The General Assembly realizes the Commonwealth is subject at all times to disaster or emergency occurrences which can range from crises affecting limited areas to widespread catastrophic events, and that response to these occurrences is a fundamental responsibility of elected government in the Commonwealth. It is the intent of the General Assembly to establish and to support a statewide comprehensive emergency management program for the Commonwealth, and through it an integrated emergency management system, in order to provide for adequate assessment and mitigation of, preparation for, response to, and recovery from, the threats to public safety and the harmful effects or destruction resulting from all major hazards, including but not limited to: flood, flash flood, tornado, blizzard, ice storm, snow storm, wind storm, hail storm, or other severe storms; drought, extremes of temperature, earthquake, landslides, or other natural hazards; fire, forest fire, or other conflagration; enemy attack, threats to public safety and health involving nuclear, chemical, or biological agents or weapons; sabotage, riot, civil disorder or acts of terrorism, and other domestic or national security emergencies; explosion, power failure or energy shortages, major utility system failure, dam failure, building collapse, other infrastructure failures; transportation-related emergencies on, over, or through the highways, railways, air, land, and waters in the Commonwealth; emergencies caused by spill or release of hazardous materials or substances; mass-casualty or mass-fatality emergencies; other technological, biological, etiological, radiological, environmental, industrial, or agricultural hazards; or other disaster or emergency occurrences; or catastrophe; or other causes; and the potential, threatened, or impending occurrence of any of these events; and in order to protect life and property of the people of the Commonwealth, and to protect public peace, health, safety, and welfare, and the environment; and in order to ensure the continuity and effectiveness of government in time of emergency, disaster, or catastrophe in the Commonwealth, it is hereby declared to be necessary:
(1) To create a Division of Emergency Management as the emergency management agency of state government and to authorize the creation of local emergency management agencies in the cities, counties, and urban-county or charter county governments of the Commonwealth;
(2) To confer upon the Governor, the county judges/executive of the counties, the mayors of the cities and urban-county governments of the Commonwealth, and the chief executive of other local governments the emergency powers provided in KRS Chapters 39A to 39F;
(3) To establish provisions for mutual aid among the cities, counties, and urban-county or charter county governments of the Commonwealth, with other states, and with the federal government with respect to the performance of disaster and emergency preparedness, response, recovery, and mitigation functions; and
(4) To authorize the establishment of a statewide comprehensive emergency management program and integrated emergency management system, the promulgation of orders or administrative regulations, and the taking of other steps necessary and appropriate to carry out the provisions of KRS Chapters 39A to 39F.
Effective: July 15, 1998
History: Created 1998 Ky. Acts ch. 226, sec. 1, effective July 15, 1998.