Section 24-33.5-707 - Local and interjurisdictional emergency management agencies and services - definition(1) Each political subdivision is within the jurisdiction of and served by the office of emergency management and by a local or interjurisdictional emergency management agency responsible for the coordination of disaster preparedness, prevention, mitigation, response, and recovery.(2) Each county shall maintain an emergency management agency or participate in a local or interjurisdictional emergency management agency that, except as otherwise provided under this part 7, has jurisdiction over and serves the entire county.(3) The governor shall determine which municipal corporations need emergency management agencies of their own and require that they be established and maintained. The governor shall make such determination on the basis of the municipality's disaster vulnerability and capability of response and recovery related to population size and concentration. The emergency management agency of a county shall cooperate with the emergency management agencies of municipalities situated within its borders but shall not have jurisdiction within a municipality having its own emergency management agency. The office of emergency management shall publish and keep current a list of municipalities required to have emergency management agencies under this subsection (3).(4) The minimum composition of an emergency management agency is a director or coordinator appointed and governed by the chief executive officer or governing body of the appointing jurisdiction. The director or coordinator is responsible for the planning, coordination, and execution of the local pre- and post-disaster services.(5) Any provision of this part 7 or other law to the contrary notwithstanding, the governor may require a political subdivision to establish and maintain an emergency management agency jointly with one or more contiguous political subdivisions if the governor finds that the establishment and maintenance of an agency or participation therein is made necessary by circumstances or conditions that make it unusually difficult to provide disaster prevention, preparedness, mitigation, response, or recovery services under other provisions of this part 7.(6) (Deleted by amendment, L. 2018.)(7) The mayor, chairman of the board of county commissioners, or other principal executive officer of each political subdivision in the state shall notify the office of emergency management of the manner in which the political subdivision is providing or securing disaster preparedness, prevention, mitigation, response, and recovery services, identify the person who heads the agency or agencies from which the services are obtained, and furnish additional information relating thereto as the office of emergency management requires.(8) Each local and interjurisdictional emergency management agency shall prepare and keep current a locally defined or interjurisdictional emergency management plan for its area, including provisions for the preparation, prevention, mitigation, response, and recovery from emergencies and disasters. Existing locally adopted recovery plans, plans approved by the office of emergency management or the federal emergency management agency, and other relevant emergency plans may be incorporated by reference, but only if those plans are specifically identified and publicly available.(8.5)(a)(I) A locally defined or interjurisdictional emergency management plan amended or created pursuant to subsection (8) of this section on or after July 1, 2024, but before January 1, 2025, is strongly encouraged to, and on or after January 1, 2025, must when practicable, address the needs of an individual with an animal during an emergency by: (A) Including provisions for the evacuation, shelter, and transport of an individual with an animal and that animal; and(B) Requiring, to the extent practicable, that at least one shelter established during an emergency is designated to accommodate an individual with an animal and that animal.(II) In order to determine whether it is practicable for a locally defined or interjurisdictional emergency management plan to address the elements described in subsection (8.5)(a)(I) of this section, among other factors, the following must be considered about the area subject to a locally defined or interjurisdictional emergency management plan: (A) The quality and quantity of shelter facilities;(B) The availability of staff and volunteer personnel to implement the locally defined or interjurisdictional emergency management plan elements described in subsection (8.5)(a)(I) of this section; and(C) Whether there is emergency transportation available to accommodate an individual with an animal.(III) Nothing in this subsection (8.5)(a) may be construed as lowering the protections for people with disabilities, including the right to remain with a service animal in any emergency shelter, provided by the federal "Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990", 42 U.S.C. sec. 12101 et seq., as amended, and parts 6 and 8 of article 34 of this title 24.(IV) The administrator or manager of any shelter designated pursuant to subsection (8.5)(a)(I)(B) of this section has the authority to deny access to the facility to any animal that the administrator or manager deems unsafe, unsanitary, or contrary to the good working order of the facility, so long as such a determination is made on an individual animal basis and not on the basis of an animal's breed.(b) On or after January 1, 2025, a city, county, or city and county is strongly encouraged to make available to the public information for animal emergency preparedness, including: (I) Information for creating an evacuation plan and emergency checklist for individuals with animals consistent with recommendations publicly published by the United States department of agriculture and the federal emergency management agency;(II) Local organizations that may provide emergency animal assistance; and(III) Local emergency shelters, cooling centers, or warming centers, when active, that can accommodate an individual with an animal.(c) On or after January 1, 2025, a city, county, or city and county is strongly encouraged to conduct disability etiquette and service animal training provided by, or with guidance from, the relevant independent living center or other relevant training provider to ensure that emergency response personnel are well prepared to interact with individuals with disabilities and their service animals during emergency situations.(d) As used in this subsection (8.5), unless the context otherwise requires, "animal" means both: (I) A domesticated animal, such as a dog or cat, that is commonly kept in the home for pleasure rather than for commercial purposes; and(II) A "service animal", as defined in section 12-240-144 (4)(c).(9) The local or interjurisdictional emergency management agency, as the case may be, shall prepare and distribute to all appropriate officials in written form a clear and complete statement of the emergency responsibilities of all local agencies and officials and of the disaster chain of command.(10) The sheriff of each county shall:(a) Be the official responsible for coordination of all search and rescue operations within the sheriff's jurisdiction;(b) Make use of the search and rescue capability and resources available within the county and request assistance from the office of emergency management only when and if the sheriff determines such additional assistance is required; and(c) Establish a policy or procedure for adhering to the airspace deconfliction guidelines established pursuant to section 24-33.5-120 when there could be multiple aircraft involved in a search and rescue operation within the sheriff's jurisdiction.(11) When authorized by the governor and executive director and approved by the director of the office of emergency management, expenses incurred in meeting contingencies and emergencies arising from search and rescue operations may be reimbursed from the disaster emergency fund.(12) Any person providing information to a local or interjurisdictional emergency management agency may request, in writing, that such information be disseminated only to persons connected with or involved in the preparation, update, or implementation of any emergency management plan, and said information shall thereafter not be released to any person without the expressed written consent of the person providing the information.Amended by 2024 Ch. 156,§ 4, eff. 5/3/2024.Amended by 2024 Ch. 60,§ 1, eff. 4/11/2024.Amended by 2018 Ch. 234, § 12, eff. 8/8/2018.L. 2012: Entire part RC&RE with relocations, (HB 12-1283), ch. 240, p. 1081, § 10, effective July 1. L. 2018: Entire section amended, (HB 18-1394), ch. 234, p. 1467, § 12, effective August 8.This section is similar to former § 24-32-2107 as it existed prior to 2012.
For the legislative declaration in HB 24-1309, see section 1 of chapter 156, Session Laws of Colorado 2024.