Sec. 7-521. Local Emergency Relief Advisory Committee established. (a)
There is established a Local Emergency Relief Advisory Committee comprised of: The
Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management, the Commissioner of Administrative
Services, the Commissioner of Transportation, the Commissioner of Public Safety, the
Adjutant General of the Military Department, and the Commissioner of Emergency
Management and Homeland Security, or their designees; the president pro tempore of
the Senate, the minority leader of the Senate, the speaker of the House of Representatives,
and the minority leader of the House of Representatives, or their designees; a member
of the Senate who shall be appointed by the president pro tempore of the Senate and a
member of the House of Representatives who shall be appointed by the speaker of the
House of Representatives.
(b) The Commissioner of Emergency Management and Homeland Security shall
serve as the chairman of the Local Emergency Relief Advisory Committee. The committee may adopt such bylaws and guidelines and shall adopt such eligibility standards as
it deems advisable to carry out the purposes of sections 7-520 to 7-522, inclusive. The
Local Emergency Relief Advisory Committee shall not be deemed to be an agency for
the purposes of chapter 54.
(P.A. 87-535, S. 2, 6; P.A. 88-135, S. 1; P.A. 99-190, S. 5, 9; P.A. 04-219, S. 5.)
History: P.A. 88-135 substituted office of "emergency management" for office of "civil preparedness" in Subsec. (a);
P.A. 99-190 amended Subsec. (a) by adding the Adjutant General of the Military Department as a member, effective July
1, 1999; P.A. 04-219 amended Subsecs. (a) and (b) to substitute Commissioner of Emergency Management and Homeland
Security for director of the Office of Emergency Management and for Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management,
respectively, effective January 1, 2005.
Sec. 7-522. Application for grant. Review of application. Payment of funds.
Use of funds. Repayment of funds. (a) On or after July 7, 1987, any municipality may
apply for an emergency relief grant to reimburse such municipality for documented
expenses related to any emergency occurring on or after January 1, 1987. Except as
provided under subsection (d) of this section, to receive a grant from the local emergency
relief account, a municipality shall furnish to the Secretary of the Office of Policy and
Management, in the form and manner prescribed by the secretary, a grant application
that shall consist of: (1) A description of the nature of the emergency necessitating
the grant request and a reference to any official proclamation declaring an emergency
situation to exist; (2) information whether or not the municipality requested and received
assistance from any federal, state or local governmental agency; (3) a certified copy of
the action taken or to be taken by the municipality for emergency response; and (4)
certification that such municipality's emergency response activities meet the criteria set
forth by the Local Emergency Relief Advisory Committee.
(b) The Local Emergency Relief Advisory Committee shall recommend approval
or disapproval of each completed application made pursuant to subsection (a) of this
section for an emergency relief grant within thirty days of receipt of such application
and shall recommend approval and the percentage of reimbursement to be paid if the
committee finds that: (1) The emergency for which grant assistance is requested meets
the criteria set forth by the committee; and (2) sufficient funds are available within the
local emergency relief account. Such grant proceeds shall be used to reimburse costs
associated with local emergency response activities.
(c) Upon recommendation by the Local Emergency Relief Advisory Committee of
approval of an application for an emergency relief grant, and upon approval of such
recommendation by the Finance Advisory Committee, under subsection (b) of this section, the Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management shall certify to the Comptroller the amount due to the municipality. Not later than fifteen days after such certification,
the Comptroller shall draw his order on the Treasurer and, not later than fifteen days
thereafter, the Treasurer shall pay the grant to the municipality.
(d) In the case of an emergency relief grant, the proceeds of which shall be used to
satisfy a local matching requirement for federal assistance under the federal Disaster
Relief Act, upon approval by the Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management of
a completed federal disaster assistance application, the secretary shall certify to the
Comptroller the amount due to the municipality. Not later than fifteen days after such
certification, the Comptroller shall draw his order on the Treasurer and, not later than
fifteen days thereafter, the Treasurer shall pay the grant to the municipality.
(e) Each municipality receiving an emergency relief grant under this section shall
use the grant for the reimbursement of eligible costs associated with local emergency
response activities or to satisfy a local matching requirement for federal disaster assistance. If the municipality should at any time recover any portion of such costs from
another source, the municipality shall repay the local emergency relief account for any
reimbursement received to the extent of such recovery.
(P.A. 87-535, S. 3, 6; P.A. 95-153, S. 1, 2; P.A. 00-192, S. 97, 102.)
History: (Revisor's note: In 1995 "local emergency relief fund" was changed editorially by the Revisors to "local
emergency relief account" to conform section with Sec. 7-520 as amended by P.A. 94-95); P.A. 95-153 amended Subsec.
(a) to insert new Subdiv. (2) providing that grant applications include information whether or not the municipality received
assistance from other governmental agencies and renumbered existing Subdivs. accordingly, effective July 1, 1995; P.A.
00-192 made technical changes in Subsecs. (a) and (b), deleted provision re local matching requirement for federal assistance
in Subsec. (b), added new Subsec. (d) re payment of emergency relief grants, the proceeds of which shall be used to satisfy
local matching requirement for federal assistance and designated existing Subsec. (d) as Subsec. (e), effective May 26, 2000.