(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 five business days after such certification, the Comptroller shall draw his or her order on the Treasurer, who 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 five business days after such certification, the Comptroller shall draw his or her order on the Treasurer, who 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; P.A. 07-213, S. 9.)

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; P.A. 07-213 amended Subsecs. (c) and (d) to change “fifteen days” to “five business days” and make technical changes, effective July 10, 2007.