81-829.47. Interjurisdictional emergency management arrangement; Governor findings.

(1) If the Governor finds that two or more adjoining counties would be better served by an interjurisdictional emergency management arrangement than by maintaining separate emergency management organizations and services, he or she may delineate by order or regulation an interjurisdictional area adequate to plan for, prevent, or respond to a disaster, emergency, or civil defense emergency in that area and direct such steps to be taken as are necessary, including the creation of an interjurisdictional emergency management relationship, a joint emergency operations plan, mutual aid, or an interjurisdictional emergency management organization. A finding of the Governor pursuant to this subsection shall be based on one or more factors related to the difficulty of maintaining an efficient and effective disaster prevention, mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery and emergency management system without such interjurisdictional arrangement, such as:

(a) Small or sparse population;

(b) Limitations on public financial resources severe enough to make maintenance of separate emergency management organizations and services unreasonably burdensome;

(c) Unusual vulnerability to disaster, emergency, or civil defense emergency as evidenced by past history, topographical features, drainage characteristics, potential for disaster, emergency, or civil defense emergency, and presence of facilities or operations prone to disaster, emergency, or civil defense emergency;

(d) The interrelated character of the counties in a multicounty area; or

(e) Other relevant conditions or circumstances.

(2) If the Governor finds that a vulnerable area lies only partly within this state and includes territory in another state or states and that it would be desirable to establish an interstate relationship, mutual aid, or an interstate emergency management organization, he or she shall take steps to that end as desirable. If this action is taken with jurisdictions that have enacted the Interstate Civil Defense and Disaster Compact, any resulting agreements may be considered supplemental agreements pursuant to Article 6 of that compact.

(3) If the other jurisdictions with which the Governor proposes to cooperate pursuant to subsection (2) of this section have not enacted the compact, he or she may negotiate special agreements with the jurisdictions. Any agreement, if sufficient authority for the making thereof does not otherwise exist, shall become effective only after its text has been communicated electronically to the Legislature and if the Legislature has not disapproved it prior to adjournment of the next session competent to consider it or within thirty days of its submission, whichever is later.

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