were sustained within
their own state.
			ARTICLE IX. REIMBURSEMENT.
			Any party state rendering aid in another state pursuant to this compact shall
be reimbursed by the party state receiving such aid for any loss or damage to or
expense incurred in the operation of any equipment and the provision of any
service in answering a request for aid and for the costs incurred in connection
with such requests; provided, that any aiding party state may assume in whole or
in part such loss, damage, expense, or other cost, or may loan such equipment or
donate such services to the receiving party state without charge or cost; and
provided further, that any two or more party states may enter into supplementary
agreements establishing a different allocation of costs among those states.
Article VIII expenses shall not be reimbursable under this article.
			ARTICLE X. EVACUATION.
			Plans for the orderly evacuation and interstate reception of portions of the
civilian population as the result of any emergency or disaster of sufficient
proportions to so warrant, shall be worked out and maintained between the party
states and the emergency management/services directors of the various
jurisdictions where any type of incident requiring evacuations might occur. Such
plans shall be put into effect by request of the state from which evacuees come
and shall include the manner of transporting such evacuees, the number of
evacuees to be received in different areas, the manner in which food, clothing,
housing, and medical care will be provided, the registration of the evacuees,
the providing of facilities for the notification of relatives or friends, and
the forwarding of such evacuees to other areas or the bringing in of additional
materials, supplies, and all other relevant factors. Such plans shall provide
that the party state receiving evacuees and the party state from which the
evacuees come shall mutually agree as to reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenses
incurred in receiving and caring for such evacuees, for expenditures for
transportation, food, clothing, medicines and medical care, and like items. Such
expenditures shall be reimbursed as agreed by the party state from which the
evacuees come. After the termination of the emergency or disaster, the party
state from which the evacuees come shall assume the responsibility for the
ultimate support of repatriation of such evacuees.
			ARTICLE XI. IMPLEMENTATION.

A. This compact shall become effective immediately upon its enactment into law
by any two states. Thereafter, this compact shall become effective as to any
other state upon enactment by such state.

B. Any party state may withdraw from this compact by enacting a statute
repealing the same, but no such withdrawal shall take effect until thirty days
after the Governor of the withdrawing state has given notice in writing of such
withdrawal to the Governors of all other party states. Such action shall not
relieve the withdrawing state from obligations assumed hereunder prior to the
effective date of withdrawal.

C. Duly authenticated copies of this compact and of such supplementary
agreements as may be entered into shall, at the time of their approval, be
deposited with each of the party states and with the Federal Emergency
Management Agency and other appropriate agencies of the United States
Government.
			ARTICLE XII. VALIDITY.
			This compact shall be construed to effectuate the purposes stated in Article
I. If any provision of this compact is declared unconstitutional, or the
applicability thereof to any person or circumstances is held invalid, the
constitutionality of the remainder of this compact and the applicability thereof
to other persons and circumstances shall not be affected.
			ARTICLE XIII. ADDITIONAL PROVISIONS.
			Nothing in this compact shall authorize or permit the use of military force
by the National Guard of a state at any place outside that state in any
emergency for which the President is authorized by law to call into federal
service the militia, or for any purpose for which the use of the Army or the Air
Force would in the absence of express statutory authorization be prohibited
under &#xA7; 1385 of Title 18 of the United States Code.

HISTORY: 1995, c. 280.