[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2043 Introduced in Senate (IS)]








109th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 2043

     To amend the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency 
  Assistance Act to provide grants for mass evacuation exercises for 
urban and suburban areas and the execution of emergency response plans, 
                        and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           November 17, 2005

 Mr. Durbin (for himself, Mr. Cochran, and Mr. Salazar) introduced the 
 following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 
               Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
     To amend the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency 
  Assistance Act to provide grants for mass evacuation exercises for 
urban and suburban areas and the execution of emergency response plans, 
                        and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Mass Evacuation Exercise Assistance 
Act of 2005''.

SEC. 2. MASS EVACUATION EXERCISES AND EXECUTION OF EMERGENCY RESPONSE 
              PLANS.

    Section 201 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency 
Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5131) is amended by adding at the end the 
following:
    ``(e) Grants for Mass Evacuation Exercises for Urban and Suburban 
Areas and the Execution of Emergency Response Plans.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Secretary of Homeland Security shall 
        make grants to States or units of local governments nominated 
        by States to--
                    ``(A) establish programs for the development of 
                plans and conduct of exercises for the mass evacuation 
                of persons in urban and suburban areas; and
                    ``(B) execute plans developed under subparagraph 
                (A), including the purchase and stockpiling of 
                necessary supplies for emergency routes and shelters.
            ``(2) Conditions.--As a condition for the receipt of 
        assistance under paragraph (1)(A), the Secretary of Homeland 
        Security may establish any guidelines and standards for the 
        programs that the Secretary determines to be appropriate.
            ``(3) Requirements.--To the maximum extent practicable, a 
        program assisted under paragraph (1)(A) shall incorporate the 
        coordinated use of public and private transportation resources 
        in the plans developed and the exercises carried out under the 
        program.
            ``(4) Participation of members of the armed forces.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The Secretary of Defense may 
                authorize the participation of members of the Armed 
                Forces and the use of appropriate Department of Defense 
                equipment and materials in an exercise carried out 
                under a program assisted under this subsection.
                    ``(B) Reimbursement for participation of guard.--In 
                the event members of the National Guard in State status 
                participate in an exercise carried out under a program 
                assisted under this subsection pursuant to an 
                authorization of the chief executive officer of a 
                State, the Secretary of Defense may, using amounts 
                available to the Department of Defense, reimburse the 
                State for the costs to the State of the participation 
                of such members in such exercise.
            ``(5) Authorization of appropriations.--There is authorized 
        to be appropriated to carry out this subsection $250,000,000 
        for each of fiscal years 2006 through 2010.
    ``(f) Mass Evacuation Plans.--
            ``(1) Requirement.--Each State or unit of local government 
        receiving a grant under subsection (e)(1) shall, in 
        consultation with relevant local governments, develop and 
        maintain detailed and comprehensive mass evacuation plans for 
        each area in the jurisdiction of the State unit of local 
        government.
            ``(2) Plan development.--In developing the evacuation plans 
        required under paragraph (1), each State or unit of local 
        government shall, to the maximum extent practicable--
                    ``(A) assist urban and suburban county and 
                municipal governments in establishing and maintaining 
                mass evacuation plans;
                    ``(B) assist hospitals, nursing homes, other 
                institutional adult congregate living facilities, group 
                homes, and other health or residential care facilities 
                that house individuals with special needs in 
                establishing and maintaining mass evacuation plans; and
                    ``(C) integrate the plans described in 
                subparagraphs (A) and (B) and coordinate evacuation 
                efforts with the entities described in subparagraphs 
                (A) and (B).
            ``(3) Plan contents.--State, county, and municipal mass 
        evacuation plans shall, to the maximum extent practicable--
                    ``(A) establish incident command and decisionmaking 
                processes;
                    ``(B) identify primary and alternate escape routes;
                    ``(C) establish procedures for converting 2-way 
                traffic to 1-way evacuation routes, removing tollgates, 
                ensuring the free movement of emergency vehicles, and 
                deploying traffic management personnel and appropriate 
                traffic signs;
                    ``(D) maintain detailed inventories of drivers and 
                public and private vehicles, including buses, vans, and 
                handicap-accessible vehicles, that may be pressed into 
                service;
                    ``(E) maintain detailed inventories of emergency 
                shelter locations and develop the necessary agreements 
                with neighboring jurisdictions to operate or use the 
                shelters in the event of a mass evacuation;
                    ``(F) establish procedures for informing the public 
                of evacuation procedures before and during an 
                evacuation and return procedures after an evacuation, 
                including using television, radio, print, and online 
                media, land-based and mobile phone technology, and 
                vehicles equipped with public address systems;
                    ``(G) identify primary and alternate staging 
                locations for emergency responders;
                    ``(H) identify gaps in the ability to respond to 
                different types of disasters, including the capacity to 
                handle surges in demand for hospital, emergency 
                medical, coroner, morgue, and mortuary services, 
                quarantines, decontaminations, and criminal 
                investigations;
                    ``(I) establish procedures to evacuate individuals 
                with special needs, including individuals who are low-
                income, disabled, homeless, or elderly or who do not 
                speak English;
                    ``(J) establish procedures for evacuating animals 
                that assist the disabled;
                    ``(K) establish procedures for protecting property, 
                preventing looting, and accounting for pets; and
                    ``(L) ensure the participation of the private and 
                nonprofit sectors.
            ``(4) Updating of plans.--State, county, municipal, and 
        private plans under this subsection shall be updated on a 
        regular basis.
    ``(g) Additional Assistance to States.--The Secretary of Homeland 
Security shall assist States and local governments in developing and 
maintaining the plans described in subsection (f) by--
            ``(1) establishing and maintaining comprehensive best 
        practices for evacuation planning, training, and execution;
            ``(2) developing assistance teams to travel to States and 
        assist local governments in planning, training, and execution;
            ``(3) developing a training curriculum based on the best 
        practices established under paragraph (1);
            ``(4) providing the training curriculum developed under 
        paragraph (3) to State and local officials;
            ``(5) maintaining a list of qualified government agencies, 
        private sector consultants, and nonprofit organizations that 
        can assist local governments in setting up evacuation plans; 
        and
            ``(6) establishing and maintaining a comprehensive guide 
        for State and local governments regarding--
                    ``(A) the types of Federal assistance that are 
                available to respond to emergencies; and
                    ``(B) the steps necessary to apply for that 
                assistance.
    ``(h) Report To Congress.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
enactment of this subsection, the Comptroller General of the United 
States shall conduct a study detailing--
            ``(1) any Federal laws that pose an obstacle to effective 
        evacuation planning;
            ``(2) any State or local laws that pose an obstacle to 
        effective evacuation planning; and
            ``(3) the political and economic pressures that discourage 
        governors, county executives, mayors, and other officials 
        from--
                    ``(A) ordering an evacuation; or
                    ``(B) conducting exercises for the mass evacuation 
                of people.''.
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