§ 21 — Powers and duties of commission

New York § 21

• Jurisdiction: New York
• Law DEA: Defense Emergency Act 1951 784/51
• Art. 3: Civil Defense

Text

§ 21. Powers and duties of commission. Because of the existing danger\nof disasters of unprecedented size and destructiveness resulting from\nattack and in order to insure that the preparations of the state will be\nadequate to deal with such disasters and generally to provide for the\ncivil defense, and to assist other states and the federal government to\nachieve these objectives throughout the nation, the commission shall\nhave the following powers and perform the following duties:\n 1. To obtain from any public officer and any other person any and all\ninformation necessary for civil defense, including but not limited to\nthe nature, extent, location and availability for use, of manpower,\nskilled and unskilled; municipal agencies; land; food, fuel, feed and\nwater; housing, shelter and related facilities; hospitals, clinics and\nother health and welfare facilities; schools and other educational\nfacilities; sanitation facilities; recreation facilities; organizations,\nmaterials, power, plants and other facilities for production,\nmanufacturing, transportation, finance, agriculture, commerce and public\nhealth and safety.\n 2. Hold hearings and conduct investigations; the chairman, director or\nthe commission may issue a subpoena requiring a person to attend before\nthe commission and be examined in reference to any matter relating to\ncivil defense and in a proper case to bring with him a book, paper, or\nthing. The provisions of article twenty-three of the civil practice law\nand rules shall apply with respect to a subpoena issued pursuant to this\nsection. Any member of the commission or the director may administer an\noath to a witness.\n 3. Adopt, promulgate, supplement, rescind, modify and make effective a\ncomprehensive plan for the civil defense of the state, including but not\nlimited to provisions for:\n A. In General.\n a. Medical treatment, food, clothing and shelter and other items\nnecessary in the event of attack and during the period of rehabilitation\nand recovery following attack.\n b. Location, procurement, construction, processing, transportation,\nstoring, maintenance, renovation or distribution of materials and\nfacilities.\n c. Protection for every person in the state from fallout radiation and\nother dangers resulting from attack.\n d. Construction, installation and maintenance by owners and users of\nproperty of shelters and other devices and facilities essential to\npublic safety during and subsequent to attack.\n B. Organization and Administration.\n e. Programs for the training and information of the public, including\nbut not limited to the achievement of protection from fallout radiation\nand other dangers resulting from attack, practice blackouts, drills or\ntests, mobilization of civil defense forces, the shutting off of water\nmains, gas mains, electric power connections and the suspension of other\nutility services.\n f. Recruitment, organization, staffing, maintenance, equipment,\ntraining, mobilization and utilization of volunteer agencies either\ndirectly or through political subdivisions of the state.\n g. Equipment, training and utilization of municipal agencies.\n h. Establishment of control and report centers and other operational\nheadquarters and facilities.\n i. Warning systems and signals.\n j. Assignment, recruitment, organization, training and mobilization,\nin conjunction with the commissioner of transportation and the\ncommissioner of health, of all publicly owned construction and health\nservice equipment and publicly employed construction, radiological,\nhealth service and sanitation personnel into public works, public\nutility, monitoring, decontamination, rescue and health service teams.\n k. Identification, location and planning for the integration with such\npublicly equipped and publicly employed teams of all privately owned\nconstruction and health service equipment, all privately employed\nconstruction, radiological, health service and sanitation personnel and\nall public utility installation and maintenance personnel.\n l. Evacuation of certain persons in the event of or anticipation of\nattack, including the establishment of temporary housing and schools and\nother emergency facilities.\n C. Continuity of Government.\n m. Recruitment, training and equipment of radiological control center\npersonnel, decontamination specialists and radiological monitors and\nmaintenance of the necessary radiological staff, materials and\nfacilities.\n n. Continuity of government of the state and of political subdivisions\nof the state.\n o. Storage of essential governmental records of the state and of\npolitical subdivisions of the state in conjunction with the public\nofficers having responsibilities therefor under other provisions of law.\n D. Public Order.\n p. Enforcement of all laws relating to civil defense and the\nregulations or orders of the council and commission in the event of\nattack and during the period of rehabilitation and recovery following an\nattack.\n q. Control of pedestrian and vehicular traffic, transportation and\ncommunication facilities, public utilities and the conduct of persons\nother than members of the armed services or military forces in the event\nof an attack, during drills and tests and immediately prior and\nsubsequent thereto, and during the period of rehabilitation and recovery\nfollowing an attack.\n r. Guarding and protection of water supplies, railroads, public\nutility property, bridges, docks, highways, airports, landing fields,\npublic buildings, factories, plants, stockpiles, vital and strategic\nmaterials and other focal points of possible attack, the loss or\ndestruction of which might menace or endanger the security and safety of\nthe civilian population, impede the military forces or impede the\ndefense effort.\n s. The effective screening and extinguishing of lights, lighting\ndevices and appliances.\n t. Protection and preservation of property in the event of attack and\nduring the period of rehabilitation and recovery following an attack.\n E. Intergovernmental Relations.\n u. Cooperation and liaison with officers and agencies of this state\nand its political subdivisions, of other states and their political\nsubdivisions and of the federal government and, through the commission,\nby the officers and agencies of this state and its political\nsubdivisions and those of other states and their subdivisions and those\nof the federal government.\n v. Mutual aid arrangements between political subdivisions of the\nstate.\n w. Consolidation of local offices of civil defense, provided, however,\nthat no order requiring consolidation of two or more local offices shall\nbe adopted by the commission unless it shall have held a public hearing\nthereon and shall have sent written notices of its intention to hold\nsuch hearing to the chief executive officers and the local legislative\nbodies of the county or city or cities to be affected thereby at least\nten days prior to the date fixed therefor.\n F. Recovery and Rehabilitation.\n x. Civil defense measures to be taken following attack, such as\nmonitoring for radiation and other specific hazards of special weapons;\ndecontamination procedures; essential debris clearance; immediately\nessential emergency repair or restoration of damaged vital facilities;\nimplementation of the means and methods for the recovery and\nrehabilitation of the state; effective utilization of all persons and\nmaterials; distribution of stockpiled food, water, medical supplies,\nmachinery and other equipment; the preservation of raw materials; the\nrestoration of essential community services, industrial and\nmanufacturing capacity, and commercial and financial activities in the\nstate; the resumption of educational programs and the termination of\nemergency measures taken pursuant to the plan, orders or regulations of\nthe commission after an attack.\n y. The continued operation of all utilities, sources of power,\nessential railroads and other transportation facilities.\n z. Care for the injured and needy and identification and disposition\nof the dead after attack.\n 4. Adopt, promulgate, supplement, rescind, and modify regulations\nnecessary to execute and implement its powers and duties which are not\ninconsistent with any plan, regulation or order of the council. Any such\nregulation shall have the force and effect of law ten days after filing\nin the office of the department of state except that upon a finding by\nthe commission that an earlier effective date is necessary to the safety\nand health of the people of the state, such a regulation may be made\neffective at such time after it is filed in such office as the\ncommission shall provide. Any such regulation shall remain in effect\nduring such period or periods of time as it shall provide. The secretary\nof state shall, as soon as possible after such a regulation has been so\nfiled, mail a copy thereof to the clerk of each county, town, city and\nvillage who shall keep it on file in his office during the effective\nperiod thereof, but failure to mail such a copy to any such clerk or the\nfailure of any such clerk to file it shall not affect the validity of\nany such regulation. The commission shall make adequate provision for\npublication of such regulations, which provision may include publication\nin the state bulletin or periodic circulars to be issued by the\ndepartment of state.\n 5. Subject to the approval of the governor, enter into mutual aid\nagreements, compacts or arrangements in relation to civil defense with\nother states, their political subdivisions or their civil defense\nauthorities.\n 6. Notwithstanding the provisions of sections twenty-two and\ntwenty-three or any other provision of this act, by order, direct the\nperformance of specific duties under the plan, regulations or orders of\nthe commission and require compliance with standards established by such\nplan, regulations or orders by agencies, local directors and other\npublic officers having administrative responsibilities under this act,\nincluding full or partial mobilization of civil defense forces in\nadvance of attack. The commission is authorized to vary or modify in\nwhole or part any provision or requirement of sections twenty-two and\ntwenty-three of this act where strict compliance with such provision or\nrequirement would entail practical difficulties or cause unnecessary\nhardship or is otherwise found to be unwarranted.\n 7. Remove any member of any volunteer agency for incompetence,\nmisconduct, neglect of duty, disloyalty or subversive activity.\n 8. Require reports from agencies and public officers at such times and\nin the form prescribed by the commission.\n 9. To appropriate, through the commissioner of transportation or\notherwise, real property or any interest therein in accordance with the\nmethod provided in section thirty of the highway law.\n 10. Report to the governor and to the legislature concerning its\nactivities at least once a year and whenever requested.\n