A.B. 57
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ASSEMBLY BILL NO. 57–COMMITTEE
ON GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS
(ON BEHALF OF THE DIVISION OF FORESTRY
OF THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF
CONSERVATION AND NATURAL RESOURCES)
PREFILED NOVEMBER 20, 2024
____________
Referred to Committee on Government Affairs
SUMMARY—Revises provisions relating to the Nevada Intrastate
Mutual Aid System. (BDR 36-263)
FISCAL NOTE: Effect on Local Government: No.
Effect on the State: Yes.
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EXPLANATION – Matter in bolded italics is new; matter between brackets [omitted material] is material to be omitted.
AN ACT relating to emergency management; revising provisions
governing the Nevada Intrastate Mutual Aid System to
require the State Forester Firewarden of the Division of
Forestry of the State Department of Conservation and
Natural Resources to administer the System as it relates to
wildfire suppression; requiring the State Forester
Firewarden to serve as Co-Chair of the Intrastate Mutual
Aid Committee and appoint committee members jointly
with the Chief of the Division of Emergency Management
of the Office of the Military; and providing other matters
properly relating thereto.
Legislative Counsel’s Digest:
Existing law establishes the Nevada Intrastate Mutual Aid System within the 1
Division of Emergency Management of the Office of the Military to coordinate 2
requests for intrastate mutual aid among various public agencies and certain Indian 3
tribes and nations in response to an emergency or disaster in this State. Under 4
existing law, the Chief of the Division of Emergency Management is required to 5
administer the System and adopt regulations relating to the administration of the 6
System. (NRS 414A.100) Section 4 of this bill transfers to the State Forester 7
Firewarden of the Division of Forestry of the State Department of Conservation and 8
Natural Resources the authority to: (1) coordinate the provision of mutual aid 9
during the response to and recovery from wildfire suppression; (2) administer the 10
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System as it relates to wildfire suppression; and (3) adopt regulations relating to the 11
administration of the System as it relates to wildfire suppression. 12
Under existing law, the Chief of the Division of Emergency Management 13
serves as the Chair of the Intrastate Mutual Aid Committee and appoints the 14
committee members, who advise the Chief on issues related to emergency 15
management and intrastate mutual aid. (NRS 414A.110) Under section 5 of this 16
bill, the State Forester Firewarden serves as Co-Chair of the Committee with the 17
Chief of the Division of Emergency Management and committee members must be 18
jointly appointed by the Chief of the Division of Emergency Management and the 19
State Forester Firewarden. 20
Under existing law, a public agency that participates in the System may elect to 21
withdraw from participation in the System, and any federally recognized Indian 22
tribe or nation within the boundaries of the State may become a participant in the 23
System, by adopting a resolution declaring the same and providing a copy of the 24
resolution to the Division of Emergency Management and the Governor. (NRS 25
414A.120) Section 6 of this bill requires that a copy of such a resolution also be 26
provided to the Division of Forestry. 27
Under existing law, a participant may request intrastate mutual aid through the 28
Division of Emergency Management, or directly to a participant if an urgent 29
response is needed, and each request must be documented and forwarded to the 30
Division of Emergency Management within 24 hours. (NRS 414A.130) Section 7 31
of this bill provides that a participant may request intrastate mutual aid through the 32
Division of Forestry for aid relating to wildfire suppression and through the 33
Division of Emergency Management for aid relating to all other emergencies or 34
disasters. Section 7 further requires that requests for aid be documented and 35
reported to the Division of Forestry or Division of Emergency Management, as 36
appropriate. 37
Under existing law, the Division of Emergency Management: (1) may facilitate 38
certain System participants in obtaining reimbursement for intrastate mutual aid; 39
and (2) is not liable for any claim relating to reimbursement. (NRS 414A.150) 40
Section 8 of this bill authorizes the Division of Forestry to also facilitate 41
reimbursement of System participants and provides immunity from liability to the 42
Division of Forestry for any claim relating to reimbursement. 43
Sections 1 and 3 of this bill define “Division of Forestry” and “Division of 44
Emergency Management,” respectively. Section 2 of this bill applies these 45
definitions to the provisions of existing law relating to the System. 46
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEVADA, REPRESENTED IN
SENATE AND ASSEMBLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. Chapter 414A of NRS is hereby amended by 1
adding thereto a new section to read as follows: 2
“Division of Forestry” means the Division of Forestry of the 3
State Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. 4
Sec. 2. NRS 414A.010 is hereby amended to read as follows: 5
414A.010 As used in this chapter, unless the context otherwise 6
requires, the words and terms defined in NRS 414A.015 to 7
414A.070, inclusive, and section 1 of this act have the meanings 8
ascribed to them in those sections. 9
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Sec. 3. NRS 414A.025 is hereby amended to read as follows: 1
414A.025 [“Division”] “Division of Emergency 2
Management” means the Division of Emergency Management of 3
the Office of the Military. 4
Sec. 4. NRS 414A.100 is hereby amended to read as follows: 5
414A.100 1. The Nevada Intrastate Mutual Aid System is 6
hereby established [within the Division.] and must, in accordance 7
with the provisions of this chapter, be administered by: 8
(a) The Chief of the Division of Emergency Management for 9
coordinating mutual aid relating to all emergencies or disasters 10
other than wildfire suppression; and 11
(b) The State Forester Firewarden for coordinating mutual aid 12
relating to wildfire suppression. 13
2. [The] Except as provided in subsection 3, the Chief of the 14
Division [,] of Emergency Management, subject to the direction 15
and control of the Adjutant General of the Office of the Military, 16
[shall administer the System pursuant to the provisions of this 17
chapter and] shall: 18
(a) Coordinate the provision of mutual aid during the response 19
to and recovery from an emergency or disaster; 20
(b) Maintain records of the requests for and provision of mutual 21
aid throughout this State; 22
(c) Identify, maintain an inventory of and coordinate participant 23
personnel and equipment available for intrastate mutual aid 24
response; 25
(d) Provide information and assistance, upon request, to 26
participants concerning reimbursement for services and other 27
guidelines and procedures developed by the Intrastate Mutual Aid 28
Committee pursuant to subsection 4 of NRS 414A.110; and 29
(e) Adopt regulations relating to the administration of the 30
System. 31
3. The State Forester Firewarden, subject to the direction of 32
the Director of the State Department of Conservation and Natural 33
Resources, shall: 34
(a) Coordinate the provision of mutual aid during the response 35
to and recovery from wildfire suppression; 36
(b) Maintain records of the requests for and provision of 37
mutual aid in response to wildfire suppression throughout this 38
State; 39
(c) Identify, maintain an inventory of and coordinate 40
participant personnel and equipment available for intrastate 41
mutual aid response to wildfire suppression; 42
(d) Upon request, provide information and assistance to 43
participants concerning reimbursement for services provided in 44
response to wildfire suppression and any guidelines and 45
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procedures developed by the Intrastate Mutual Aid Committee 1
pursuant to subsection 4 of NRS 414A.110 with regard to wildfire 2
suppression; and 3
(e) Adopt regulations relating to the administration of the 4
System with regard to wildfire suppression. 5
Sec. 5. NRS 414A.110 is hereby amended to read as follows: 6
414A.110 1. The Intrastate Mutual Aid Committee is hereby 7
created. The Committee shall advise the Chief of the Division of 8
Emergency Management and the State Forester Firewarden on 9
issues related to emergency management and intrastate mutual aid in 10
this State. 11
2. The Committee consists of the following members: 12
(a) The Chief of the Division [,] of Emergency Management, or 13
his or her designee, who serves as the [Chair] Co-Chair of the 14
Committee and is a nonvoting member; [and] 15
(b) The State Forester Firewarden, or his or her designee, who 16
serves as the Co-Chair of the Committee and is a nonvoting 17
member; and 18
(c) Not more than 19 voting members, each of whom: 19
(1) Is appointed jointly by the Chief of the Division [;] of 20
Emergency Management and the State Forester Firewarden; 21
(2) Is selected from participating public agencies or tribal 22
governments; 23
(3) Must have responsibility for public safety programs or 24
activities within his or her public agency or tribe or nation; and 25
(4) After the initial terms, serves a term of 2 years, and may 26
be reappointed. 27
3. The Committee shall select a Vice Chair from among the 28
voting members of the Committee. The Vice Chair serves as Vice 29
Chair until the end of his or her current term as a voting member, 30
and may be reselected. 31
4. The Committee shall develop comprehensive guidelines and 32
procedures regarding, without limitation: 33
(a) Requesting intrastate mutual aid; 34
(b) Responding to a request for intrastate mutual aid; 35
(c) Recordkeeping during an emergency or disaster for which 36
intrastate mutual aid has been requested; and 37
(d) Reimbursement of costs to assisting participants. 38
5. The Committee shall meet at least annually to evaluate the 39
effectiveness and efficiency of the System and provide 40
recommendations, if any, to the Chief of the Division of Emergency 41
Management and the State Forester Firewarden to improve the 42
System. 43
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Sec. 6. NRS 414A.120 is hereby amended to read as follows: 1
414A.120 1. Except as otherwise provided in subsection 2, 2
each public agency shall participate in the System. 3
2. Any participant may elect to withdraw from participation in 4
the System by: 5
(a) Adopting a resolution declaring that the participant elects not 6
to participate in the System; and 7
(b) Providing a copy of the resolution to the Division of 8
Emergency Management, the Division of Forestry and the 9
Governor. 10
3. Any federally recognized Indian tribe or nation, all or part of 11
which is located within the boundaries of this State, may choose to 12
become a participant in the System by: 13
(a) Adopting a resolution declaring that the tribe or nation elects 14
to participate in the System and agreeing to be bound by the 15
provisions of this chapter; and 16
(b) Providing a copy of the resolution to the Division of 17
Emergency Management, the Division of Forestry and the 18
Governor. 19
4. Each participant shall: 20
(a) Except as otherwise provided in subsection 4 of NRS 21
414A.140, ensure that the participant is able to provide intrastate 22
mutual aid in response to a request pursuant to NRS 414A.130; 23
(b) Provide training to each emergency responder on procedures 24
related to his or her respective role within the System; 25
(c) Actively monitor events in this State to determine the 26
possibility of requesting or providing intrastate mutual aid; 27
(d) Maintain a current list of personnel and any equipment of the 28
participant available for intrastate mutual aid and submit the list at 29
least annually to the Division [;] of Emergency Management and 30
the Division of Forestry; 31
(e) Conduct joint planning, information sharing and capability 32
and vulnerability analyses with other participants and conduct joint 33
training exercises, if practicable; and 34
(f) Develop, carry out and periodically revise plans of operation, 35
which must include, without limitation, the methods by which any 36
resources, facilities and services of the participant must be available 37
and furnished to other participants. 38
Sec. 7. NRS 414A.130 is hereby amended to read as follows: 39
414A.130 1. Any participant may request intrastate mutual 40
aid before, during or after a declared or undeclared emergency or 41
disaster for: 42
(a) Response, mitigation or recovery activities related to the 43
emergency or disaster; and 44
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(b) Participation in drills or exercises in preparation for an 1
emergency or disaster. 2
2. A participant may make a request for intrastate mutual aid: 3
(a) [Through] Relating to all emergencies or disasters other 4
than wildfire suppression, through the Division [;] of Emergency 5
Management; 6
(b) Relating to wildfire suppression, through the Division of 7
Forestry; or 8
[(b)] (c) If an urgent response is needed, directly to a 9
participant, except that any request for a responding state agency 10
must be made as provided in paragraph (a) [.] or (b), as applicable. 11
3. Each request for intrastate mutual aid must be documented 12
and forwarded [to the Division] not more than 24 hours after the 13
request is made [.] to: 14
(a) The Division of Emergency Management for aid relating to 15
all emergencies or disasters other than wildfire suppression; and 16
(b) The Division of Forestry for aid relating to wildfire 17
suppression. 18
4. A requesting participant shall: 19
(a) Adequately describe the resources needed by the requesting 20
participant; 21
(b) Provide logistical and technical support, as needed, to any 22
emergency responders provided by an assisting participant; and 23
(c) Reimburse the assisting participant for costs incurred, if 24
applicable, by the assisting participant in a timely manner. 25
Sec. 8. NRS 414A.150 is hereby amended to read as follows: 26
414A.150 1. Except as otherwise provided in subsection 3, 27
within 10 business days after the completion of all activities taken in 28
response to a request for intrastate mutual aid, each assisting 29
participant shall provide a written notice to the requesting 30
participant if the assisting participant intends to seek reimbursement 31
from the requesting participant. 32
2. Except as otherwise provided in subsection 3, within 60 33
calendar days after the completion of the activities specified in 34
subsection 1, the assisting participant shall provide to the requesting 35
participant a final request for reimbursement which must include: 36
(a) A summary of the services provided; 37
(b) An invoice setting forth all services provided and the total 38
amount of the reimbursement requested; 39
(c) Any supporting documentation; 40
(d) Any additional forms required by the System; and 41
(e) The name and contact information of a person to contact if 42
more information is needed. 43
3. If an assisting participant requires additional time to comply 44
with the provisions of subsection 1 or 2, the assisting participant 45
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must request an extension in writing from the requesting participant. 1
A requesting participant may, for good cause shown, grant an 2
extension for an additional reasonable period. 3
4. A requesting participant shall reimburse an assisting 4
participant for all reasonable costs incurred by the assisting 5
participant in responding to the request for intrastate mutual aid, 6
including, without limitation, any costs related to the use of 7
personnel and equipment and travel. All costs must be documented 8
in order to be eligible for reimbursement pursuant to this section, 9
unless otherwise agreed upon by the requesting participant and 10
assisting participant. Any costs associated with resources which 11
were used without request are not eligible for reimbursement. 12
5. Reimbursement may be facilitated upon request through 13
[the] : 14
(a) The Division [, upon request.] of Emergency Management 15
for aid relating to all emergencies or disasters other than wildfire 16
suppression; and 17
(b) The Division of Forestry for aid relating to wildfire 18
suppression. 19
6. If a dispute between participants occurs regarding 20
reimbursement, the participant disputing the reimbursement shall 21
provide a written notice to the other participant setting forth the 22
issues in dispute. If the dispute is not resolved within 90 days after 23
the notice is provided, either participant may submit the matter to 24
binding arbitration, which must be conducted pursuant to the rules 25
for commercial arbitration established by the American Arbitration 26
Association. 27
7. The Division [is] of Emergency Management and the 28
Division of Forestry are not liable for any claim relating to the 29
reimbursement of costs for providing intrastate mutual aid. 30
Sec. 9. This act becomes effective upon passage and approval. 31
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