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Missouri Senate Bill SB770

Missouri 2025 Regular Session

Missouri Senate Bill SB770 Compare Versions

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22 EXPLANATION-Matter enclosed in bold-faced brackets [thus] in this bill is not enacted
33 and is intended to be omitted in the law.
44 FIRST REGULAR SESSION
55 SENATE BILL NO. 770
66 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
77 INTRODUCED BY SENATOR MOON.
88 1110S.01I KRISTINA MARTIN, Secretary
99 AN ACT
1010 To repeal sections 44.010, 44.032, and 44.100, RSMo, and to enact in lieu thereof three new
1111 sections relating to emergency powers.
1212
1313 Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Missouri, as follows:
1414 Section A. Sections 44.010, 44.032, and 44.100, RSMo, are 1
1515 repealed and three new sections enacted in lieu thereof, to be 2
1616 known as sections 44.010, 44.032, and 44.100 , to read as 3
1717 follows:4
1818 44.010. As used in sections 44.010 to 44.130, the 1
1919 following terms mean: 2
2020 (1) "Agency", the state emergency management agency; 3
2121 (2) "Bioterrorism", the intentional use of any 4
2222 microorganism, virus, infectious substanc e, or biological 5
2323 product that may be engineered as a result of biotechnology, 6
2424 or any naturally occurring or bioengineered component of any 7
2525 such microorganism, virus, infectious substance, or 8
2626 biological product, to cause death, disease, or other 9
2727 biological malfunction in a human, an animal, a plant, or 10
2828 another living organism in order to influence the conduct of 11
2929 government or to intimidate or coerce a civilian population; 12
3030 (3) "Director", the director of the state emergency 13
3131 management agency; 14
3232 (4) "Disasters", disasters which may result from 15
3333 terrorism, including bioterrorism, or from fire, wind, 16
3434 flood, earthquake, or other natural or man -made causes; 17 SB 770 2
3535 (5) "Disaster area", a geographic area or areas within 18
3636 the state which have been de signated as such by the governor 19
3737 or by resolution of the general assembly, due to the 20
3838 occurrence of a disaster, for the purpose of providing 21
3939 economic or other relief as provided in section 44.032; 22
4040 (6) "Economic or geographic area", an area or area s 23
4141 within the state, or partly in this state and adjacent 24
4242 states, comprising political subdivisions grouped together 25
4343 for purposes of administration, organization, control or 26
4444 disaster recovery and rehabilitation in time of emergency; 27
4545 [(6)] (7) "Emergency", any state of emergency declared 28
4646 by proclamation by the governor, or by resolution of the 29
4747 legislature pursuant to sections 44.010 to 44.130 upon the 30
4848 actual occurrence of a natural or man -made disaster of major 31
4949 proportions within this state when the safety and welfare of 32
5050 the inhabitants of this state are jeopardized; 33
5151 [(7)] (8) "Emergency management", government at all 34
5252 levels performing emergency functions, other than functions 35
5353 for which military forces are primarily responsible; 36
5454 [(8)] (9) "Emergency management functions", "emergency 37
5555 management activities" and "emergency management service", 38
5656 those functions required to prepare for and carry out 39
5757 actions to prevent, minimize and repair injury and damage 40
5858 due to disasters, to include emergency management of 41
5959 resources and administration of such economic controls as 42
6060 may be needed to provide for the welfare of the people, 43
6161 either on order of or at the request of the federal 44
6262 government, or in the event the federal government is 45
6363 incapable of administering such control; 46
6464 [(9)] (10) "Emergency resources planning and 47
6565 management", planning for, management and coordination of 48
6666 national, state and local resources; 49 SB 770 3
6767 [(10)] (11) "Executive officer of any political 50
6868 subdivision", the county commission or county supervisor or 51
6969 the mayor or other manager of the executive affairs of any 52
7070 city, town, village or fire protection district; 53
7171 [(11)] (12) "Local organization for emergency 54
7272 management", any organization established under thi s law by 55
7373 any county or by any city, town, or village to perform local 56
7474 emergency management functions; 57
7575 [(12)] (13) "Management", the activities of the 58
7676 emergency management director in the implementation of 59
7777 emergency operations plans during time of emergency; 60
7878 [(13)] (14) "Planning", activities of the state and 61
7979 local emergency management agency in the formulation of 62
8080 emergency management plans to be used in time of emergency; 63
8181 [(14)] (15) "Political subdivision", any county or 64
8282 city, town or village, or any fire district created by law; 65
8383 [(15)] (16) "Urban search and rescue task force", any 66
8484 entity whose primary responsibility is to locate, remove, 67
8585 and provide medical care to persons in collapsed buildings. 68
8686 44.032. 1. (1) As used in this section, the term 1
8787 "rural electric cooperative" means any rural electric 2
8888 cooperative organized or operating under the provisions of 3
8989 chapter 394, any corporation organized on a nonprofit or a 4
9090 cooperative basis as described in s ubsection 1 of section 5
9191 394.200, or any electrical corporation operating under a 6
9292 cooperative business plan as described in subsection 2 of 7
9393 section 393.110. 8
9494 (2) The general assembly recognizes the necessity for 9
9595 anticipating and making advance provi sions to care for the 10
9696 unusual and extraordinary burdens imposed by disasters or 11
9797 emergencies on this state, its political subdivisions, and 12
9898 rural electric cooperatives. To meet such situations, it is 13 SB 770 4
9999 the intention of the general assembly to confer emer gency 14
100100 powers on the governor, acting through the director, and 15
101101 vesting the governor with adequate power and authority 16
102102 within the limitation of available funds in the Missouri 17
103103 disaster fund to meet any such emergency or disaster. 18
104104 2. There is hereby established a fund to be known as 19
105105 the "Missouri Disaster Fund", to which the general assembly 20
106106 may appropriate funds and from which funds may be 21
107107 appropriated annually to the state emergency management 22
108108 agency. The funds appropriated shall be expended during a 23
109109 state emergency at the direction of the governor and upon 24
110110 the issuance of an emergency declaration which shall set 25
111111 forth the emergency, or the designation of a disaster area 26
112112 as defined in section 44.010, and shall state that it 27
113113 requires the expenditure of public funds to furnish 28
114114 immediate aid and relief. The director of the state 29
115115 emergency management agency shall administer the fund. 30
116116 3. Expenditures may be made upon direction of the 31
117117 governor for emergency management, as defined in se ction 32
118118 44.010, or to implement the state disaster plans. 33
119119 Expenditures may also be made to meet the matching 34
120120 requirements of state and federal agencies for any 35
121121 applicable assistance programs. 36
122122 4. Assistance may be provided from the Missouri 37
123123 disaster fund to political subdivisions of this state and 38
124124 rural electric cooperatives that have suffered from a 39
125125 disaster to such an extent as to impose a severe financial 40
126126 burden exceeding the ordinary reserve capacity of the 41
127127 subdivision or rural electric coo perative affected. 42
128128 Applications for aid under this section shall be made to the 43
129129 state emergency management agency on such forms as may be 44
130130 prescribed and furnished by the agency, which forms shall 45 SB 770 5
131131 require the furnishing of sufficient information to 46
132132 determine eligibility for aid and the extent of the 47
133133 financial burden incurred. The agency may call upon other 48
134134 agencies of the state in evaluating such applications. The 49
135135 director of the state emergency management agency shall 50
136136 review each application for aid under the provisions of this 51
137137 section and recommend its approval or disapproval, in whole 52
138138 or in part, to the governor. If approved, the governor 53
139139 shall determine and certify to the director of the state 54
140140 emergency management agency the amount of aid to be 55
141141 furnished. The director of the state emergency management 56
142142 agency shall thereupon issue the director's voucher to the 57
143143 commissioner of administration, who shall issue the 58
144144 commissioner's warrants therefor to the applicant. 59
145145 5. When a disaster or emergency has been proclaimed by 60
146146 the governor or there is a national emergency, the director 61
147147 of the state emergency management agency, upon order of the 62
148148 governor, shall have authority to expend funds for the 63
149149 following: 64
150150 (1) The purposes of sections 44.010 to 44.130 and the 65
151151 responsibilities of the governor and the state emergency 66
152152 management agency as outlined in sections 44.010 to 44.130; 67
153153 (2) Employing, for the duration of the response and 68
154154 recovery to emergency, additional personnel and contracting 69
155155 or otherwise procuring necessary appliances, supplies, 70
156156 equipment, and transport; 71
157157 (3) Performing services for and furnishing materials 72
158158 and supplies to state government agencies, counties, 73
159159 municipalities, and rural electric cooperative s with respect 74
160160 to performance of any duties enjoined by law upon such 75
161161 agencies, counties, municipalities, and rural electric 76
162162 cooperatives which they are unable to perform because of 77 SB 770 6
163163 extreme natural or man -made phenomena, and receiving 78
164164 reimbursement in whole or in part from such agencies, 79
165165 counties, municipalities, and rural electric cooperatives 80
166166 able to pay therefor under such terms and conditions as may 81
167167 be agreed upon by the director of the state emergency 82
168168 management agency and any such agency, cou nty, municipality, 83
169169 or rural electric cooperative; 84
170170 (4) Performing services for and furnishing materials 85
171171 to any individual in connection with alleviating hardship 86
172172 and distress growing out of extreme natural or man -made 87
173173 phenomena, and receiving reim bursement in whole or in part 88
174174 from such individual under such terms as may be agreed upon 89
175175 by the director of the state emergency management agency and 90
176176 such individual; 91
177177 (5) Providing services to counties and municipalities 92
178178 with respect to quelling riots and civil disturbances; 93
179179 (6) Repairing and restoring public infrastructure; 94
180180 (7) Furnishing transportation for supplies to 95
181181 alleviate suffering and distress; 96
182182 (8) Furnishing medical services and supplies to 97
183183 prevent the spread of dise ase and epidemics; 98
184184 (9) Quelling riots and civil disturbances; 99
185185 (10) Training individuals or governmental agencies for 100
186186 the purpose of perfecting the performance of emergency 101
187187 assistance duties as defined in the state disaster plans; 102
188188 (11) Procurement, storage, and transport of special 103
189189 emergency supplies or equipment determined by the director 104
190190 to be necessary to provide rapid response by state 105
191191 government to assist counties and municipalities in 106
192192 impending or actual emergencies; 107 SB 770 7
193193 (12) Clearing or removing from publicly or privately 108
194194 owned land or water, debris and wreckage which may threaten 109
195195 public health or safety; 110
196196 (13) Reimbursement to any urban search and rescue task 111
197197 force for any reasonable and necessary expenditures incurre d 112
198198 in the course of responding to any declared emergency under 113
199199 this section; and 114
200200 (14) Such other measures as are customarily necessary 115
201201 to furnish adequate relief in cases of catastrophe or 116
202202 disaster. 117
203203 6. The governor may receive such voluntary 118
204204 contributions as may be made from any source to aid in 119
205205 carrying out the purposes of this section and shall credit 120
206206 the same to the Missouri disaster fund. 121
207207 7. All obligations and expenses incurred by the 122
208208 governor in the exercise of the powers and duties vested by 123
209209 the provisions of this section shall be paid by the state 124
210210 treasurer out of available funds in the Missouri disaster 125
211211 fund, and the commissioner of administration shall draw 126
212212 warrants upon the state treasurer for the payment of such 127
213213 sum, or so much thereof as may be required, upon receipt of 128
214214 proper vouchers provided by the director of the state 129
215215 emergency management agency. 130
216216 8. The provisions of this section shall be liberally 131
217217 construed in order to accomplish the purposes of sectio ns 132
218218 44.010 to 44.130 and to permit the governor to cope 133
219219 adequately with any emergency which may arise, and the 134
220220 powers vested in the governor by this section shall be 135
221221 construed as being in addition to all other powers presently 136
222222 vested in the governor an d not in derogation of any existing 137
223223 powers. 138 SB 770 8
224224 9. Such funds as may be made available by the 139
225225 government of the United States for the purpose of 140
226226 alleviating distress from disasters may be accepted by the 141
227227 state treasurer and shall be credited to the M issouri 142
228228 disaster fund, unless otherwise specifically provided in the 143
229229 act of Congress making such funds available. 144
230230 10. The foregoing provisions of this section 145
231231 notwithstanding, any expenditure or proposed series of 146
232232 expenditures which total in exce ss of one thousand dollars 147
233233 per project shall be approved by the governor prior to the 148
234234 expenditure. 149
235235 44.100. 1. The emergency powers of the governor shall 1
236236 be as follows: 2
237237 (1) The provisions of this section shall be operative 3
238238 only during the existence of a state of emergency (referred 4
239239 to in this section as "emergency"). Any emergency shall be 5
240240 limited to the least restrictive geographic area and the 6
241241 provisions of this section shall be enforced in the least 7
242242 intrusive, disruptiv e, or restrictive manner to the economic 8
243243 and social activities of the citizens of this state. The 9
244244 existence of an emergency may be proclaimed by the governor 10
245245 or by resolution of the legislature, if the governor in his 11
246246 proclamation, or the legislature in its resolution, finds 12
247247 that a natural or man -made disaster of major proportions has 13
248248 actually occurred within this state, and that the safety and 14
249249 welfare of the inhabitants of this state require an 15
250250 invocation of the provisions of this section; 16
251251 (2) Any emergency proclaimed by the governor may be 17
252252 called for no more than ten days unless extended by a 18
253253 concurrent resolution of the general assembly. Any 19
254254 emergency proclaimed by resolution of the general assembly, 20
255255 or any extension of an emergency, s hall be called for no 21 SB 770 9
256256 more than thirty days and such resolution shall be by a two - 22
257257 thirds majority of the members of both the house of 23
258258 representatives and the senate. Any emergency, whether 24
259259 proclaimed by the governor or by the legislature, shall 25
260260 terminate upon the proclamation thereof by the governor, or 26
261261 the passage by the legislature, of a resolution terminating 27
262262 such emergency; 28
263263 (3) During the period that the state of emergency 29
264264 exists or continues, the governor shall: 30
265265 (a) Enforce and put into operation all plans, rules 31
266266 and regulations relating to disasters and emergency 32
267267 management of resources adopted under this law and to assume 33
268268 direct operational control of all emergency forces and 34
269269 volunteers in the state; 35
270270 (b) Take action and give directions to state and local 36
271271 law enforcement officers and agencies as may be reasonable 37
272272 and necessary for the purpose of securing compliance with 38
273273 the provisions of this law and with the orders, rules and 39
274274 regulations made pursuant thereof; 40
275275 (c) Seize, take or requisition to the extent necessary 41
276276 to bring about the most effective protection of the public: 42
277277 a. Any means of transportation, other than railroads 43
278278 and railroad equipment and fuel, and all fuel necessary for 44
279279 the propulsion there of; 45
280280 b. Any communication system or part thereof necessary 46
281281 to the prompt and efficient functioning of the emergency 47
282282 management of the state; 48
283283 c. All stocks of fuel; 49
284284 d. Facilities for housing, feeding and hospitalization 50
285285 of persons, including buildings and plants; 51
286286 (d) Control, restrict and regulate by rationing, 52
287287 freezing, use of quotas, prohibitions on shipments, price 53 SB 770 10
288288 fixing, allocation or other means the use, sale or 54
289289 distribution of food, feed, fuel, clothing and other 55
290290 commodities, materials, goods or services; 56
291291 (e) Prescribe and direct activities in connection with 57
292292 but not limited to use, conservation, salvage and prevention 58
293293 of waste of materials, services and facilities, including 59
294294 production, transportation, power and communication 60
295295 facilities, training and supply of labor, utilization of 61
296296 industrial plants, health and medical care, nutrition, 62
297297 housing, including the use of existing and private 63
298298 facilities, rehabilitation, education, welfare, child care, 64
299299 recreation, consumer protection and other essential civil 65
300300 needs; 66
301301 (f) Use or distribute all or any of this property 67
302302 among the inhabitants of the state in any area adversely 68
303303 affected by a natural or man -made disaster and to account to 69
304304 the state treasurer for any funds received thereof; 70
305305 (g) Waive or suspend the operation of any statutory 71
306306 requirement or administrative rule regarding the licensing, 72
307307 certification or issuance of permits evidencing 73
308308 professional, mechanical or other skills; 74
309309 (h) Waive or suspend the operation of any statutory 75
310310 requirement or administrative rule prescribing procedures 76
311311 for conducting state business, where strict compliance with 77
312312 such requirements and rules would prevent, hinder, or delay 78
313313 necessary action by the department o f health and senior 79
314314 services to respond to a declared emergency or increased 80
315315 health threat to the population; 81
316316 (i) In accordance with rules or regulations, provide 82
317317 that all law enforcement authorities and other emergency 83
318318 response workers and agenc ies of other states who may be 84
319319 within this state at the request of the governor or pursuant 85 SB 770 11
320320 to state or local mutual -aid agreements or compacts shall 86
321321 have the same authority and possess the same powers, duties, 87
322322 rights, privileges and immunities as are possessed by like 88
323323 law enforcement authorities and emergency response workers 89
324324 and agencies of this state; 90
325325 (j) Perform and exercise such other functions, powers 91
326326 and duties as may be necessary to promote and secure the 92
327327 safety and protection of the c ivilian population; 93
328328 (k) Authorize the director of finance and the director 94
329329 of credit unions to waive or suspend the operation of any 95
330330 statutory requirement or administrative rule applicable to 96
331331 the division of finance, banking, financial services, o r the 97
332332 division of credit unions and take action and give direction 98
333333 to banks, credit unions, and financial institutions, 99
334334 including coordinating actions with emergency responders, 100
335335 federal agencies, and state banking and credit union 101
336336 associations as may be reasonable and necessary to preserve 102
337337 the safety and soundness of banks, credit unions, and 103
338338 financial institutions; and facilitate disaster response and 104
339339 recovery efforts to serve essential civil needs and protect 105
340340 the public interest. 106
341341 2. When any property is seized, taken or requisitioned 107
342342 under this section, the circuit court of the county in which 108
343343 the property was taken may on the application of the owner 109
344344 thereof or on the application of the governor in cases where 110
345345 numerous claims may be fil ed, appoint three disinterested 111
346346 commissioners in the manner provided by section 523.040 to 112
347347 assess the damages which the owners may have sustained by 113
348348 reason of the appropriation thereof. Upon the application 114
349349 the amount due because of the seizure of pro perty shall be 115
350350 determined in the manner provided in chapter 523 for the 116 SB 770 12
351351 determination of damages in case of the exercise of the 117
352352 power of eminent domain. 118
353353