Pennsylvania § 7203 - Joint State Government Commission study.

§ 7203. Joint State Government Commission study.

(a) Duty.--The commission shall conduct a comprehensive study and assessment of the Commonwealth's urban search and rescue capabilities.

(b) Advisory board.--The commission shall establish an advisory board to conduct the study under this section. The board shall consist of the following members or their designee:

(1) The Director of PEMA.

(2) The Adjutant General.

(3) The State Fire Commissioner.

(4) The Commissioner of Pennsylvania State Police.

(5) The Secretary of Conservation and Natural Resources.

(6) The Secretary of Environmental Protection.

(7) The Secretary of Health.

(8) The Secretary of Transportation.

(9) The Executive Director of the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission.

(10) The Commander of the Pennsylvania Civil Air Patrol.

(11) The FEMA Region 3 administrator or a designee.

(12) The President, or a designee of the President, of the International Association of Fire Fighters in a fire company in a city that is a sponsoring agency under section 7386(a)(1)(v)(A) (relating to State Fire Advisory Board).

(13) The President, or a designee of the President, of the International Association of Fire Fighters in a fire company in a city of the first class.

(14) One emergency management coordinator each from western, eastern and central Pennsylvania.

(15) A representative of the Pennsylvania Association of Hazardous Materials Technicians.

(16) A representative of the Pennsylvania State Association of Boroughs.

(17) A representative of the executive board of the Pennsylvania State Association of Township Supervisors.

(18) A representative of the Municipal League.

(19) A representative of the executive board of the Pennsylvania State Association of Township Commissioners.

(20) The sponsoring agency chief or a designee of Pennsylvania Task Force 1.

(21) A representative of the Pennsylvania Fire Advisory Board.

(22) A representative of the Pennsylvania Career Fire Chiefs Association.

(23) A representative of the Pennsylvania Fire and Emergency Services Institute.

(24) A representative of the Ambulance Association of Pennsylvania.

(25) The executive board chairperson or a designee of each of the regional task forces.

(26) A representative of the County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania.

(27) The President, or a designee of the President, from the Pennsylvania Professional Firefighters Association.

(c) Conduct and assessment.--The commission shall:

(1) Conduct the study by reviewing the following:

(i) In consultation with PEMA, the overall emergency response system plan for this Commonwealth in accordance with NIMS standards and guidelines.

(ii) The current capabilities of Pennsylvania Task Force 1, the Pennsylvania National Guard CBRN Enhanced Response Force Package (CERF-P) and Civil Support Team (CST) and the Commonwealth's regional task forces related to extraction from damaged or collapsed structures in this Commonwealth.

(iii) The status of protocols and capabilities of emergency medical services care provided by and to urban rescue and response teams for entrapped survivors, urban rescue and response team personnel and others. The assessment shall include physical, visual and audio search capabilities.

(iv) The reconnaissance capabilities of Pennsylvania Task Force 1, the Pennsylvania National Guard CBRN Enhanced Response Force Package (CERF-P) and Civil Support Team (CST) and the Commonwealth's regional task forces regarding damage assessment, mission readiness and resource needs.

(v) PEMA's protocols and communications capabilities among Pennsylvania Task Force 1, this Commonwealth's regional task forces and local emergency response personnel, such as fire companies, EMS agencies and State and local law enforcement, as well as Federal, State and local governments regarding their emergency operations.

(vi) The current protocols, capabilities or needs for hazardous material surveys, extraction and cleanup.

(vii) The capabilities regarding structural stabilization as well as shoring and cribbing operations to damaged buildings of Pennsylvania Task Force 1, the Pennsylvania National Guard CBRN Enhanced Response Force Package (CERF-P) and Civil Support Team (CST) and this Commonwealth's regional task forces.

(2) Review, assess, inventory and catalog urban search and rescue equipment possessed by Pennsylvania Task Force 1, the Pennsylvania National Guard CBRN Enhanced Response Force Package (CERF-P) and each urban search and rescue team of a regional task force in this Commonwealth.

(3) Conduct a monetary assessment to identify and quantify existing Federal, State and local funding resources and the funding impacts of Pennsylvania Task Force 1 and the regional task force system, as well as the short-term and long-term funding impact of creating an additional NIMS-typed urban search and rescue resource in this Commonwealth.

(d) Urban search and rescue.--The commission shall examine each of the component parts of the urban search and rescue system in this Commonwealth, including Pennsylvania Task Force 1, the National Guard CBRN Enhanced Response Force Package (CERF-P) and regional task force urban search and rescue and specialized regional counterterrorism response teams, according to the applicable standard-setting organizations of each respective team, including, but not limited to, the National Urban Search and Rescue Response System, the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) and standards developed by the National Guard Bureau. The commission shall examine the capability of the current urban search and rescue system in this Commonwealth to provide the needed capabilities in accordance with the Commonwealth's current hazard/risk profile and the capabilities identified in each regional Task Force Threat and Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment (THIRA).

(e) Report and recommendations.--In developing a report as required under this section, the commission shall identify gaps in the system and develop recommendations to address the gaps. The information shall include the identification of resources necessary to address gaps and shall include the identification of areas or regions in this Commonwealth that lack resources to respond to emergencies requiring urban search and rescue capability in accordance with their hazard profile identified in the regional Task Force Threat and Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment (THIRA).

(f) Time.--The commission shall submit to the General Assembly a report of its findings and recommendations by November 30, 2024, or 180 days after the effective date of this subsection, whichever is later.