Sec. 28-7. Local and joint organizations: Organization; powers; temporary aid.
Sec. 28-7. Local and joint organizations: Organization; powers; temporary
aid. (a) Each town or city of the state shall establish a local organization for civil preparedness in accordance with the state civil preparedness plan and program, provided
any two or more towns or cities may, with the approval of the commissioner, establish
a joint organization for civil preparedness. The authority of such local or joint organization for civil preparedness shall not supersede that of any regularly organized police or
fire department. In order to be eligible for any state or federal benefits under this chapter,
not later than January 1, 2008, and annually thereafter, each town or city of the state
shall have a current emergency plan of operations that has been approved by the commissioner. The plan shall be submitted to the commissioner after it has been approved by
the local director of civil preparedness and the local chief executive. Such plan may be
submitted with a notice stating that the plan remains unchanged from the previous year's
version. The emergency plan of operations of every town or city situated on the shoreline
of the state shall contain provisions addressing an emergency caused by any existing
liquefied natural gas terminal located on the Long Island Sound and every town or city
situated on the shoreline of the state shall submit such plan to the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to public safety, in
accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a, and the commissioner to obtain approval. The committee shall hold a public hearing regarding such plan not later than
thirty days after receiving the plan. Not later than five days after the hearing, the committee shall (1) hold a roll-call vote to approve or reject the plan, and (2) forward the plan
and a record of the committee's vote to the General Assembly. Such emergency plan
of operations shall not be approved by the commissioner unless the commissioner determines that the plan proposes strategies that address all the activities and measures of
civil preparedness identified in subdivision (4) of section 28-1. Each town or city of the
state shall consider whether to provide for the nonmilitary evacuation of livestock and
horses in such plan.
(b) Each local organization for civil preparedness shall consist of an advisory council and a director appointed by the chief executive officer. The advisory council shall
contain representatives of city or town agencies concerned with civil preparedness and
representatives of interests, including business, labor, agriculture, veterans, women's
groups and others, which are important to the civil preparedness program in the particular
community. The director shall be responsible for the organization, administration and
operation of such local organization, subject to the direction and control of the commissioner. The chief executive officer may remove any local director for cause.
(c) Each local or joint organization shall perform such civil preparedness functions
in the territorial limits within which it is organized as the commissioner prescribes. In
addition, such local or joint organization shall conduct such functions outside such
territorial limits as are prescribed by the state civil preparedness plan and program or
by the terms of any mutual aid agreements to which the town is a party.
(d) The director of each local or joint organization may, with the approval of the
commissioner, collaborate with other public and private agencies within the state and
develop or cause to be developed mutual aid agreements for civil preparedness aid and
assistance in case of disaster too great to be dealt with unassisted. The director of such
joint or local organization may, with the approval of the commissioner, enter into such
mutual aid agreements with civil preparedness agencies or organizations in other states.
Such agreements shall be consistent with the state civil preparedness plan and program
and, in time of emergency, each local or joint organization shall render assistance in
accordance with the provisions of such agreements to which it is a party unless otherwise
ordered by the commissioner.
(e) Each town or city shall have the power to make appropriations for the payment
of salaries and expenses of its local or joint organization or any other civil preparedness
agencies or instrumentalities.
(f) In the event of a serious disaster or of a sudden emergency, when such action is
deemed necessary for the protection of the health and safety of the people, and upon
request of the local chief executive authority, the Governor or the commissioner, without
regard to the provisions of section 22a-148, may authorize the temporary use of such
civil preparedness forces, including civil preparedness auxiliary police and firemen, as
he deems necessary. Personnel of such civil preparedness forces shall be so employed
only with their consent. The provisions of section 28-14 shall apply to personnel so
employed.
(g) The state shall reimburse any town or city rendering aid under this section for
the compensation paid and actual and necessary travel, subsistence and maintenance
expenses of employees of such town or city while rendering such aid, and for all payments for death, disability or injury of such employees in the course of rendering such
aid and for all losses of or damage to supplies or equipment of such town or city incurred
in the course of rendering such aid.
(h) Whenever, in the judgment of a local civil preparedness director, with prior
approval of the commissioner, it is deemed essential to authorize the temporary assignment, with their consent, of any members of civil preparedness forces who are not
paid employees of the state or any political subdivision thereof, for a temporary civil
preparedness mission, the provisions of section 28-14 shall apply. A complete written
record of the conditions and dates of such assignment shall be maintained by the local
director concerned and such record shall be available for examination by the commissioner and the Attorney General. The commissioner shall establish the necessary procedures to administer this section.
(June, 1951, S. 1911d; 1957, P.A. 469, S. 2; September, 1957, P.A. 2, S. 1; 1959, P.A. 214, S. 1; 275, S. 1; P.A. 73-544, S. 7; P.A. 75-567, S. 51, 80; P.A. 77-571, S. 1-3; P.A. 79-417, S. 2; P.A. 90-230, S. 39, 40, 101; P.A. 04-219, S. 17;
P.A. 07-11, S. 2; 07-94, S. 1; 07-173, S. 3, 5.)
History: 1959 acts provided in new Subsec. (h) for temporary civil defense mission as determined essential by local
civil defense director with prior approval of state director and amended Subsec. (f) to provide for the governor to authorize
temporary use of civil defense forces upon request of the local chief executive authority in event of serious natural disaster
or sudden emergency, personnel to be employed only with their consent; P.A. 73-544 substituted "civil preparedness" for
"civil defense" throughout; P.A. 75-567 deleted in Subsec. (f) the word "natural" in characterizing "serious disaster"; P.A.
77-571 provided in Subsec. (a) for municipalities to submit an emergency plan of operation in order to be eligible for
benefits, substituted in Subsec. (b) the chief executive officer for the state director as authority to remove any local director
for cause; P.A. 79-417 provided in amendment of Subsec. (a) by P.A. 77-571 that plan submitted be subsequently approved
by the state director; P.A. 90-230 and editorial change corrected a reference to the state director of emergency management
in Subsecs. (a) and (h); P.A. 04-219 substituted "commissioner" for references to director, state director and state director
of emergency management, effective January 1, 2005; P.A. 07-11 amended Subsec. (a) to make approval of plan contingent
upon its conformance with Sec. 28-1(4); P.A. 07-94 amended Subsec. (a) to require shoreline towns or cities to provide
for liquefied natural gas terminal emergency in their emergency plan of operations and to submit plan for approval, and
to require General Assembly public safety committee to hold hearing and vote on plan; P.A. 07-173 amended Subsec. (a)
to require each town or city to submit emergency plan of operations by January 1, 2008, and annually thereafter, and to
require each town or city to consider whether to provide for nonmilitary evacuation of livestock and horses in plan.