§ 25-A — Defense emergency aid

§ 25-a. Defense emergency aid. 1. As used in this section:\n (a) "Defense emergency aid" shall mean food, shelter, clothing, care\nor treatment furnished pursuant to the provisions of this section.\n (b) "Local social services official" shall mean the county\ncommissioner of social services, a city commissioner of social services,\na town social services or service officer or city social services or\nservice officer who in a particular case would be authorized to make a\ngrant of home relief.\n 2. In the event of attack and pursuant to rules promulgated by the\ncommission, each local social services official shall, out of any funds\navailable therefor, including funds made available for home relief,\nfurnish defense emergency aid to persons residing or found in his\nterritory and in need thereof because of such attack. Such aid may be\nfurnished wholly or partially by cash, order or in kind.\n 3. Local social services officials in performing their duties under\nthis section, shall cooperate with each other and seek the cooperation\nof all local and volunteer agencies and coordinate their efforts with\nthe activities of other agencies, public and private, concerned with the\nhealth and welfare of persons under their jurisdiction, in order that\nthere may be no duplication of effort and that the work of agencies,\nboth public and private, may be united in an effort to relieve the\ndistress caused by an attack.\n 4. A county, town or city may finance the local share of the cost of\nfurnishing defense emergency aid by the issuance of obligations pursuant\nto the local finance law, from the proceeds of taxes raised for such\npurpose or from any funds available thereof. The period of probable\nusefulness of such object or purpose for which any such expenditure may\nbe made is determind to be ten years. The limitations of paragraph d of\nsection 25.00 of the local finance law, with respect to the amount of\nrevenue anticipation notes which may be issued in anticipation of moneys\nto be received from the state or the United States government in\nconnection with such aid, shall not be applicable; provided, however,\nthat such notes shall not be issued in anticipation of such revenues in\nan amount greater than the amount reasonably estimated to be received by\nthe county, town or city from such sources.\n 5. Subject to the provisions of this section, the state shall\nreimburse counties, towns and cities for expenditures for defense\nemergency aid, made out of any funds appropriated by such\nmunicipalities, provided such expenditures shall have been approved by\nthe state department of social services, to the extent of eighty per\ncentum of the amount expended for persons who resided or were found in\nsuch county, town or city on the date of the attack and to the extent of\none hundred per centum of the amount expended for persons who came or\nwere brought into such county, town or city after such date; provided,\nhowever, that the state commissioner of social services, with the\napproval of the council, may make such grant or additional\nreimbursement, out of funds available therefor, as he may deem equitable\nin exceptional circumstances.\n 6. The comptroller, upon audit and warrant, shall pay from the state\ntreasury, out of funds made available for home relief or for defense\nemergency aid, such grants and reimbursements on claims certified by the\nstate department of social services. Payments shall be made by the\ncomptroller to the fiscal officer of the county or city and, in the case\nof towns such payments shall be to the fiscal officer of the county for\nthe account of and reimbursement to the towns therein. No state\nreimbursement shall be payable under this section for administrative\ncosts nor for expenditures for which agencies of local government other\nthan the local social services officials are normally responsible or may\nbecome responsible under an emergency; nor for defense emergency aid\npayments made from or in anticipation of the receipt of federal funds.\n