RÉSUMÉ DIGEST
ACT 713 (HB 645) 2018 Regular Session Zeringue
Existing law provides for the powers and duties of the director of the Governor's Office of
Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness (GOHSEP), including the duty to
coordinate the activities of all agencies and organizations for purposes of homeland security
and emergency preparedness.
New law retains existing law and requires the director to coordinate public-private sector
relationships to meet the needs of an emergency or disaster, and to coordinate the
implementation of the Emergency Management Assistance Compact.
Existing law provides for the office of interoperability within GOHSEP and provides for the
authority of the office in managing interoperability programs and efforts identified in the (1)
statewide interoperability plan and (2) statewide communications interoperability plan for
first responders. Further requires the Unified Command Group (UCG) to establish a
comprehensive statewide interoperability plan for short-term and long-term initiatives.
New law consolidates the two plans referenced in existing law, to be referred to as the
statewide communications interoperability plan.
Prior law required the UCG to provide semiannual reports to the governor and entities in the
statewide plan.
New law changes the prior law reporting requirement from a semiannual report to an annual
report.
Existing law provides for three permanent subcommittees of the UCG.
New law amends the membership of the first responders subcommittee and adds a fourth
subcommittee (the long term recovery subcommittee), and provides for its membership and
duties.
New law creates a Statewide Cemetery Response Task Force and provides for its
membership, powers, and duties. Provides for the appointment of a chairman and of a
designee for each task force member. Provides that the task force, acting pursuant to new
law may not supplant the authority of an individual cemetery authority that seeks to manage
its own disaster response and communicates that desire in writing to the task force.
Existing law provides for powers of parish presidents in disasters or emergencies. Provides
for the declaration of a state of emergency by a parish president and provides that they may
be terminated by executive order or proclamation. Prior law provided for a 30-day limitation
for a state of emergency, unless extended by the parish president.
New law retains existing law but removes the prior law 30-day limitation.
Existing law provides for limitations of liability for certain employees and agents of the state
or political subdivisions in homeland security and emergency preparedness activities, except
in the case of willful misconduct.
New law retains existing law and provides that GOHSEP, each parish homeland security and
emergency preparedness agency, the state, political subdivisions of the state, and other
agencies engaged in homeland security, emergency preparedness, response and recovery
activities shall also be immune from claims based on the exercise or performance of, of the
failure to exercise or perform, certain homeland security and emergency preparedness
activities.
Effective August 1, 2018.
(Amends R.S. 29:725(H), 725.4, 725.5(C)(3), 725.6(B)(3), (5)(b) and (c), (6)(intro. para.),
(b)(ii)(cc) and (iii), and (c)(ii)(cc) and (7), 726(E)(9), 727(D), and 735(A)(1); Adds R.S.
9:2793.10 and R.S. 29:725.6(B)(6)(b)(i)(hh) and (d), 726(B)(16) and (E)(27), (28), and (29),
726.4, and 735(A)(3); Repeals R.S. 29:725.6(B)(6)(a)(ii)(ff))