S-3778.1  _______________________________________________

                         SENATE BILL 6213

          _______________________________________________

State of Washington      54th Legislature     1996 Regular Session

By Senators Morton, Loveland, Haugen, Swecker, Hale, McDonald, Sellar and Schow

Read first time 01/09/96.  Referred to Committee on Government Operations.

Defining "search" and "rescue" for emergency management.

    AN ACT Relating to definitions for emergency management; and amending RCW 38.52.010.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

    Sec. 1.  RCW 38.52.010 and 1995 c 391 s 2 are each amended to read as follows:

    As used in this chapter:

    (1) "Emergency management" or "comprehensive emergency management" means the preparation for and the carrying out of all emergency functions, other than functions for which the military forces are primarily responsible, to mitigate, prepare for, respond to, and recover from emergencies and disasters, and to aid victims suffering from injury or damage, resulting from disasters caused by all hazards, whether natural or man-made, and to provide support for search and rescue operations for persons and property in distress.  However, "emergency management" or "comprehensive emergency management" does not mean preparation for emergency evacuation or relocation of residents in anticipation of nuclear attack.

    (2) "Local organization for emergency services or management" means an organization created in accordance with the provisions of this chapter by state or local authority to perform local emergency management functions.

    (3) "Political subdivision" means any county, city or town.

    (4) "Emergency worker" means any person, including but not limited to an architect registered under chapter 18.08 RCW or a professional engineer registered under chapter 18.43 RCW, who is registered with a local emergency management organization or the department and holds an identification card issued by the local emergency management director or the department for the purpose of engaging in authorized emergency management activities or is an employee of the state of Washington or any political subdivision thereof who is called upon to perform emergency management activities.

    (5) "Injury" as used in this chapter shall mean and include accidental injuries and/or occupational diseases arising out of emergency management activities.

    (6)(a) "Emergency or disaster" as used in all sections of this chapter except RCW 38.52.430 shall mean an event or set of circumstances which:  (i) Demands immediate action to preserve public health, protect life, protect public property, or to provide relief to any stricken community overtaken by such occurrences, or (ii) reaches such a dimension or degree of destructiveness as to warrant the governor declaring a state of emergency pursuant to RCW 43.06.010.

    (b) "Emergency" as used in RCW 38.52.430 means an incident that requires a normal police, coroner, fire, rescue, emergency medical services, or utility response as a result of a violation of one of the statutes enumerated in RCW 38.52.430.

    (7) "Search ((and rescue))" means the act((s)) of looking or searching for((, rescuing, or recovering by means of ground, marine, or air activity any)) a person ((who becomes)) reported lost, ((injured, or is killed while outdoors or as a result of a natural or man-made disaster)) missing, or overdue by means of ground, marine, or air activity, including instances involving searches for downed aircraft when ground personnel are used.

(8) "Rescue" means the act of reaching, stabilizing, treating, and evacuating a person injured, killed, or deceased from:  Outdoors or a remote location; a marine environment; a collapsed structure; or a downed aircraft.  Nothing in this section shall affect appropriate activity by the department of transportation under chapter 47.68 RCW.

    (((8))) (9) "Executive head" and "executive heads" means the county executive in those charter counties with an elective office of county executive, however designated, and, in the case of other counties, the county legislative authority.  In the case of cities and towns, it means the mayor.

    (((9))) (10) "Director" means the adjutant general.

    (((10))) (11) "Local director" means the director of a local organization of emergency management or emergency services.

    (((11))) (12) "Department" means the state military department.

    (((12))) (13) "Emergency response" as used in RCW 38.52.430 means a public agency's use of emergency services during an emergency or disaster as defined in subsection (6)(b) of this section.

    (((13))) (14) "Expense of an emergency response" as used in RCW 38.52.430 means reasonable costs incurred by a public agency in reasonably making an appropriate emergency response to the incident, but shall only include those costs directly arising from the response to the particular incident.  Reasonable costs shall include the costs of providing police, coroner, fire fighting, rescue, emergency medical services, or utility response at the scene of the incident, as well as the salaries of the personnel responding to the incident.

    (((14))) (15) "Public agency" means the state, and a city, county, municipal corporation, district, or public authority located, in whole or in part, within this state which provides or may provide fire fighting, police, ambulance, medical, or other emergency services.

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