AB 291

Bill Subjects

Abstract

The California Emergency Services Act creates within the office of the Governor the Office of Emergency Services, which is responsible for the state's emergency and disaster response services, as specified. Existing federal law requires a state mitigation plan as a condition for disaster assistance and authorizes the Federal Emergency Management Agency to condition mitigation grant assistance upon state, local, and Indian tribal governments undertaking coordinated disaster mitigation planning and implementation measures. Existing law requires the Office of Emergency Services, in coordination with all interested state agencies with designated response roles in the state emergency plan and interested local emergency management agencies, to jointly establish by regulation a standardized emergency management system for use by all emergency response agencies. This bill would establish a Local Emergency Preparedness and Hazard Mitigation Fund to, upon appropriation by the Legislature, support staffing, planning, and other emergency mitigation priorities to help local governments meet emergency management, preparedness, readiness, and resilience goals. The bill would require the Office of Emergency Services to establish the Local Emergency Preparedness and Hazard Mitigation Fund Committee under the Standardized Emergency Management System Advisory Board. The bill, on or before July 1, 2021, would require the committee to adopt guidelines identifying eligible uses of the funds distributed pursuant to these provisions for the mitigation, prevention, preparedness, response, and recovery phases of emergency management that supports the development of a resilient community. The bill would require, upon appropriation by the Legislature, the Office of Emergency Services to receive $1,000,000 annually and each county to receive $500,000 annually for specified purposes. The bill would require the Office of Emergency Services to distribute funds to lead agencies, subject to certain requirements and restrictions, as specified. The bill would require lead agencies to further distribute those funds to local governments pursuant to a specified schedule for specified purposes, and impose various requirements on local governments that receive funds pursuant to these provisions. The bill would include related legislative findings. The California Disaster Assistance Act limits the state share for any eligible project to no more than 75% of total state eligible costs, except that the state share shall be up to 100% of total state eligible costs connected with certain events. That act requires the director to administer its provisions. This bill would prohibit the director from using funds received by a local government pursuant to the provisions of this bill to calculate the allocation amounts for the local government pursuant to the California Disaster Assistance Act.