PETITION OF:

SECTION 1. Chapter 6 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2004 Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting after section 1 thereof the following new section:--

Section 1A. (a) The governor shall have the authority to issue a declaration of disaster within 72 hours after any event or series of events which, in his discretion, results in loss of life, personal injury, destruction of public or private property or disruption of infrastructure or essential services which is exceptional in degree because of the number of people or the size of the geographic area so affected.

(b) A declaration issued under the preceding paragraph shall specify with particularity the event or series of events to which it relates and the persons or properties or groups of persons or properties so affected. In addition, such a declaration may include any one or more of the following executive orders that the governor might deem to be necessary or appropriate, and notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary:--

(1) an executive order that certain executive offices, departments or administrative agencies of the commonwealth take or refrain from taking certain specified actions;

(2) an executive order that municipalities affected by the condition giving rise to the declaration may enter into agreements with one another or with the commonwealth for the bulk purchasing of equipment or resources necessary to abate or remedy said condition; provided, that such bulk purchasing may be undertaken independent of the requirements of chapter 30B of the General Laws; and provided further, that such an order shall clearly define the municipalities which are eligible to participate in such bulk purchasing, the scope of items which may be procured according to its terms, and a set period of time within which such items shall be purchased;

(3) an executive order that repairs and reconstruction of certain specified land and buildings owned by the commonwealth or one of its political subdivisions and which were damaged as a direct result of the condition giving rise to the declaration may be made without regard to chapter 30B of the General Laws;

(4) an executive order establishing a program which provides state assistance to persons whose primary residences or businesses were damaged as a direct and proximate result of the condition giving rise to the declaration; provided, that such assistance shall take the form of loans of money from the general fund of the commonwealth, without further appropriation; and provided further, that such program shall be administered by the director of the department of housing and community development; and provided further, that such loans shall be repayable at a rate of interest which is at or below the market rate of interest; and provide further, that the total amount of loans which are issued in response to any particular event or series of events giving rise to a declaration shall not exceed $10 million in value, nor shall any such loan to a single person exceed $20,000 in value; and provided further, that such loans shall be repaid in full to the municipality in which the person resides or in which the subject business is located over a term of not more than 5 years from the date of issue; and provided further, that each such loan shall be secured by a lien in the subject property running in favor of the municipality in which it is located, which lien shall have priority over any and all other security interests in such property and shall be perfected without need of being recorded at the registry of deeds.

(5) an executive order permitting any city or town in which personal property has been damaged as a direct and proximate result of the condition giving rise to the declaration to abate property taxes for the property so damaged, such that for a period of not more than 2 years next following the declaration the valuation of the property which is so taxed shall be limited to the value of the land upon which it is located immediately prior to the time the damage took place.

SECTION 2. Section 18¾ of chapter 6A of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2004 Official Edition, is hereby amended by adding the following paragraph:--

(9) to develop and implement a comprehensive program which shall identify, on a continuing basis, significant natural and man-made threats to the life and safety of Massachusetts residents and to the security of public and private facilities located in the commonwealth, to determine vulnerabilities in such areas, and to develop solutions to prevent, interdict and respond to incidents related to such threats. The program shall include, but not be limited to, analysis of the sufficiency of staffing and equipment within municipal police and fire departments, regional police and fire districts and the state police; plans for the evacuation of communities in the event of a catastrophe; and, the ability of federal, state and local agencies to communicate and inter-operate in the event of an emergency. The undersecretary of homeland security shall annually file a report on the status and findings of such program with the clerk of the senate and house of representatives, the chairs of the joint committee on public safety and homeland security and the house and senate committees on ways and means; provided, that the undersecretary of homeland security may omit from such report any findings or other information the disclosure of which he believes may present a security risk to the health, safety or welfare of Massachusetts residents.

SECTION 3. Chapter 10 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2004 Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting after section 33BB the following new section:--

Section 35CC. There shall be established on the books of the commonwealth a separate fund, to be known as the Massachusetts Disaster Relief Fund. There shall be credited to said fund any and all amounts paid to the commonwealth by the federal government for the purpose of relief from any disaster. All amounts in the fund, including any investment earnings, shall be held by the state treasurer and paid to public or private persons, according to the purposes for which the funds were received and in consultation with the director of the emergency management agency; provided, that no monies credited to said fund shall remain on deposit with the commonwealth for more than six months after they are received.

SECTION 4. There is hereby established a special commission to study the sufficiency and appropriateness of laws and other arrangements for the continuity of state government in the event of a catastrophe, including but not limited to plans to prevent the disruption of services in the event of a disaster and to prevent interruptions in decision making by elected officials through the prompt filling of vacancies in elected offices resulting from an emergency. Said commission shall consist of 7 members, one of whom shall be the governor or his designee, one of whom shall be the secretary of state or his designee, one of whom shall be the secretary of public safety or his designee, one of whom shall be a state senator appointed by the president of the senate, one of whom shall be a state senator appointed by the minority leader of the senate, one of whom shall be a state representative appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives, and one of whom shall be a state representative appointed by the minority leader of the house of representatives. Said commission shall issue a report of its findings, including any proposals for the passage of legislation to remedy insufficiencies in existing law, not later than December 1, 2007.

SECTION 5. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, law enforcement councils recognized by the secretary of public safety shall be eligible to apply for and receive grants of homeland security funding under the same terms and conditions as municipal police departments and regional police districts in the commonwealth.