(a) On and after July 1, 2004, the provision and receipt of mutual aid and assistance by participating governmental entities shall be governed by this chapter, and no separate agreement is necessary except with regard to aid or assistance provided to entities in other states, aid or assistance provided between nongovernmental utilities and governmental entities, and governmental entities that decide to provide aid and assistance under a separate agreement. Governmental entities may choose by resolution of their governing bodies to continue agreements existing on July 1, 2004, until they expire or are terminated in accordance with their terms. Governmental entities may also by resolution extend existing agreements or make new agreements relative to mutual aid and assistance after July 1, 2004. When there is an agreement between or among governmental entities, the provisions of that agreement and applicable authorizing law govern activities under the agreement. For any governmental entity with no agreement with the particular requesting party governing mutual aid or assistance, this chapter applies to both parties.
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Terms Used In Tennessee Code 58-8-103

  • Activities under service agreements: means day-to-day cooperation and activities based upon interlocal service or operational agreements or contracts between or among governmental entities. See Tennessee Code 58-8-102
  • Aid: means the same as assistance, except that aid is provided in an occurrence during any period of time when a state of emergency has not been declared. See Tennessee Code 58-8-102
  • Assistance: means the provision of personnel, equipment, facilities, services, supplies, and other resources to assist in firefighting, law enforcement, the provision of public works services, the provision of emergency medical care, the provision of civil defense services, or any other emergency assistance one governmental entity is able to provide to another in response to a request for assistance in a municipal, county, state, or federal state of emergency. See Tennessee Code 58-8-102
  • Disaster: means any natural, technological, or civil emergency that results in substantial injury or harm to the population or substantial damage to or loss of property of sufficient severity and magnitude that there is a declaration, resulting from the emergency, of a disaster by the governor under state law or the president under federal law. See Tennessee Code 58-8-102
  • Emergency: means an occurrence or threat of an occurrence, whether natural or man-made, that results in or may result in substantial injury or harm to the population or substantial damage to or loss of property and which results in a declaration of a state of emergency by a municipal mayor, a county mayor or executive, the governor, or the president. See Tennessee Code 58-8-102
  • Governmental entity: means any political subdivision of the state, including, but not limited to, any incorporated city or town, metropolitan government, county, utility district, school district, nonprofit volunteer fire department receiving public funds and recognized under title 68, chapter 102, part 3, rescue squad, human resource agency, public building authority, airport authority, and development district, or any instrumentality of government created by one (1) or more of these named governmental entities or the general assembly, or any entity otherwise recognized by state law as a local governmental entity. See Tennessee Code 58-8-102
  • Occurrence: means the imminent threat of an event or an actual event and its aftermath, whether natural or man-made, that could lead to or results in bodily injury or property damage. See Tennessee Code 58-8-102
  • Requesting party: means a governmental entity that requests aid or assistance from another governmental entity under this chapter. See Tennessee Code 58-8-102
  • State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories of the United States. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
(b) It is not the intent of this chapter to affect activities under service agreements. Service and operational agreements may continue to be made and enforced under §§ 5-1-113, 5-1-114, 5-16-107, 5-19-106, 6-54-307, 6-54-601, title 12, chapter 9, title 49, chapter 2, part 13, or other applicable law.
(c) The purposes of this chapter are to authorize mutual aid during any occurrence and to enhance public safety and homeland security by facilitating assistance among governmental entities in any state of emergency or declared disaster while conforming to federal guidelines relative to reimbursement of costs for assistance rendered.
(d) Aid and assistance to entities in other states continues to be governed by the Interlocal Cooperation Act, compiled in title 12, chapter 9, and other applicable law.
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