The Florida Senate

House Bill 0431

    Florida House of Representatives - 2000                 HB 431

        By the Committee on Community Affairs and Representative
    Gay





  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to emergency management;

  3         amending s. 240.295, F.S.; requiring the

  4         submission of a capital improvements program;

  5         prescribing duties of the Board of Regents with

  6         respect to identifying public hurricane

  7         evacuation shelter space on certain campuses;

  8         deleting a requirement for the submission of a

  9         report; revising a condition precedent to a

10         requirement for specified building construction

11         standards; amending s. 252.38, F.S.; revising

12         provisions relating to the appointment, salary,

13         and direction and control of a county emergency

14         management agency director; amending s.

15         252.385, F.S.; revising legislative intent;

16         including certain private facilities within a

17         survey of prospective public hurricane

18         evacuation shelters; including district school

19         boards and community college boards of trustees

20         among those coordinating and implementing such

21         survey; revising completion dates for the

22         retrofitting of specified facilities; exempting

23         the owner or lessee of a shelter scheduled for

24         retrofitting from a requirement to make certain

25         improvements; providing that specified public

26         facilities be made available as public

27         hurricane evacuation shelters; requiring the

28         Department of Management Services to

29         incorporate public hurricane evacuation shelter

30         provisions into lease agreements for state

31         agencies; providing specifications for suitable

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  1         leased public facilities; amending s. 252.51,

  2         F.S.; revising provisions which provide

  3         exemption from liability for persons or

  4         organizations who permit real estate or

  5         premises to be used for sheltering persons

  6         during specified emergencies; exempting the

  7         state, its political subdivisions, agents, and

  8         employees from liability for damages caused by

  9         emergency management workers in certain

10         situations; providing exceptions; defining

11         "emergency management worker"; repealing s.

12         252.855, F.S., which requires the development

13         of consolidated reporting forms for specified

14         storage tank registration programs and single

15         annual fee payment and due date for reporting

16         required from specified petroleum distributors

17         and retail outlets; providing an effective

18         date.

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20  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

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22         Section 1.  Subsection (4) of section 240.295, Florida

23  Statutes, is amended to read:

24         240.295  State University System; authorization for

25  fixed capital outlay projects.--

26         (4)  The Board of Regents shall, in consultation with

27  local and state emergency management agencies, assess existing

28  facilities to identify the extent to which each campus has

29  public hurricane evacuation shelter space. The board shall

30  submit to the Governor and the Legislature by September 30 of

31  each year a 5-year capital improvements program that

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  1  identifies new or retrofitted facilities that will incorporate

  2  enhanced hurricane resistance standards and that can be used

  3  as public hurricane evacuation shelters. adequate to house

  4  those students, faculty, and employees expected to seek public

  5  shelter prior to or during a disaster and those other persons

  6  for which the campus has agreed with the local emergency

  7  management agency or other voluntary organization to provide

  8  shelter space.  The board shall submit a report describing the

  9  results of its assessment to the Governor and the Legislature

10  by February 1, 1994.  At the discretion of the board, this

11  report may be accompanied by a list of proposed improvements

12  to existing buildings to improve shelter capacity and an

13  estimate of the costs associated with implementing these

14  improvements.  Until a county in which a campus is located has

15  sufficient public hurricane evacuation shelter space, any

16  campus building for which a design contract is entered into

17  subsequent to July 1, 2001 1994, and which has been identified

18  by the board, with the concurrence of the local emergency

19  management agency or the Department of Community Affairs, to

20  be appropriate for use as a public hurricane evacuation

21  shelter, must be constructed in accordance with public shelter

22  standards unless the board, with the concurrence of the local

23  emergency management agency or the Department of Community

24  Affairs, exempts the building or part thereof from shelter

25  standards because of its location, size, or other

26  characteristic.

27         Section 2.  Paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of section

28  252.38, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:

29         252.38  Emergency management powers of political

30  subdivisions.--Safeguarding the life and property of its

31

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  1  citizens is an innate responsibility of the governing body of

  2  each political subdivision of the state.

  3         (1)  COUNTIES.--

  4         (b)  Each county emergency management agency created

  5  and established pursuant to ss. 252.31-252.91 shall have a

  6  director who shall be appointed and have an annual salary

  7  fixed by the board of county commissioners of the county.  The

  8  director must meet the minimum training and education

  9  qualifications established in a job description approved by

10  the county.  The director shall be appointed by the board of

11  county commissioners or the chief administrative officer of

12  the county, as described in chapter 125 or the county charter

13  if applicable, to serve at the pleasure of the appointing

14  authority board, subject to their direction and control, in

15  conformance with applicable resolutions, ordinances, and laws.

16  A county constitutional officer or an employee of a county

17  constitutional officer may be appointed as director following

18  prior notification to the division. Each board of county

19  commissioners shall promptly inform the division of the

20  appointment of the director and other personnel. Each director

21  has direct responsibility for the organization,

22  administration, and operation of the county emergency

23  management agency, subject only to the direction and control

24  of the governing body of the county. The director shall

25  coordinate emergency management activities, services, and

26  programs within the county and shall serve as liaison to the

27  division and other local emergency management agencies and

28  organizations.

29         Section 3.  Section 252.385, Florida Statutes, is

30  amended to read:

31         252.385  Public shelter space.--

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  1         (1)  It is the intent of the Legislature that this

  2  state not have a deficit of safe public hurricane evacuation

  3  shelter space in any region of the state by 1998 and

  4  thereafter.

  5         (2)  The division shall administer a program to survey

  6  existing schools, universities, community colleges, and other

  7  state-owned, municipally owned, and county-owned public

  8  buildings and any private facility that the owner, in writing,

  9  agrees to provide for use as a public hurricane evacuation

10  shelter to identify those that are appropriately designed and

11  located to serve as such shelters.  The owners of the

12  facilities must shall be given the opportunity to participate

13  in the surveys.  The Board of Regents, district school boards,

14  community college boards of trustees, and the Department of

15  Education are responsible for coordinating and implementing

16  the survey of public schools, universities, and community

17  colleges with the division or the local emergency management

18  agency.

19         (3)  Beginning no later than September 1, 1994, The

20  division shall annually provide to the President of the

21  Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the

22  Governor a list of facilities recommended to be retrofitted

23  using state funds. State funds should be targeted to counties

24  with hurricane evacuation shelter deficits. Retrofitting

25  facilities in regions with public hurricane evacuation shelter

26  deficits shall be given first priority and should be completed

27  by 2004 1998.  All recommended appropriate facilities should

28  be retrofitted by 2009 2003. The owner or lessee of a public

29  hurricane evacuation shelter that is included on the list of

30  facilities recommended for retrofitting is not required to

31  perform any recommended improvements.

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  1         (4)(a)  Public facilities, including schools,

  2  postsecondary education facilities, and other facilities owned

  3  or leased by the state or local governments, but excluding

  4  hospitals or nursing homes, which are suitable for use as

  5  public hurricane evacuation shelters shall be made available

  6  at the request of the local emergency management agencies.

  7  Such agencies shall coordinate with the appropriate school

  8  board, university, community college, or local governing board

  9  when requesting the use of such facilities as public hurricane

10  evacuation shelters.

11         (b)  The Department of Management Services shall

12  incorporate provisions for the use of suitable leased public

13  facilities as public hurricane evacuation shelters into lease

14  agreements for state agencies. Suitable leased public

15  facilities include leased public facilities that are solely

16  occupied by state agencies and have at least 2,000 square feet

17  of net floor area in a single room or in a combination of

18  rooms having a minimum of 400 square feet in each room. The

19  net square footage of floor area must be determined by

20  subtracting from the gross square footage the square footage

21  of spaces such as mechanical and electrical rooms, storage

22  rooms, open corridors, restrooms, kitchens, science or

23  computer laboratories, shop or mechanical areas,

24  administrative offices, records vaults, and crawl spaces.

25         Section 4.  Section 252.51, Florida Statutes, is

26  amended to read:

27         252.51  Liability.--

28         (1)  Any person or organization, public or private,

29  owning or controlling real estate or other premises who

30  voluntarily and without compensation grants a license or

31  privilege or otherwise permits the designation by the local

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  1  emergency management agency or use of the whole or any part of

  2  such real estate or premises for the purpose of sheltering

  3  persons during an actual, impending, mock, or practice

  4  emergency, together with her or his successor in interest, if

  5  any, shall not be liable for the death of, or injury to, any

  6  person on or about such real estate or premises during the

  7  actual, impending, mock, or practice emergency, or for loss

  8  of, or damage to, the property of such person, solely by

  9  reason or as a result of such license, privilege, designation,

10  or use, unless the gross negligence or the willful and wanton

11  misconduct of such person owning or controlling such real

12  estate or premises or her or his successor in interest is the

13  proximate cause of such death, injury, loss, or damage

14  occurring during such sheltering period.

15         (2)  Neither the state nor any political subdivision of

16  the state, nor their agents or employees, except for bad

17  faith, gross negligence, malicious purpose, or wanton and

18  willful disregard of human rights, safety, or property, shall

19  be liable for personal injury, death, or property damage

20  sustained by any person as a result of the acts or omissions

21  of any emergency management worker complying with this chapter

22  or any order, rule, ordinance, or resolution adopted pursuant

23  to this chapter. As used in this subsection, the term

24  "emergency management worker" includes any full-time or

25  part-time paid or volunteer employee or agent of this state,

26  its political subdivisions, other states, territories, or

27  possessions, the District of Columbia, or the Federal

28  Government who is performing emergency management activities

29  in this state, subject to the order or control of or pursuant

30  to the request of the state, its agencies, or its political

31  subdivisions. The rights of any person to receive benefits to

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  1  which they would otherwise be entitled under any workers'

  2  compensation law, any pension law, or any other federal or

  3  state statute are not affected by this subsection.

  4         Section 5.  Section 252.855, Florida Statutes, is

  5  repealed.

  6         Section 6.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2000.

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  1            *****************************************

  2                          HOUSE SUMMARY

  3
      With respect to emergency management, prescribes duties
  4    of the Board of Regents with respect to identifying
      public hurricane evacuation shelter space on certain
  5    campuses. Provides that until a county in which a campus
      is located has sufficient public hurricane evacuation
  6    shelter space, specified building construction standards
      must be adhered to. Requires submission of a capital
  7    improvement program.

  8
      Revises provisions relating to the appointment, salary,
  9    and direction and control of a county emergency
      management agency director. Provides that directors shall
10    be appointed by the board of county commissioners or the
      chief administrative officer of the county. Provides that
11    a county constitutional officer or an employee thereof
      may be appointed as a county emergency management
12    director following notification to the Division of
      Emergency Management of the Department of Community
13    Affairs.

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      Provides legislative intent with respect to the provision
15    of safe public hurricane evacuation shelter space.
      Includes certain private facilities within a survey of
16    prospective public hurricane evacuation shelters.
      Provides that district school boards and community
17    college boards of trustees, along with the Board of
      Regents and the Department of Education, are responsible
18    for coordinating and implementing such survey. Provides
      that the retrofitting of facilities in regions with
19    public hurricane evacuation shelter deficits should be
      completed by 2004, and that all recommended facilities
20    should be retrofitted by 2009. Exempts the owner or
      lessee of a shelter scheduled for retrofitting from a
21    requirement to make certain improvements. Provides that
      public facilities, including schools, postsecondary
22    education facilities, and other facilities owned or
      leased by the state or local governments which are
23    suitable for use as public hurricane evacuation shelters,
      be made available as public hurricane evacuation shelters
24    at the request of local emergency management agencies.
      Requires the Department of Management Services to
25    incorporate public hurricane evacuation shelter
      provisions into lease agreements for state agencies.
26    Provides specifications for suitable leased public
      facilities.
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28    Revises provisions which provide exemption from liability
      for persons or organizations who permit real estate or
29    premises to be used for sheltering persons during
      specified emergencies. Exempts the state, its political
30    subdivisions, agents, and employees from liability for
      damages caused by emergency management workers in certain
31    situations. Provides exceptions. Defines "emergency
      management worker" for purposes of the act.
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  1

  2    Repeals provisions which require the Department of
      Environmental Protection and the Department of Community
  3    Affairs to develop consolidated reporting forms for
      specified storage tank registration programs and provide
  4    for a single annual fee payment and due date for
      reporting required from specified petroleum distributors
  5    and retail outlets.

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