Tennessee Code 58-8-111 – Responsibility for costs – Eligibility for reimbursement – Wages – Use of equipment, materials and supplies – Records and invoices
(a) Except as provided in this section, the requesting party shall pay the responding party all documented costs incurred by the responding party in extending assistance to the requesting party under this chapter. The requesting party is ultimately responsible for reimbursement of all eligible expenses, not to exceed the federal emergency management agency’s (FEMA) reimbursement fee schedules.
Terms Used In Tennessee Code 58-8-111
Aid: means the same as assistance, except that aid is provided in an occurrence during any period of time when a state of emergency has not been declared. See Tennessee Code 58-8-102
Assistance: means the provision of personnel, equipment, facilities, services, supplies, and other resources to assist in firefighting, law enforcement, the provision of public works services, the provision of emergency medical care, the provision of civil defense services, or any other emergency assistance one governmental entity is able to provide to another in response to a request for assistance in a municipal, county, state, or federal state of emergency. See Tennessee Code 58-8-102
Emergency: means an occurrence or threat of an occurrence, whether natural or man-made, that results in or may result in substantial injury or harm to the population or substantial damage to or loss of property and which results in a declaration of a state of emergency by a municipal mayor, a county mayor or executive, the governor, or the president. See Tennessee Code 58-8-102
Employee: means paid, volunteer, and auxiliary personnel and emergency management workers of a governmental entity. See Tennessee Code 58-8-102
Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
Requesting party: means a governmental entity that requests aid or assistance from another governmental entity under this chapter. See Tennessee Code 58-8-102
Responding party: means a governmental entity that has received and responded to a request to provide mutual aid or assistance to another governmental entity under this chapter. See Tennessee Code 58-8-102
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) Eligibility for reimbursement begins immediately upon the declaration of the state of emergency. The responding party is entitled to receive payment for one-half (1/2) its reimbursable costs for the first six (6) hours of its response after the state of emergency is declared. The responding party is entitled to one hundred percent (100%) reimbursement of eligible costs incurred after six (6) hours are exceeded. Time periods for the response subject to reimbursement shall be calculated from the time the state of emergency is declared or the time the responding party leaves its jurisdiction, whichever occurs later, to the time it returns. Reimbursement of personnel, equipment, and materials and supply costs are all subject to the limitations of this subsection (b).(c) During the period of assistance, the responding party shall continue to pay its employees according to then-prevailing wages, including benefits and overtime. The requesting party shall reimburse the responding party for all direct and indirect payroll costs, including travel expenses, incurred during the period of assistance, including but not limited to, employee retirement benefits as determined by generally accepted accounting principles. The requesting party is not responsible for reimbursing any amounts paid or due as benefits to responding party’s personnel under the terms of the Tennessee Workers’ Compensation Act, compiled in title 50, chapter 6.(d) The requesting party shall reimburse the responding party for the use of its equipment during the period of assistance according to the FEMA fee schedules for hourly rates. For instances in which the costs are reimbursed by FEMA, eligible direct costs shall be determined in accordance with 44 C.F.R. § 206.228.(e) The requesting party shall reimburse the responding party for all material and supplies furnished by it and used or damaged during the period of assistance, except for the cost of equipment, fuel, and maintenance materials, labor, and supplies, which shall be included in the equipment rate unless it is damaged and the damage is caused by the gross negligence, willful and wanton misconduct, intentional misuse, or recklessness of the responding party’s personnel. The measure of reimbursement shall be determined in accordance with 44 C.F.R. part 13 and applicable office of management and budget (OMB) circulars.(f) The responding party shall maintain records and submit invoices for reimbursement by the requesting party. For instances in which costs are reimbursed by FEMA, the requesting party must submit requests for reimbursement to the Tennessee emergency management agency (TEMA) on forms required by federal emergency management publications, including 44 C.F.R. part 13 and applicable OMB circulars. The reimbursement request shall include the certification or level of training of the personnel who responded and the type of equipment that was sent.(g) The responding party shall forward the reimbursable costs with an itemized invoice to the requesting party as soon as possible, but no later than sixty (60) days after the provision of assistance has ended.(h) Nonparticipating governmental entities and participating governmental entities that have separate agreements with nonparticipating governmental entities, may by agreement provide for different reimbursement provisions.(i) The preceding provisions of this section do not apply to aid or assistance provided under § 58-2-113 at the request of TEMA. Reimbursement of costs for aid or assistance provided in these situations is governed by § 58-2-113 and any other applicable provisions of chapter 2 of this title.
