Disaster Management Act, 1715: Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 02:54, 5 May 2023

Key Provisions

Legislative History

Bill Text

As amended by the Federal Assembly, proposal by Gerhardt Eugen Seydlitz, (Federal Humanist Party)

Amendments in bold.

A

BILL

TO

TO ESTABLISH DISASTER AND SAFETY MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS OF THE STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS AND TO PRESCRIBE MATTERS NECESSARY FOR THE DISASTER PREVENTION, PREPAREDNESS, RESPONSE, AND RECOVERY, ACTIVITIES FOR SAFETY CULTURE, AND DISASTER AND SAFETY MANAGEMENT, IN ORDER TO PRESERVE NATIONAL LAND AGAINST VARIOUS DISASTERS AND TO PROTECT CITIZENS' LIVES, BODIES, AND PROPERTY; AMONG OTHER PURPOSES.

DISASTER MANAGEMENT ACT, 1715

Presented by Maximinus Kerularios, Deputy from Alduria, (FHP)

Ordered, by the Cortes Federales of Nouvelle Alexandrie,
to be Printed, 1715 AN.

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BE IT ENACTED by the King's Most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Cortes Federales, in this present 1st session assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:-

PART I
LOCAL GOVERNANCE.

1. CITATION.

This Act may be cited in all purposes as the “Disaster Management Act, 1715”.

2. BASIC IDEOLOGY.

The basic concept of this Act is to affirm that the basic obligation of the federal, regional, and local governments to prevent disasters and to minimize damage from disasters, in the event of a disaster, and to ensure that citizens may live in a safe society from any disasters, by preferentially addressing safety when all citizens, the federal, regional, and local governments perform any conduct relating to the safety of lives and physical safety of citizens and to the protection of their property.

3. DEFINITIONS.

The definitions of terms used in this Act shall be as follows:
1. The term "disaster" means any of the following which actually causes or is likely to cause any harm to the lives, bodies, and property of citizens and the federal, regional, and/or local governments:
  1. Natural disasters: Disasters caused by a typhoon, flood, downpour, strong wind, wind and waves, tidal wave, heavy snowfall, lightning, cold wave, lightning, drought, heat wave, earthquake, sandy dust, hypertrophy of algae, ebb and flow, volcanic activity, crash or collision of a natural space object, such as an asteroid and meteoroid, and other natural phenomena equivalent thereto;
  2. Social accidents: Damage, beyond the scale prescribed by Royal Decree or Act of the Cortes Federales, caused by a fire, collapse, explosion, traffic accidents (including aviation accidents and marine accidents), chemical, biological, and radioactive accidents, environmental pollution incidents, etc.; damage caused by the paralyzation of the national core infrastructure; and damage caused by the spread, etc. of infectious diseases, contagious animal diseases, or damage by fine dust, etc.;
2. The term "overseas disaster" means a disaster that actually causes or is likely to cause any harm to the lives, bodies, and property of citizens of the Federation of Nouvelle Alexandrie outside the territory of Nouvelle Alexandrie, and which shall be handled by the Government;
3. The term "disaster management" means all activities performed for disaster prevention, preparedness, response, and recovery;
4. The term "safety management" means all activities performed to protect people's lives, bodies, and property from disasters or various other accidents;
5. The term "safety standards" means the standards that systemize the technical standards that should be applied to ensure safety during the process of manufacturing, maintaining, and managing various facilities, materials, etc., and the fields, scope, etc. of safety standards shall be prescribed by Royal Decree or Act of the Cortes Federales;
6. The term "disaster management agency" means any of the following agencies which performs disaster management affairs:
  1. Federal administrative agencies, regional and local governments;
  2. Local administrative agencies, public institutions, public organizations (including local organizations, such as branch offices of the said public institutions and public organizations), and agencies prescribed by Royal Decree or Act of the Cortes Federales that manage important facilities subject to disaster management;
7. The term "disaster management supervision agency" means any related central administrative agency prescribed by Royal Decree or Act of the Cortes Federales to supervise the performance of affairs related to the prevention, preparedness, response, and recovery from disasters or various other accidents by type thereof;
8. The term "emergency rescue" means life rescue, first aid, and all necessary emergency measures performed by emergency rescue agencies and emergency rescue and relief support agencies in order to protect lives, bodies, and property of citizens where a disaster is likely to occur or actually occurs;
9. The term "emergency rescue agency" means the Federal Fire Agency, fire headquarters, and fire stations provided that in cases of disasters that occur on the sea, it refers to the Federal Coast Guard, regional coast guards, and local coast guard stations;
10. The term "emergency rescue and relief support agency" means any agency or organization prescribed by Royal Decree or Act of the Cortes Federales, equipped with human resources, installations, equipment, operation systems, etc. necessary for emergency rescue and relief service;
11. The term "national disaster management standard" means the standard which uniformly simplifies and systematizes all processes of disaster management to be used for all types of disasters and which is publicly announced by the Department of Interior;
12. The term "activities for safety culture" means activities for making a society safe from disasters or various other accidents, such as enhancing the value and awareness of safety, improving safety habits, etc. through safety education, safety training, public relations, etc.;
13. "Vulnerable groups" means groups vulnerable to disasters due to physical, social or economic factors, such as children, senior citizens, persons with disabilities, and low-income people;
14. The term "disaster management information" means information necessary for disaster management, such as information on emergency cases, available resources and facilities, and geographic information;
15. The term "mandatory disaster insurance" means an insurance or mutual aid, for which the purchase of a regular person is mandatory pursuant to this Act or a mutual aid agreement, for which people's safety or physical safety will be compensated for any damage that occurs, if any damage occurs to a person, in cases of any disaster or other loss;
16. The term "disaster and safety communications network" means a wireless communications network built and operated by a disaster management agency, emergency rescue agency, or emergency rescue and relief support agency to use for disaster management affairs or for consolidated supervision at disaster scenes;
17. The term "national core infrastructure" means facilities, information technology systems, assets, etc. that may seriously affect the national economy, the safety and health of the people, and core functions of the Government, such as energy, information and communications, transportation, health and medical services.

4. RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE GOVERNMENT.

The federal, regional, and local governments shall be responsible for protecting lives, bodies, and property of people from disasters or various other accidents, shall endeavor to prevent disasters or various other accidents and to mitigate damage therefrom, and shall formulate and implement plans to promptly deal with and recover from the damage.
The federal, regional, and local governments shall actively disclose information about safety and shall make such information available to any person for their convenience.
The head of a disaster management agency referred to in subparagraph 5 (6) of Article 3 shall formulate and implement a safety management plan relating to their duties, and cooperate with the appropriate regional and local disaster management agencies having jurisdiction over performing disaster and safety management affairs.

5. RESPONSIBILITIES OF CITIZENS.

People shall fully cooperate with the federal, regional, and local governments in performing disaster and safety management affairs, and endeavor to protect buildings and facilities they own or use from any disaster or various other accidents.

6. GENERAL CONTROL AND COORDINATION OF AFFAIRS RELATED TO DISASTER AND SAFETY MANAGEMENT.

The Secretary of Interior shall exercise general control over and provide coordination of affairs related to disaster and safety management performed by the federal, regional, and local governments.
Mandatory evacuation, against the will of the individual, may be performed by federal or local forces when necessary to preserve life. No civil or criminal suit in this regard shall prosper in any court within the Federation of Nouvelle Alexandrie.

PART II
SAFETY MANAGEMENT ORGANIZATIONS AND FUNCTIONS THEREOF.

'7. FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT COUNCIL.'

A Federal Emergency Management Council (hereinafter referred to as the "Federal Emergency Council") shall be established under the jurisdiction of the Council of State of Nouvelle Alexandrie in order to deliberate on the following matters related to disaster and safety management:
1. Matters concerning the important policies on disaster and safety management;
2. Matters concerning the Master Plan for National Safety Management;
3. Matters concerning any medium-term project plan related to disaster and safety management projects, opinions on investment priority, and budget requests;
4. Matters concerning the coordination of disaster and safety management affairs, such as plans, inspections and examinations, education and training, and evaluation, that are formulated and implemented by the heads of federal administrative agencies;
5. Matters concerning the management of safety standards;
6. Matters concerning the declaration of disaster emergency under the terms of this Act;
7. Matters concerning the declaration of special disaster areas under the terms of this Act;
8. Important matters concerning cooperation among related agencies for disaster management where disasters or various other accidents occur or are likely to occur;
9. Matters concerning the management and operation of mandatory disaster insurance;
10. Matters concerning the promotion of projects for preventing disasters and accidents prescribed by Royal Decree or Act of the Cortes Federales, which are implemented by the heads of federal administrative agencies;
11. Other matters the Chairperson brings to a meeting for deliberation.
The President of the Government shall serve as the Chairperson of the Federal Emergency Council, and the heads of central administrative agencies or related institutions or organizations prescribed by Royal Decree shall serve as the members of the Federal Emergency Council.
The Administrator of the Federal Emergency and Disaster Management Administration shall be a member of the Federal Emergency Council.
The Chairperson of the Federal Emergency Council shall represent the Federal Emergency Council and exercise general control over its affairs.
The Federal Emergency Council shall have one executive-secretary, and the Secretary of Interior shall be the executive-secretary.
Where the Chairperson of the Federal Emergency Council is unable to perform any of their duties due to any accident or extenuating circumstance, their duties shall be performed on their behalf by the Secretary of Interior or by the Administrator of the Federal Emergency and Disaster Management Administration, in that order.
Where the Secretary of Interior performs any of the duties of the Chairperson of the Federal Emergency Council on their behalf under paragraph (5), the Administrator of the Federal Emergency and Disaster Management Administration under the Department of Interior shall perform the duties of the executive-secretary of the Federal Emergency Council on their behalf.
Where any affair referred to in subparagraphs of paragraph (1) is related to national security, the Federal Emergency Council shall consult thereon with the Secretary of Defense and the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
The Chairperson of the Federal Emergency Council may, in connection with the affairs under their jurisdiction, request the heads of disaster management agencies or related persons to submit data, to state their opinions, or to provide cooperation for other necessary matters. In such cases, persons in receipt of such request shall comply therewith, unless there is a compelling reason not to do so.
Necessary matters concerning the organization, operation, etc. of the Federal Emergency Committee shall be prescribed by Royal Decree or by Act of the Cortes Federales.

8. SAFETY POLICY COORDINATION COMMITTEE.

A Safety Policy Coordination Committee (hereinafter referred to as the "Coordination Committee") shall be established under the Federal Emergency Council in order to pre-examine the agenda items to be submitted to the Federal Emergency Committee for deliberation and to perform the following duties:
1. Prior coordination of the matters under Article 7, Section 1;
2. Deliberation on the implementation of safety and disaster management plans;
3. Deliberation on the designation of national core infrastructure;
4. Deliberation on the comprehensive plans for technology development for disaster and safety management;
5. Other matters delegated by the Federal Emergency Committee.
The Secretary of Interior shall serve as the Chairperson of the Coordination Committee, and persons appointed or commissioned by the Chairperson, from among the heads of federal administrative agencies prescribed by Royal Decree or Act of the Cortes Federales, other public officials, and persons with extensive knowledge of and experience in disaster and safety management, shall be the members thereof.
The Coordination Committee shall have one executive-secretary member, and the Administrator of the Federal Emergency and Disaster Management Administration under the Secretary of Interior shall be the executive-secretary member.
The Coordination Committee may establish the working committees to efficiently deal with its affairs.
The Chairperson of the Coordination Committee shall report to the Chairperson of the Federal Emergency Council the results of deliberation and coordination of the important matters prescribed by Royal Decree or Act of the Cortes Federales among the matters deliberated upon and coordinated by the Federal Emergency Council under paragraph (1).
The Chairperson of the Coordination Committee may examine the performance status of the matters deliberated upon and coordinated by the Federal Emergency Council or the Coordination Committee and report the results thereof to the Federal Emergency Council.
Necessary matters concerning the organization, operation, etc. of the Coordination Committee and working committees under paragraph (4) shall be prescribed by Royal Decree or Act of the Cortes Federales.

9. REGIONAL AND LOCAL COMMITTEES.

In order to deliberate on and coordinate the following matters related to disaster and safety management by area, each Region and each of their respective municipalities or corresponding local governments shall establish Emergency and Disaster Management Committees, all each under the jurisdiction of their respective governments, to discuss and coordinate on the following affairs:
1. Matters concerning the disaster and safety management policies for the relevant area;
2. Matters concerning disaster and safety management plans;
3. Matters concerning the progress of disaster and safety management affairs conducted by the disaster management agency having jurisdiction over the relevant area (excluding federal administrative agencies and superior local governments);
4. Matters concerning cooperation among related agencies for disaster management where any disaster or various other accident occurs or is likely to occur;
5. Matters falling under the authority of the relevant committee pursuant to any other statute or municipal ordinance;
6. Other matters submitted by the chairperson of the relevant committee to a meeting for deliberation.
A Governor shall serve as the Chairperson of the relevant Regional Emergency and Disaster Management Committees and the head of each local government or municipality under each Region shall serve as the chairperson of their relevant local Emergency and Disaster Management Committee.
Necessary matters concerning the organization and operation of regional and local Emergency and Disaster Management Committees and other related working committees for safety policy coordination shall be prescribed by the relevant local government.
Regional and Local Committees shall establish, organize, and equip such units, both salaried and volunteer, under their authority and jurisdiction in order to fulfill the mandates of this Act.
Regional and Local Committees shall ensure that such units, individuals, and volunteers as mentioned in under paragraph (3) of this Article shall have adequate life and health insurance. Premiums paid under this section may be deductible from taxable income by the insurance company for income tax purposes.
Regional Committees shall, and Local Committees may, if they deem themselves capable, establish blood banks and organ donor facilities, under the supervision of the regional health authority. An annual report on the condition of these facilities shall be provided the Federal Emergency Management Council.

10. DISASTER BROADCASTING CONSULTATIVE COMMITTEE.

For efficiently performing disaster broadcasting for the prediction, alert, and notification of a disaster or for the emergency measures and disaster management, a Federal Disaster Broadcasting Consultative Committee may be established under the Federal Emergency Committee.
For efficiently performing disaster broadcasting for the prediction, alert, and notification of a disaster or for the emergency measures and disaster management at a local level, a disaster broadcasting consultative committee in a Region or a local government (hereafter referred to as "local disaster broadcasting consultative committee" in this Article) may be established under the relevant local committee.
The Secretary for National Mobilisation shall serve as the Chairperson of the Federal Disaster Broadcasting Consultative Committee, and the heads of related communications federal administrative agencies or related media institutions, companies, or organizations prescribed by Royal Decree or Act of the Cortes Federales shall serve as the members of the Federal Emergency Committee.
Matters necessary for the organization and operation of the Federal Disaster Broadcasting Consultative Committee shall be prescribed by Royal Decree or Act of the Cortes Federales, and matters necessary for the organization and operation of a local disaster broadcasting consultative committee shall be prescribed by ordinance of the relevant local government.

11. PRIVATE-PUBLIC COOPERATIVE SAFETY MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE.

For the efficient private-public cooperative relationship for disaster and safety management, the Chairperson of the Coordination Committee may organize and operate a Federal Private-Public Cooperative Safety Management Committee (hereinafter referred to as the "Central Private-Public Cooperative Committee").
For the efficient private-public cooperative relationship for disaster and safety management at a local level, the Chairperson of a regional or local coordination committee may organize and operate a regional or local private-public cooperative safety management committee (hereafter referred to as "local private-public cooperative committee" in this Article).
Necessary matters concerning the organization and operation of the Federal Private-Public Cooperative Committee shall be prescribed by Royal Decree or Act of the Cortes Federales, and necessary matters concerning the organization and operation of a regional or local private-public cooperative committee shall be prescribed by Regions and local governments.
Functions of the Federal Private-Public Cooperative Committee shall be as follows:
1. Consultation on private-public cooperative activities for disaster and safety management;
2. Consultation on efficient management plans for private-public cooperative projects for disaster and safety management;
3. Monitoring and provision of information at ordinary time on risk factors of disaster and safety management and vulnerable facilities;
4. Consultation on mobilization of human and material resources, participation in life rescue and damage restoration, provision of services to support victimized residents, etc. when any disaster occurs.

12. SUPPORT FOR AND GUIDANCE OF LOCAL COMMITTEES, ETC.

The Secretary of Interior may provide necessary support and guidance in the operation of Regional committees and in the disaster and safety management affairs of regional governments, and a Governor may provide necessary support and guidance in the operation of local committees within the competent jurisdiction and in the disaster and safety management affairs of their Region.

13. FEDERAL EMERGENCY AND DISASTER MANAGEMENT ADMINISTRATION.

For the efficient management of disaster, emergency, and safety management, there shall be an independent federal government agency called the Federal Emergency and Disaster Management Administration, which will be under the jurisdiction of the Federal Emergency Council.
There shall be an Administrator of the Federal Emergency and Disaster Management Administration (hereinafter called 'the Administrator') shall establish federal policies for, and coordinate, all civil defense and civil emergency planning, management, mitigation, and assistance functions of other government agencies, regional, and local governments.
The Administrator shall periodically review and evaluate the civil defense and civil emergency functions of the federal, regional, and local governments. In order to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of those functions, the Administrator shall recommend to the Council of State and to the Cortes Federales alternative methods of providing federal planning, management, mitigation, and assistance.
The Administrator shall be responsible for the coordination of efforts to promote dam safety, for the coordination of natural and nuclear disaster warning systems, and for the coordination of preparedness and planning to reduce the consequences of major terrorist incidents.
The Administrator shall represent the federal government in working with regional and local governments and private sector to stimulate vigorous participation in civil emergency preparedness, mitigation, response, and recovery programs.
The Administrator shall regularly report to the Council of State and the Federal Emergency Council, and for subsequent transmittal to the Cortes Federales, on the functions of the Federal Emergency and Disaster Management Administration. The report shall assess the current overall state of effectiveness of federal civil defense and civil emergency functions, organizations, resources, and systems and recommend measures to be taken to improve planning, management, assistance, and relief by all levels of government, the private sector, and volunteer organizations.

PART III
PREVENTION OF DISASTERS.

14. DISASTER PREVENTIVE MEASURES BY HEADS OF DISASTER MANAGEMENT AGENCIES.

The head of any disaster management agency shall take the following measures to prevent the occurrence of disasters in the field of their competent duties:
1. Formation and arrangement of the systems to respond to disasters;
2. Prediction of disasters and establishment of a system for providing and using predicted information, etc.;
3. Education and training in preparation for disasters, and publicity on disaster management and prevention;
4. Establishment of safety management systems and enactment of safety management regulations for fields with a high risk of disasters;
5. Management of national core infrastructure, etc. designated under this Act;
6. Measures for areas subject to special management under this Act;
7. Inspection and management of disaster prevention facilities under this Act;
8. Saving of resources for disaster management and designation of equipment, facilities, and human resources under this Act;
9. Other matters deemed necessary for preventing disasters.
The head of any disaster management agency shall secure funds necessary to efficiently take disaster preventive measures prescribed in Section 1 of this Article.
The head of any disaster management agency may request the head of any other disaster management agency to cooperate with him or her in preventing any disaster. In such cases, the head of any other disaster management agency in receipt of such request shall comply therewith, unless there is a compelling reason not to do so.
The head of any disaster management agency shall arrange and supplement the safety management systems and the safety management regulations referred to in this Article to ensure the effectiveness of disaster management.
The head of any disaster management agency shall formulate and implement a plan necessary to maintain core functions of the relevant agency in disaster situation (hereinafter referred to as "function continuity plan").
The Secretary of Interior may regularly inspect the actual status of implementing the function continuity plans of disaster management agencies and reflect the findings thereof to the evaluation of disaster management systems, etc. conducted pursuant to this Act, Royal Decree, or an Act of the Cortes Federales.
Matters to be included in a function continuity plan and the procedures, etc. for formulating the plan shall be prescribed by Royal Decree or an Act of the Cortes Federales.

15. DESIGNATION OF NATIONAL CORE INFRASTRUCTURE.

The head of a related federal administrative agency may designate the national core infrastructure within their jurisdiction following deliberation by the Coordination Committee according to the following standards:
1. Ripple effects on other national core infrastructure, etc.;
2. Necessity for at least two federal administrative agencies to jointly respond to disasters;
3. The scale and scope of damage that is caused by any disaster to the national security, the economy, and the society;
4. The possibility that a disaster can occur and the easiness of recovering from such disaster.
The head of any relevant federal administrative agency may request the head of a disaster management agency under his or her jurisdiction to submit materials necessary for him or her to determine whether to grant designation under this Article.
Where a disaster management agency intends to discontinue, suspend, or change its affairs, the head of a federal administrative agency having jurisdiction over the disaster management agency may revoke the designation of national core infrastructure, following deliberation by the Coordination Committee.
Matters necessary for the designation of the national core infrastructure and the revocation of such designation, etc. shall be prescribed by Royal Decree or Act of the Cortes Federales.

16. DESIGNATION AND MANAGEMENT OF AREAS SUBJECT TO SPECIAL MANAGEMENT.

The head of any federal administrative agency or the head of any regional or local government may designate areas where a disaster is highly likely to occur or the continuous management of which is deemed necessary, as areas subject to special management, as prescribed by Royal Decree or Act of the Cortes Federales.
With respect to areas subject to special management designated under this Article, the head of any disaster management agency shall take measures necessary for managing and maintaining the areas subject to special management, such as measures for eliminating the risk of occurrence of a disaster, as prescribed by Royal Decree or Act of the Cortes Federales.
The head of any federal administrative agency, the head of any regional or local government, or the head of any disaster management agency shall report or notify the results of designation or measures under this Article to the Secretary of Interior, as prescribed by Royal Decree or Act of the Cortes Federales.
The Secretary of Interior shall regularly or occasionally report the matters reported or notified under paragraph (3) to the Prime Minister, as prescribed by Royal Decree or Act of the Cortes Federales.
The President of the Government may request the heads of federal administrative agencies, the heads of regional and/or local governments, or the heads of disaster management agencies to take corrective or supplementary measures concerning matters deemed necessary to prevent disasters, among the matters reported under this Article.
Except as provided in this Article or elsewhere in this Act, matters necessary for the designation, management, and maintenance of areas subject to special management shall be prescribed by Royal Decree.

PART IV
FINAL PROVISIONS.

17. COMMENCEMENT AND APPLICATION.

This Bill shall apply to all of the Federation of Nouvelle Alexandrie.
This Bill shall not become law unless it has been given Royal Assent.
In the event any provision or part of this Bill is found to be invalid or unenforceable, only that particular provision or part so found, and not the entire Bill, will be inoperative.

Bill as submitted to the "Hopper" of the Federal Assembly, 1715

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