1. There is hereby established a joint committee of the general assembly, which shall be known as the “Joint Committee on Disaster Preparedness and Awareness” and shall be composed of the following members:

(1) Three members of the senate to be appointed by the president pro tempore of the senate;

Terms Used In Missouri Laws 21.851

  • Appropriation: The provision of funds, through an annual appropriations act or a permanent law, for federal agencies to make payments out of the Treasury for specified purposes. The formal federal spending process consists of two sequential steps: authorization
  • following: when used by way of reference to any section of the statutes, mean the section next preceding or next following that in which the reference is made, unless some other section is expressly designated in the reference. See Missouri Laws 1.020
  • Joint committee: Committees including membership from both houses of teh legislature. Joint committees are usually established with narrow jurisdictions and normally lack authority to report legislation.
  • President pro tempore: A constitutionally recognized officer of the Senate who presides over the chamber in the absence of the Vice President. The President Pro Tempore (or, "president for a time") is elected by the Senate and is, by custom, the Senator of the majority party with the longest record of continuous service.
  • Quorum: The number of legislators that must be present to do business.
  • State: when applied to any of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the territories, and the words "United States" includes such district and territories. See Missouri Laws 1.020

(2) Two members of the senate to be appointed by the minority floor leader of the senate;

(3) Three members of the house of representatives to be appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives;

(4) Two members of the house of representatives to be appointed by the minority floor leader of the house of representatives;

(5) The director of the department of public safety, or his or her designee;

(6) The director of the department of agriculture, or his or her designee; and

(7) The adjutant general of the state, or his or her designee.

2. A majority of the members of the committee shall constitute a quorum, but the concurrence of a majority of the members shall be required for the determination of any matter within the committee’s duties.

3. The joint committee shall make a continuous study and investigation into issues relating to disaster preparedness and awareness including, but not limited to, the following areas:

(1) Natural and manmade disasters;

(2) State and local preparedness for floods;

(3) State and local preparedness for tornados, blizzards, and other severe storms;

(4) Food and energy resiliency;

(5) Cybersecurity;

(6) The budget reserve fund established under Article IV, Section 27(a) of the Missouri Constitution;

(7) The protection of vulnerable populations in intermediate care facilities and skilled nursing facilities as those terms are defined in section 198.006; and

(8) Premises that have been previously contaminated with radioactive material.

4. The joint committee shall compile a full report of its activities for submission to the general assembly. The report shall be submitted not later than January first of even-numbered years and may include any recommendations which the committee may have for legislative action. The report may also include an analysis and statement of the manner in which statutory provisions relating to disaster preparedness and awareness are being executed.

5. The joint committee may employ such personnel as it deems necessary to carry out the duties imposed by this section, within the limits of any appropriation for such purpose.

6. The members of the committee shall serve without compensation, but any actual and necessary expenses incurred in the performance of the committee’s official duties by the joint committee, its members, and any staff assigned to the committee shall be paid from the joint contingent fund.

7. This section shall expire on December 31, 2022.

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