Missouri 2025 Regular Session

Missouri Senate Bill SB770 Latest Draft

Bill / Introduced Version Filed 02/26/2025

                             
EXPLANATION-Matter enclosed in bold-faced brackets [thus] in this bill is not enacted 
and is intended to be omitted in the law. 
FIRST REGULAR SESSION 
SENATE BILL NO. 770 
103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY  
INTRODUCED BY SENATOR MOON. 
1110S.01I 	KRISTINA MARTIN, Secretary  
AN ACT 
To repeal sections 44.010, 44.032, and 44.100, RSMo, and to enact in lieu thereof three new 
sections relating to emergency powers. 
 
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Missouri, as follows: 
     Section A.  Sections 44.010, 44.032, and 44.100, RSMo, are 1 
repealed and three new sections enacted in lieu thereof, to be 2 
known as sections 44.010, 44.032, and 44.100 , to read as 3 
follows:4 
     44.010.  As used in sections 44.010 to 44.130, the 1 
following terms mean: 2 
     (1)  "Agency", the state emergency management agency; 3 
     (2)  "Bioterrorism", the intentional use of any 4 
microorganism, virus, infectious substanc e, or biological  5 
product that may be engineered as a result of biotechnology, 6 
or any naturally occurring or bioengineered component of any 7 
such microorganism, virus, infectious substance, or 8 
biological product, to cause death, disease, or other 9 
biological malfunction in a human, an animal, a plant, or 10 
another living organism in order to influence the conduct of 11 
government or to intimidate or coerce a civilian population; 12 
     (3)  "Director", the director of the state emergency 13 
management agency; 14 
    (4)  "Disasters", disasters which may result from 15 
terrorism, including bioterrorism, or from fire, wind, 16 
flood, earthquake, or other natural or man -made causes; 17   SB 770 	2 
     (5)  "Disaster area", a geographic area or areas within 18 
the state which have been de signated as such by the governor 19 
or by resolution of the general assembly, due to the 20 
occurrence of a disaster, for the purpose of providing 21 
economic or other relief as provided in section 44.032; 22 
     (6)  "Economic or geographic area", an area or area s  23 
within the state, or partly in this state and adjacent 24 
states, comprising political subdivisions grouped together 25 
for purposes of administration, organization, control or 26 
disaster recovery and rehabilitation in time of emergency; 27 
     [(6)] (7)  "Emergency", any state of emergency declared 28 
by proclamation by the governor, or by resolution of the 29 
legislature pursuant to sections 44.010 to 44.130 upon the 30 
actual occurrence of a natural or man -made disaster of major 31 
proportions within this state when the safety and welfare of 32 
the inhabitants of this state are jeopardized; 33 
     [(7)] (8)  "Emergency management", government at all 34 
levels performing emergency functions, other than functions 35 
for which military forces are primarily responsible; 36 
     [(8)] (9)  "Emergency management functions", "emergency 37 
management activities" and "emergency management service", 38 
those functions required to prepare for and carry out 39 
actions to prevent, minimize and repair injury and damage 40 
due to disasters, to include emergency management of 41 
resources and administration of such economic controls as 42 
may be needed to provide for the welfare of the people, 43 
either on order of or at the request of the federal 44 
government, or in the event the federal government is 45 
incapable of administering such control; 46 
     [(9)] (10)  "Emergency resources planning and 47 
management", planning for, management and coordination of 48 
national, state and local resources; 49   SB 770 	3 
     [(10)] (11)  "Executive officer of any political 50 
subdivision", the county commission or county supervisor or 51 
the mayor or other manager of the executive affairs of any 52 
city, town, village or fire protection district; 53 
     [(11)] (12)  "Local organization for emergency 54 
management", any organization established under thi s law by  55 
any county or by any city, town, or village to perform local 56 
emergency management functions; 57 
     [(12)] (13)  "Management", the activities of the 58 
emergency management director in the implementation of 59 
emergency operations plans during time of emergency; 60 
     [(13)] (14)  "Planning", activities of the state and 61 
local emergency management agency in the formulation of 62 
emergency management plans to be used in time of emergency; 63 
     [(14)] (15)  "Political subdivision", any county or 64 
city, town or village, or any fire district created by law; 65 
     [(15)] (16)  "Urban search and rescue task force", any 66 
entity whose primary responsibility is to locate, remove, 67 
and provide medical care to persons in collapsed buildings. 68 
     44.032.  1.  (1)  As used in this section, the term 1 
"rural electric cooperative" means any rural electric 2 
cooperative organized or operating under the provisions of 3 
chapter 394, any corporation organized on a nonprofit or a 4 
cooperative basis as described in s ubsection 1 of section 5 
394.200, or any electrical corporation operating under a 6 
cooperative business plan as described in subsection 2 of 7 
section 393.110. 8 
     (2)  The general assembly recognizes the necessity for 9 
anticipating and making advance provi sions to care for the 10 
unusual and extraordinary burdens imposed by disasters or 11 
emergencies on this state, its political subdivisions, and 12 
rural electric cooperatives.  To meet such situations, it is 13   SB 770 	4 
the intention of the general assembly to confer emer gency  14 
powers on the governor, acting through the director, and 15 
vesting the governor with adequate power and authority 16 
within the limitation of available funds in the Missouri 17 
disaster fund to meet any such emergency or disaster. 18 
     2.  There is hereby established a fund to be known as 19 
the "Missouri Disaster Fund", to which the general assembly 20 
may appropriate funds and from which funds may be 21 
appropriated annually to the state emergency management 22 
agency.  The funds appropriated shall be expended during a  23 
state emergency at the direction of the governor and upon 24 
the issuance of an emergency declaration which shall set 25 
forth the emergency, or the designation of a disaster area 26 
as defined in section 44.010, and shall state that it 27 
requires the expenditure of public funds to furnish 28 
immediate aid and relief.  The director of the state 29 
emergency management agency shall administer the fund. 30 
     3.  Expenditures may be made upon direction of the 31 
governor for emergency management, as defined in se ction  32 
44.010, or to implement the state disaster plans.   33 
Expenditures may also be made to meet the matching 34 
requirements of state and federal agencies for any 35 
applicable assistance programs. 36 
     4.  Assistance may be provided from the Missouri 37 
disaster fund to political subdivisions of this state and 38 
rural electric cooperatives that have suffered from a 39 
disaster to such an extent as to impose a severe financial 40 
burden exceeding the ordinary reserve capacity of the 41 
subdivision or rural electric coo perative affected.   42 
Applications for aid under this section shall be made to the 43 
state emergency management agency on such forms as may be 44 
prescribed and furnished by the agency, which forms shall 45   SB 770 	5 
require the furnishing of sufficient information to 46 
determine eligibility for aid and the extent of the 47 
financial burden incurred.  The agency may call upon other 48 
agencies of the state in evaluating such applications.  The  49 
director of the state emergency management agency shall 50 
review each application for aid under the provisions of this 51 
section and recommend its approval or disapproval, in whole 52 
or in part, to the governor.  If approved, the governor 53 
shall determine and certify to the director of the state 54 
emergency management agency the amount of aid to be  55 
furnished.  The director of the state emergency management 56 
agency shall thereupon issue the director's voucher to the 57 
commissioner of administration, who shall issue the 58 
commissioner's warrants therefor to the applicant. 59 
     5.  When a disaster or emergency has been proclaimed by 60 
the governor or there is a national emergency, the director 61 
of the state emergency management agency, upon order of the 62 
governor, shall have authority to expend funds for the 63 
following: 64 
     (1)  The purposes of sections 44.010 to 44.130 and the 65 
responsibilities of the governor and the state emergency 66 
management agency as outlined in sections 44.010 to 44.130; 67 
     (2)  Employing, for the duration of the response and 68 
recovery to emergency, additional personnel and contracting  69 
or otherwise procuring necessary appliances, supplies, 70 
equipment, and transport; 71 
     (3)  Performing services for and furnishing materials 72 
and supplies to state government agencies, counties, 73 
municipalities, and rural electric cooperative s with respect  74 
to performance of any duties enjoined by law upon such 75 
agencies, counties, municipalities, and rural electric 76 
cooperatives which they are unable to perform because of 77   SB 770 	6 
extreme natural or man -made phenomena, and receiving 78 
reimbursement in whole or in part from such agencies, 79 
counties, municipalities, and rural electric cooperatives 80 
able to pay therefor under such terms and conditions as may 81 
be agreed upon by the director of the state emergency 82 
management agency and any such agency, cou nty, municipality, 83 
or rural electric cooperative; 84 
     (4)  Performing services for and furnishing materials 85 
to any individual in connection with alleviating hardship 86 
and distress growing out of extreme natural or man -made  87 
phenomena, and receiving reim bursement in whole or in part 88 
from such individual under such terms as may be agreed upon 89 
by the director of the state emergency management agency and 90 
such individual; 91 
     (5)  Providing services to counties and municipalities 92 
with respect to quelling riots and civil disturbances; 93 
     (6)  Repairing and restoring public infrastructure; 94 
     (7)  Furnishing transportation for supplies to 95 
alleviate suffering and distress; 96 
     (8)  Furnishing medical services and supplies to 97 
prevent the spread of dise ase and epidemics; 98 
     (9)  Quelling riots and civil disturbances; 99 
     (10)  Training individuals or governmental agencies for 100 
the purpose of perfecting the performance of emergency 101 
assistance duties as defined in the state disaster plans; 102 
     (11)  Procurement, storage, and transport of special 103 
emergency supplies or equipment determined by the director 104 
to be necessary to provide rapid response by state 105 
government to assist counties and municipalities in 106 
impending or actual emergencies; 107   SB 770 	7 
     (12)  Clearing or removing from publicly or privately 108 
owned land or water, debris and wreckage which may threaten 109 
public health or safety; 110 
     (13)  Reimbursement to any urban search and rescue task 111 
force for any reasonable and necessary expenditures incurre d  112 
in the course of responding to any declared emergency under 113 
this section; and 114 
     (14)  Such other measures as are customarily necessary 115 
to furnish adequate relief in cases of catastrophe or 116 
disaster. 117 
     6.  The governor may receive such voluntary  118 
contributions as may be made from any source to aid in 119 
carrying out the purposes of this section and shall credit 120 
the same to the Missouri disaster fund. 121 
     7.  All obligations and expenses incurred by the 122 
governor in the exercise of the powers and duties vested by  123 
the provisions of this section shall be paid by the state 124 
treasurer out of available funds in the Missouri disaster 125 
fund, and the commissioner of administration shall draw 126 
warrants upon the state treasurer for the payment of such 127 
sum, or so much thereof as may be required, upon receipt of 128 
proper vouchers provided by the director of the state 129 
emergency management agency. 130 
     8.  The provisions of this section shall be liberally 131 
construed in order to accomplish the purposes of sectio ns  132 
44.010 to 44.130 and to permit the governor to cope 133 
adequately with any emergency which may arise, and the 134 
powers vested in the governor by this section shall be 135 
construed as being in addition to all other powers presently 136 
vested in the governor an d not in derogation of any existing 137 
powers. 138   SB 770 	8 
     9.  Such funds as may be made available by the 139 
government of the United States for the purpose of 140 
alleviating distress from disasters may be accepted by the 141 
state treasurer and shall be credited to the M issouri  142 
disaster fund, unless otherwise specifically provided in the 143 
act of Congress making such funds available. 144 
     10.  The foregoing provisions of this section 145 
notwithstanding, any expenditure or proposed series of 146 
expenditures which total in exce ss of one thousand dollars 147 
per project shall be approved by the governor prior to the 148 
expenditure. 149 
     44.100.  1.  The emergency powers of the governor shall 1 
be as follows: 2 
     (1)  The provisions of this section shall be operative 3 
only during the existence of a state of emergency (referred 4 
to in this section as "emergency").  Any emergency shall be 5 
limited to the least restrictive geographic area and the 6 
provisions of this section shall be enforced in the least 7 
intrusive, disruptiv e, or restrictive manner to the economic 8 
and social activities of the citizens of this state.  The  9 
existence of an emergency may be proclaimed by the governor 10 
or by resolution of the legislature, if the governor in his 11 
proclamation, or the legislature in its resolution, finds 12 
that a natural or man -made disaster of major proportions has 13 
actually occurred within this state, and that the safety and 14 
welfare of the inhabitants of this state require an 15 
invocation of the provisions of this section; 16 
     (2)  Any emergency proclaimed by the governor may be 17 
called for no more than ten days unless extended by a 18 
concurrent resolution of the general assembly.  Any  19 
emergency proclaimed by resolution of the general assembly, 20 
or any extension of an emergency, s hall be called for no 21   SB 770 	9 
more than thirty days and such resolution shall be by a two - 22 
thirds majority of the members of both the house of 23 
representatives and the senate.  Any emergency, whether 24 
proclaimed by the governor or by the legislature, shall 25 
terminate upon the proclamation thereof by the governor, or 26 
the passage by the legislature, of a resolution terminating 27 
such emergency; 28 
     (3)  During the period that the state of emergency 29 
exists or continues, the governor shall: 30 
     (a)  Enforce and put into operation all plans, rules 31 
and regulations relating to disasters and emergency 32 
management of resources adopted under this law and to assume 33 
direct operational control of all emergency forces and 34 
volunteers in the state; 35 
     (b)  Take action and give directions to state and local 36 
law enforcement officers and agencies as may be reasonable 37 
and necessary for the purpose of securing compliance with 38 
the provisions of this law and with the orders, rules and 39 
regulations made pursuant thereof; 40 
     (c)  Seize, take or requisition to the extent necessary 41 
to bring about the most effective protection of the public: 42 
     a.  Any means of transportation, other than railroads 43 
and railroad equipment and fuel, and all fuel necessary for 44 
the propulsion there of; 45 
     b.  Any communication system or part thereof necessary 46 
to the prompt and efficient functioning of the emergency 47 
management of the state; 48 
     c.  All stocks of fuel; 49 
     d.  Facilities for housing, feeding and hospitalization 50 
of persons, including buildings and plants; 51 
     (d)  Control, restrict and regulate by rationing, 52 
freezing, use of quotas, prohibitions on shipments, price 53   SB 770 	10 
fixing, allocation or other means the use, sale or 54 
distribution of food, feed, fuel, clothing and other 55 
commodities, materials, goods or services; 56 
     (e)  Prescribe and direct activities in connection with 57 
but not limited to use, conservation, salvage and prevention 58 
of waste of materials, services and facilities, including 59 
production, transportation, power and communication  60 
facilities, training and supply of labor, utilization of 61 
industrial plants, health and medical care, nutrition, 62 
housing, including the use of existing and private 63 
facilities, rehabilitation, education, welfare, child care, 64 
recreation, consumer protection and other essential civil 65 
needs; 66 
     (f)  Use or distribute all or any of this property 67 
among the inhabitants of the state in any area adversely 68 
affected by a natural or man -made disaster and to account to 69 
the state treasurer for any funds received thereof; 70 
     (g)  Waive or suspend the operation of any statutory 71 
requirement or administrative rule regarding the licensing, 72 
certification or issuance of permits evidencing 73 
professional, mechanical or other skills; 74 
     (h)  Waive or suspend the operation of any statutory 75 
requirement or administrative rule prescribing procedures 76 
for conducting state business, where strict compliance with 77 
such requirements and rules would prevent, hinder, or delay 78 
necessary action by the department o f health and senior 79 
services to respond to a declared emergency or increased 80 
health threat to the population; 81 
     (i)  In accordance with rules or regulations, provide 82 
that all law enforcement authorities and other emergency 83 
response workers and agenc ies of other states who may be 84 
within this state at the request of the governor or pursuant 85   SB 770 	11 
to state or local mutual -aid agreements or compacts shall 86 
have the same authority and possess the same powers, duties, 87 
rights, privileges and immunities as are possessed by like  88 
law enforcement authorities and emergency response workers 89 
and agencies of this state; 90 
     (j)  Perform and exercise such other functions, powers 91 
and duties as may be necessary to promote and secure the 92 
safety and protection of the c ivilian population; 93 
     (k)  Authorize the director of finance and the director 94 
of credit unions to waive or suspend the operation of any 95 
statutory requirement or administrative rule applicable to 96 
the division of finance, banking, financial services, o r the  97 
division of credit unions and take action and give direction 98 
to banks, credit unions, and financial institutions, 99 
including coordinating actions with emergency responders, 100 
federal agencies, and state banking and credit union 101 
associations as may be reasonable and necessary to preserve 102 
the safety and soundness of banks, credit unions, and 103 
financial institutions; and facilitate disaster response and 104 
recovery efforts to serve essential civil needs and protect 105 
the public interest. 106 
     2.  When any property is seized, taken or requisitioned 107 
under this section, the circuit court of the county in which 108 
the property was taken may on the application of the owner 109 
thereof or on the application of the governor in cases where 110 
numerous claims may be fil ed, appoint three disinterested 111 
commissioners in the manner provided by section 523.040 to 112 
assess the damages which the owners may have sustained by 113 
reason of the appropriation thereof.  Upon the application 114 
the amount due because of the seizure of pro perty shall be  115 
determined in the manner provided in chapter 523 for the 116   SB 770 	12 
determination of damages in case of the exercise of the 117 
power of eminent domain. 118 
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