44-146.14 - Findings of General Assembly. - Virginia Statutes

§ 44-146.14. Findings of General Assembly.

(a) Because of the ever present possibility of the occurrence of disasters ofunprecedented size and destructiveness resulting from enemy attack, sabotageor other hostile action, resource shortage, or from fire, flood, earthquake,or other natural causes, and in order to insure that preparations of theCommonwealth and its political subdivisions will be adequate to deal withsuch emergencies, and generally to provide for the common defense and toprotect the public peace, health, and safety, and to preserve the lives andproperty and economic well-being of the people of the Commonwealth, it ishereby found and declared to be necessary and to be the purpose of thischapter:

(1) To create a State Department of Emergency Management, and to authorizethe creation of local organizations for emergency management in the politicalsubdivisions of the Commonwealth;

(2) To confer upon the Governor and upon the executive heads or governingbodies of the political subdivisions of the Commonwealth emergency powersprovided herein; and

(3) To provide for rendering of mutual aid among the political subdivisionsof the Commonwealth and with other states and to cooperate with the federalgovernment with respect to the carrying out of emergency service functions.

(b) It is further declared to be the purpose of this chapter and the policyof the Commonwealth that all emergency service functions of the Commonwealthbe coordinated to the maximum extent possible with the comparable functionsof the federal government, other states, and private agencies of every type,and that the Governor shall be empowered to provide for enforcement by theCommonwealth of national emergency services programs, to the end that themost effective preparation and use may be made of the nation's resources andfacilities for dealing with any disaster that may occur.

(1973, c. 260; 1974, c. 4; 1975, c. 11; 2000, c. 309.)