(a) A state organization representing the majority of broadcasters in this state, in cooperation with the state and local emergency management agencies, may develop plans for preparing for and responding appropriately to an emergency or disaster.

Terms Used In Tennessee Code 58-2-128

  • Broadcaster: means a radio broadcasting station or a television broadcasting station primarily engaged in the business of facilitating or originating speech, pictures or both through over the air communications, both as to pure speech and commercial speech and for all purposes operating under licenses provided by the federal communications commission and which station has been selected by the federal emergency management agency as a primary entry point. See Tennessee Code 58-2-101
  • Disaster: means any natural, technological, or civil emergency that causes damage of sufficient severity and magnitude to result in a declaration of a state emergency by a county, the governor, or the president of the United States. See Tennessee Code 58-2-101
  • Emergency: means an occurrence, or threat thereof, whether natural, technological, or manmade, in war or in peace, that results or may result in substantial injury or harm to the population, or substantial damage to or loss of property. See Tennessee Code 58-2-101
  • Emergency response broadcaster: means a person certified pursuant to §. See Tennessee Code 58-2-101
  • State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories of the United States. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
(b) Any state organization that represents the majority of the state’s broadcasters may establish a program for training and certifying broadcast engineers and technical personnel as emergency response broadcasters. Any such program established pursuant to this subsection (b) shall:

(1) Be consistent with the federal law and guidelines;
(2) Provide training and education concerning restoring, repairing, and resupplying any facilities and equipment of a broadcaster in an area affected by an emergency; and
(3) Provide training and education concerning the personal safety of an emergency broadcaster in an area affected by an emergency.
(c) To the extent practical and consistent with not endangering public safety or inhibiting recovery efforts, state and local officers and workers and government agencies shall allow emergency response broadcasters access to an area affected by an emergency for the purpose of restoring, repairing, or resupplying any facility or equipment critical to the ability of a broadcaster to acquire, produce, and transmit essential public information programming, including, without limitation, repairing and maintaining transmitters and generators and transporting fuel for generators.
(d) No emergency response broadcaster shall access an area affected by an emergency for the purpose of creating audio or video program content or transmitting information to the public.
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