605—7.3(29C) Local emergency management commission.

1. 7.3(1)  Local emergency management commissions shall be consistent with Iowa Code section 29C.9.

2. 7.3(2)  Local commission bylaws. The commission shall develop bylaws to specify, at a minimum, the following information:

   1. a. The name of the commission.
   2. b. The list of members.
   3. c. The date for the commencement of operations.
   4. d. The commission’s mission.
   5. e. The commission’s powers and duties.
   6. f. The manner for financing the commission and its activities and maintaining a budget therefor.
   7. g. The manner for acquiring, holding and disposing of property.
   8. h. The manner for electing or appointing officers and the terms of office.
   9. i. The manner by which members may vote.
   10. j. The manner for appointing, hiring, disciplining and terminating employees.
   11. k. The rules for conducting meetings of the commission.

   12. l. Any other necessary and proper rules or procedures.

       The bylaws, as adopted, shall be signed by each member of the commission. The commission shall record the signed bylaws with the county recorder and will forward a copy of the bylaws to the director of the department.

3. 7.3(3)  Commission business. Commission business shall be conducted in compliance with Iowa Code chapters 21 and 22.

4. 7.3(4)  The commission is tasked with the following minimum duties and responsibilities.

   1. a. Administration and finance.

      1. (1) Establish and maintain a local emergency management agency responsible for the local emergency management program. The primary responsibility of this agency is to develop and maintain a comprehensive emergency management capability in cooperation with other governmental agencies, volunteer organizations, and private sector organizations.
      2. (2) Determine the mission of the agency and its program.
      3. (3) Develop and adopt a budget in accordance with the provisions of Iowa Code chapter 24 and section 29C.17 in support of the commission and its programs. The commission shall be the fiscal authority, and the chairperson or vice chairperson shall be the certifying official for the budget.
      4. (4) Appoint an emergency management coordinator who meets the qualifications established in subrule 7.4(3).
      5. (5) Develop and adopt policies defining the rights and liabilities of commission employees, emergency workers and volunteers.
      6. (6) Provide direction for the delivery of the emergency management services of planning, administration, coordination, training, exercising, and support for local governments and their departments.
      7. (7) Coordinate emergency management activities and services among county and city governments and the private sector agencies under the jurisdiction of the commission.

   2. b. Hazard identification, risk assessment, and capability assessment.

      1. (1) The commission should continually identify credible hazards that may affect its jurisdiction, the likelihood of occurrence, and the vulnerability of the jurisdiction to such hazards. Hazards to be considered should include natural, technological, and human-caused.
      2. (2) The commission should conduct an analysis to determine the consequences and impact of identified hazards on the health and safety of the public, the health and safety of responders, property and infrastructure, critical and essential facilities, public services, the environment, the economy of the jurisdiction, and government operations and obligations.
      3. (3) The hazard analysis should include identification of vital personnel, systems, operations, equipment, and facilities at risk.
      4. (4) The commission should identify mitigation and preparedness considerations based upon the hazard analysis.
      5. (5) A comprehensive assessment of the emergency management program elements should be conducted periodically to determine the operational capability and readiness of the jurisdiction to address the identified hazards and risks.

   3. c. Resource management. The commission shall:

      1. (1) Develop a method to effectively identify, acquire, distribute, account for, and utilize resources essential to emergency functions.
      2. (2) Utilize, to the maximum extent practicable, the services, equipment, supplies and facilities of the political subdivisions that are members of the commission.
      3. (3) Identify resource shortfalls and develop the steps and procedures necessary to overcome such shortfalls.
      4. (4) Conduct mutual aid assistance in accordance with Iowa Code sections 29C.11 and 29C.22.

   4. d. Planning.

      1. (1) The commission shall develop a comprehensive emergency plan that is capabilities-based, multihazard and multifunctional in nature. The plan will conform to the Comprehensive Preparedness Guide 101 as established by the Federal Emergency Management Agency published 2025 with any modifications as determined and communicated by the department.

      2. (2) Plans shall contain the following common elements:

         1. 1. Identification of the functional roles and responsibilities of internal and external agencies, organizations, departments, and individuals during mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery.
         2. 2. Establishment and identification of lines of authority for those agencies, organizations, departments, and individuals.
      3. (3) Plans shall be regularly reviewed and amended as appropriate in accordance with a five-year schedule established by the commission, which shall include, at a minimum, a complete review, and amendment as appropriate, at a minimum of every five years. However, a review, and amendment as appropriate, of the hazardous materials portion and of a minimum of 20 percent of the remaining annexes or portions of the plan shall be conducted on a yearly basis. The complete operations plan will be reviewed entirely, and amended as appropriate, every five years. A copy of the portions of the plan that are reviewed, regardless of amendment, must be certified and submitted annually as determined by the department for approval.
      4. (4) To be certified, the plan must be adopted annually by the members of the commission and attested to by the chairperson and the local emergency management coordinator on a signature document as specified by the department.
      5. (5) The operations plan shall include provisions for damage assessment.
      6. (6) Hazardous materials plans will comply with the minimum requirements of federal law, 42 U.S.C. §11003 as of January 1, 2025.
      7. (7) Counties designated as risk or host counties for a nuclear facility emergency planning zone shall meet the standards and requirements as published by the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the Federal Emergency Management Agency in NUREG-0654, FEMA-REP-1, Rev. 2, December 2019.
      8. (8) Commissions participating in or conducting exercises or experiencing real disaster incidents that require after-action and corrective action reports have 180 days from the date of the publication of the corrective action report to incorporate the corrective actions, as appropriate, into the commission’s plans.
      9. (9) Within 60 calendar days from the receipt of the plan, the department will review plans or portions of plans submitted by a commission for approval. The department will notify the local emergency management agency in writing of the approval or nonapproval of the plan. If the plan is not approved, the department shall state the specific standard or standards that are not being met and offer guidance on how the plan may be brought into compliance.
      10. (10) In accordance with Iowa Code sections 29C.6 and 29C.7, state participation in funding financial assistance in a presidentially or non-presidentially declared disaster is contingent upon the commission’s having on file a state-approved, comprehensive emergency plan as provided in Iowa Code section 29C.9(8). A comprehensive emergency plan will not be considered approved by the department per Iowa Code section 29C.9(8) unless such plan adheres to and meets the minimum standards as established herein.

   5. e. Direction, control and coordination.

      1. (1) The commission shall execute and enforce the orders or rules made by the governor or under the governor’s authority.
      2. (2) The commission shall establish and maintain the capability to effectively direct, control and coordinate emergency and disaster response and recovery efforts.
      3. (3) The commission shall establish a means of interfacing on-scene management with direction and control personnel and facilities.
      4. (4) The commission should actively support use of the Incident Command System (ICS) model by all emergency and disaster response agencies within the jurisdiction.

   6. f. Damage assessment.

      1. (1) The commission shall develop and maintain a damage assessment capability consistent with local, state and federal requirements and shall designate individuals responsible for the function of damage assessment.
      2. (2) Individuals identified by the commission to perform the function of damage assessment shall be trained through a course of instruction that may be delivered and developed by the commission and will be approved by the department.

   7. g. Communications and warning.

      1. (1) The commission should identify a means of disseminating a warning to the public, key officials, emergency response personnel and those other persons within the jurisdiction who may be potentially affected.
      2. (2) The commission should identify the primary and secondary means of communications to support direction, control, and coordination of emergency management activities.
   8. h. Operations and procedures. The commission should encourage public and private agencies, which have defined responsibilities in the comprehensive emergency plan, to develop standard operating procedures, policies, and directives in support of the plan.

   9. i. Training.

      1. (1) The commission shall require the local emergency management coordinator to meet the minimum training requirements as established by the department and identified in subrule 7.4(4).
      2. (2) The commission should, in conjunction with the local emergency management coordinator, arrange for and actively support ongoing emergency management-related training for local public officials, emergency responders, volunteers, and support staff.
      3. (3) Persons responsible for emergency plan development or implementation should receive training specific to, or related to, hazards identified in the local hazard analysis.
      4. (4) The commission should encourage individuals, other than the emergency management coordinator, with emergency management responsibilities as defined in the comprehensive emergency plan, to complete, within two years of appointment, training consistent with their emergency management responsibilities.
      5. (5) The commission should encourage all individuals with emergency management responsibilities to maintain current and adequate training consistent with their responsibilities.

   10. j. Exercises.

       1. (1) The commission shall ensure that exercise activities are conducted annually in accordance with local, state and federal requirements.
       2. (2) Exercise activities should follow a progressive five-year plan that is designed to meet the needs of the jurisdiction.
       3. (3) Local entities assigned to an exercise should actively participate and support the role of the entity in the exercise.
       4. (4) Local entities assigned to an exercise should actively participate in the design, development, implementation, and evaluation of the exercise activity.

   11. k. Public education and information.

       1. (1) The commission should designate the individual or individuals who are responsible for public education and information functions.

       2. (2) The commission should ensure a public information capability, to include:

          1. 1. Designated public information personnel trained to meet local requirements.
          2. 2. A system of receiving and disseminating emergency public information.
          3. 3. A method to develop, coordinate, and authorize the release of information.
          4. 4. A plan to communicate with access and functional needs populations.
       3. (3) The commission should actively support the development of capabilities to electronically collect, compile, report, receive, and transmit emergency public information.
5. 7.3(5)  Two or more commissions. Two or more commissions may, upon review by the director and with the approval of their respective boards of supervisors, cities, and sheriffs, enter into agreements pursuant to Iowa Code chapter 28E for the joint coordination and administration of emergency management services throughout the multicounty area.

[ARC 9271C, IAB 5/14/25, effective 6/18/25; ARC 9639C, IAB 10/29/25, effective 12/3/25]