SB 551

Under current law, a regional structural collapse team contracted with the

Division of Emergency Management in the Department of Military Affairs is

required to respond to structural collapse incidents that meet criteria established by

the division. Under current law, a team may respond only to incidents of structural

collapse. This bill changes the team's designation from being a structural collapse

team to an urban search and rescue task force, as designated by the National Fire

Protection Association and Emergency Management Accreditation program

standards. This change allows an urban search and rescue task force to respond to

any incident involving structural collapse, rope rescue, vehicle extrication,

machinery extrication, confined space, trench, excavation, and water operations.

Under current law, when a regional structural collapse team responds to an

incident, the team must make a good faith effort to identify the party who is

responsible for the structural collapse and provide that information to the Division

of Emergency Management to seek reimbursement from that party. Any

reimbursement to a regional structural collapse team is limited to the amounts

collected by the Division of Emergency Management. Under the bill, this limitation

on reimbursement is removed, and DMA must reimburse within 60 days local

agencies that provided services as part of an urban search and rescue task force if

agencies apply for reimbursement within 45 days of the conclusion of the task force's

deployment. DMA may seek reimbursement for those services from any responsible

party.

The bill also allows DMA to reimburse a local agency for any increase in

contributions for duty disability premiums because an employee incurred an injury

while performing duties as a member of an urban search and rescue task force.