Emergency Management Services Code News Today

Pennsylvania’s Emergency Management Services Code allows a governor, upon declaring a disaster emergency, to issue orders responding to that emergency.  The power to issue such orders...

Pennsylvanians chose to curb those emergency powers Tuesday in a vote that will limit emergency declarations to 21 days and require a majority vote by the legislature to extend them. While conversation around the change has largely focused on Gov. Tom Wolfs emergency pandemic response, Tuesdays vote will also impact recovery efforts for disasters like hurricanes and snow storms — hazards Monroe County Emergency Management predicts will occur more frequently as the climate continues to cha...

So what happens when the governor declares an emergency for weather?  By declaring the emergency, Wolf can rely on the Emergency Management Assistance Compact in order to provide for mutual aid between states during an emergency. In addition, Wolf has authorized and directed that the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency Director can assume "command and control" of all statewide emergency operations and use any resources deemed necessary to cope with the severity of the emergency.  By d...