§ 10-14-3-10.8 — Intrastate mutual aid program

Indiana § 10-14-3-10.8

• Jurisdiction: Indiana
• Title 10: PUBLIC SAFETY
• Art. 14: EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT
• Ch. 3: Emergency Management and Disaster Law

Text

8. (a) The following definitions apply to
this section:
(1) "Chief executive" means:
(A) the chief executive of a participant, or the chief executive's
designee, for purposes of the intrastate mutual aid compact
created under this section; or
(B) if the participant does not have a chief executive, a member
of the participant's governing body or the governing body's
designee for purposes of the intrastate mutual aid compact
created under this section.
(2) "Emergency management agency" means an organization for
emergency management established under this chapter.
(3) "Participant" means any of the following:
(A) A political subdivision.
(B) A volunteer fire department.
(C) A fire department established by the board of trustees of a
state educational institution (as defined in IC 21-7-13-32),
including a fire department established by the board of trustees
of Purdue University under IC 21-39-7.
The term does not include an entity under clause (A), (B), or (C)
that chooses to reject participation in the intrastate mutual aid
program by adopting an ordinance or resolution declaring that the
entity will not participate in the intrastate mutual aid program and
provides a copy of the appropriate ordinance or resolution to the
agency and to the emergency management agency serving the
entity.
(4) "Planned event" means a scheduled nonemergency activity.
Planned event includes a sporting event, concert, or parade.
(5) "Provider participant" means a participant that provides
assistance or aid to a requesting participant under the intrastate
mutual aid compact created under this section.
(6) "Requesting participant"means a participant that receives
assistance or aid from a provider participant under the intrastate
mutual aid compact created under this section.
(7) "Volunteer fire department" has the meaning set forth in IC 36-8-12-2.
(b) This section creates an intrastate mutual aid program to be
known as Indiana's intrastate mutual aid compact to complement
existing mutual aid agreements. This program has the following two (2)
purposes:
(1) Provide for mutual assistance or aid among participants for
purposes of preparing for, responding to, and recovering from any
incident, disaster, exercise, training activity, or planned event that
requires additional resources.
(2) Establish a method by which a participant may seek assistance
or aid that:
(A) resolves many of the common issues facing political
subdivisions before, during, and after an incident, disaster,
exercise, training activity, or planned event, any of which
requires additional resources; and
(B) ensures, to the extent possible, eligibility for available state
and federal disaster assistance or other funding.
(c) Each participant shall, to the extent practicable, identify and
inventory the current services, equipment, supplies, personnel, and
other resources related to the preparedness, response, and recovery
activities of the participant. The participant shall perform the
identification and inventory in coordination with, to the extent feasible,
all departments, divisions, boards, commissions, agencies, and other
instrumentalities within the participant.
(d) A participant that is impacted by any incident, disaster, exercise,
training activity, or planned event that requires additional resources
may request mutual assistance or aid from any other participant. This
request shall be made by the chief executive of the requesting
participant to the chief executive of a provider participant. If the
request is made orally, the requesting participant shall provide the
provider participant with written confirmation of the request not later
than seventy-two (72) hours after the oral request is made. A request
must provide the following information:
(1) A description of the incident, disaster, exercise, training
activity, or planned event.
(2) A description of the assistance or aid needed.
(3) An estimate of the length of time the assistance or aid will be
needed.
(4) The specific place and time for staging of the assistance or aid
and a point of contact at that location.
(5) A statement that the request for assistance is being made
through the intrastate mutual aid compact.
(e) A provider participant shall provide assistance or aid to a
requestor participant subject to the following:
(1) The provider participant may withhold resources the provider
participant determines to be necessary to provide for the provider
participant's own protection.
(2) Personnel of the provider participant shall continue under the
personnel's local command and control structure, but shall be
under the operational control of the appropriate officials within
the incident management system of the requesting participant.
(3) Law enforcement officers rendering assistance or aid under
this section have the same powers and duties as law enforcement
officers of the requesting participant, but only for the period the
law enforcement officers are engaged in activities authorized by
the requesting participant, and are subject to the law as if the law
enforcement officers were providing services within the law
enforcement officer's own jurisdiction.
(f) Each provider participant shall provide for the payment of
compensation and benefits to:
(1) an injured member; and
(2) a representative of a deceased member;
of the provider participant's emergency forces, if the member is injured
or killed while rendering assistance under this section in the same
manner and on the same terms as if the injury or death were sustained
while the member was rendering assistance for or within the member's
own jurisdiction.
(g) Personnel of a provider participant shall be considered, while
rendering assistance or aid, or while en route to or from rendering
assistance or aid, to a requesting participant, to be agents of the
provider participant for purposes of tort liability and immunity from
tort liability under state law.
(h) If a person:
(1) holds a license, certificate, or other permit issued by a
participant evidencing qualification in a professional, mechanical,
or other skill; and
(2) provides assistance or aid at the request of a provider
participant;
the person shall be considered to be licensed or certified in or permitted
by the requesting participant to render the assistance or aid.
(i) Subject to subsection (k) and except as provided in subsection
(j), a provider participant shall be reimbursed by the requesting
participant for the following:
(1) Any loss of or damage to, or expense incurred in the operation
of, any equipment used in rendering the assistance or aid. To
avoid duplication of payments, insurance proceeds available to
cover any loss of or damage to equipment of a provider
participant shall be considered in the reimbursement by the
requesting participant.
(2) Any expense incurred in the provision of any service used in
rendering the assistance or aid.
(3) All other costs incurred in responding to the request for
assistance or aid.
(j) A provider participant may not be reimbursed for:
(1) the first twelve (12) hours of mutual assistance or aid provided
to the requesting participant; or
(2) expenses the provider participant incurs under subsection (f).
(k) A provider participant may do any of the following:
(1) Assume, in whole or in part, any loss, damage, expense, or
cost the provider participant incurs in rendering the assistance or
aid.
(2) Loan, without charge, any equipment, or donate any service,
to the requesting participant.
(3) Enter into agreements with one (1) or more other participants
to establish different allocations of losses, damages, expenses, or
costs among the participants.
(l) Nothing in this section does any of the following:
(1) Prohibits a private company from participating in the
provision of mutual assistance or aid under the intrastate mutual
aid compact created under this section if:
(A) the participant approves the participation; and
(B) the contract with the private company allows for the
participation.
(2) Precludes a participant from entering into a mutual aid or
other agreement with another political subdivision or participant.
(3) Affects any other agreement to which a participant may be a
party or any request for assistance or aid that may be made, under
any other state statute.

Legislative History

As added by P.L.85-2015, SEC.5.