§ 44-146.13 Short title
§ 44-146.14 Findings of General Assembly
§ 44-146.15 Construction of chapter
§ 44-146.16 Definitions
§ 44-146.17 Powers and duties of Governor
§ 44-146.17:1 Transmittal to General Assembly of rules, regulations, and orders
§ 44-146.17:1.1 Certain emergency orders; additional requirements
§ 44-146.17:2 Annual statewide drill
§ 44-146.18 Department of Emergency Management; administration and operational control; coordinator and other personnel; powers and duties
§ 44-146.18:1 Virginia Disaster Response Funds disbursements; reimbursements
§ 44-146.18:2 Authority of Coordinator of Emergency Management in undeclared emergency
§ 44-146.18:3 First informer broadcasters; coordination with Department of Emergency Management
§ 44-146.18:4 State Coordinator of Emergency Management responsible for annual Virginia Comprehensive Emergency Management Report
§ 44-146.18:5 Division of Public Safety Communications established; appointment of Virginia Public Safety Communications Coordinator; duties of Division
§ 44-146.18:6 Geographic Information Network Division established; powers and duties; Division Coordinator
§ 44-146.18:7 GIS Fund created
§ 44-146.18:8 Additional powers and duties of the State Coordinator of Emergency Management
§ 44-146.18:9 Nonstock corporation to assist in the development of GIS data
§ 44-146.19 Powers and duties of political subdivisions
§ 44-146.20 Joint action by political subdivisions
§ 44-146.21 Declaration of local emergency
§ 44-146.22 Development of measures to prevent or reduce harmful consequences of disasters; disclosure of information
§ 44-146.23 Immunity from liability
§ 44-146.24 Cooperation of public agencies
§ 44-146.26 Duties of emergency management organizations
§ 44-146.27 Supplementing federal funds; assistance of federal agencies; acceptance of gifts and services; appropriations by local governing bodies
§ 44-146.28 Authority of Governor and agencies under his control in declared state of emergency
§ 44-146.28:1 Compact enacted into law; terms
§ 44-146.28:2 Disaster relief assistance by out-of-state businesses and employees
§ 44-146.29:3 Emergency Shelters Upgrade Assistance Grant Fund

Terms Used In Virginia Code > Title 44 > Chapter 3.2 - Emergency Services and Disaster Law

  • Advice and consent: Under the Constitution, presidential nominations for executive and judicial posts take effect only when confirmed by the Senate, and international treaties become effective only when the Senate approves them by a two-thirds vote.
  • Amendment: A proposal to alter the text of a pending bill or other measure by striking out some of it, by inserting new language, or both. Before an amendment becomes part of the measure, thelegislature must agree to it.
  • Appeal: A request made after a trial, asking another court (usually the court of appeals) to decide whether the trial was conducted properly. To make such a request is "to appeal" or "to take an appeal." One who appeals is called the appellant.
  • Appellate: About appeals; an appellate court has the power to review the judgement of another lower court or tribunal.
  • 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
  • Arrest: Taking physical custody of a person by lawful authority.
  • Board: means the Commonwealth Transportation Board. See Virginia Code 33.2-100
  • Chief judge: The judge who has primary responsibility for the administration of a court but also decides cases; chief judges are determined by seniority.
  • City: has the meaning assigned to it in § 1-208. See Virginia Code 33.2-100
  • Commissioner of Highways: means the individual who serves as the chief executive officer of the Department of Transportation. See Virginia Code 33.2-100
  • Communicable disease of public health threat: means an illness of public health significance, as determined by the State Health Commissioner in accordance with regulations of the Board of Health, caused by a specific or suspected infectious agent that may be reasonably expected or is known to be readily transmitted directly or indirectly from one individual to another and has been found to create a risk of death or significant injury or impairment; this definition shall not, however, be construed to include human immunodeficiency viruses or tuberculosis, unless used as a bioterrorism weapon. See Virginia Code 44-146.16
  • Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
  • Continuance: Putting off of a hearing ot trial until a later time.
  • Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
  • Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
  • Department: means the Department of Transportation. See Virginia Code 33.2-100
  • Disaster: means (i) any man-made disaster, including any condition following an attack by any enemy or foreign nation upon the United States resulting in substantial damage of property or injury to persons in the United States including by use of bombs, missiles, shell fire, or nuclear, radiological, chemical, or biological means or other weapons or by overt paramilitary actions; terrorism, foreign and domestic; cyber incidents; and any industrial, nuclear, or transportation accident, explosion, conflagration, power failure, resources shortage, or other condition such as sabotage, oil spills, and other injurious environmental contaminations that threaten or cause damage to property, human suffering, hardship, or loss of life and (ii) any natural disaster, including any hurricane, tornado, storm, flood, high water, wind-driven water, tidal wave, earthquake, drought, fire, communicable disease of public health threat, or other natural catastrophe resulting in damage, hardship, suffering, or possible loss of life. See Virginia Code 44-146.16
  • Discharge: means spillage, leakage, pumping, pouring, seepage, emitting, dumping, emptying, injecting, escaping, leaching, fire, explosion, or other releases. See Virginia Code 44-146.16
  • Emergency: means any occurrence, or threat thereof, whether natural or man-made, which results or may result in substantial injury or harm to the population or substantial damage to or loss of property or natural resources and may involve governmental action beyond that authorized or contemplated by existing law because governmental inaction for the period required to amend the law to meet the exigency would work immediate and irrevocable harm upon the citizens or the environment of the Commonwealth or some clearly defined portion or portions thereof. See Virginia Code 44-146.16
  • Emergency services: means the preparation for and the carrying out of functions, other than functions for which military forces are primarily responsible, to prevent, minimize, and repair injury and damage resulting from disasters, together with all other activities necessary or incidental to the preparation for and carrying out of the foregoing functions. See Virginia Code 44-146.16
  • Fair market value: The price at which an asset would change hands in a transaction between a willing, informed buyer and a willing, informed seller.
  • Fiscal year: The fiscal year is the accounting period for the government. For the federal government, this begins on October 1 and ends on September 30. The fiscal year is designated by the calendar year in which it ends; for example, fiscal year 2006 begins on October 1, 2005 and ends on September 30, 2006.
  • Freedom of Information Act: A federal law that mandates that all the records created and kept by federal agencies in the executive branch of government must be open for public inspection and copying. The only exceptions are those records that fall into one of nine exempted categories listed in the statute. Source: OCC
  • Hazard mitigation: means any action taken to reduce or eliminate the long-term risk to human life and property from natural hazards. See Virginia Code 44-146.16
  • Highway: means the entire width between the boundary lines of every way or place open to the use of the public for purposes of vehicular travel in the Commonwealth. See Virginia Code 33.2-100
  • highway construction: means highway, passenger and freight rail, or public transportation purposes. See Virginia Code 33.2-100
  • Individual: shall include any companion animal. See Virginia Code 44-146.16
  • Interstate System: means the same as that term is defined in 23 U. See Virginia Code 33.2-100
  • Local emergency: means the condition declared by the local governing body when in its judgment the threat or actual occurrence of an emergency or disaster is or threatens to be of sufficient severity and magnitude to warrant coordinated local government action to prevent or alleviate the damage, loss, hardship, or suffering threatened or caused thereby, provided, however, that a local emergency arising wholly or substantially out of a resource shortage may be declared only by the Governor, upon petition of the local governing body, when he deems the threat or actual occurrence of such an emergency or disaster to be of sufficient severity and magnitude to warrant coordinated local government action to prevent or alleviate the damage, loss, hardship, or suffering threatened or caused thereby, and provided, however, nothing in this chapter shall be construed as prohibiting a local governing body from the prudent management of its water supply to prevent or manage a water shortage. See Virginia Code 44-146.16
  • Locality: has the meaning assigned to it in § 1-221. See Virginia Code 33.2-100
  • Locality: means a county, city, or town as the context may require. See Virginia Code 1-221
  • Maintenance: means (i) ordinary maintenance; (ii) maintenance replacement; (iii) operations that include traffic signal synchronization, incident management, and other intelligent transportation system functions; and (iv) any other categories of maintenance that may be designated by the Commissioner of Highways. See Virginia Code 33.2-100
  • Major disaster: means any natural catastrophe, including any: hurricane, tornado, storm, high water, wind-driven water, tidal wave, tsunami, earthquake, volcanic eruption, landslide, mudslide, snowstorm, or drought, or regardless of cause, any fire, flood, or explosion, in any part of the United States, which, in the determination of the President of the United States is, or thereafter determined to be, of sufficient severity and magnitude to warrant major disaster assistance under the Stafford Act (P. See Virginia Code 44-146.16
  • Month: means a calendar month and "year" means a calendar year. See Virginia Code 1-223
  • Municipality: has the meaning assigned to it in § 1-224. See Virginia Code 33.2-100
  • Oath: A promise to tell the truth.
  • Oath: includes affirmation. See Virginia Code 1-228
  • Plea: In a criminal case, the defendant's statement pleading "guilty" or "not guilty" in answer to the charges, a declaration made in open court.
  • Political subdivision: means any city or county in the Commonwealth and, for the purposes of this chapter, the Town of Chincoteague and any town of more than 5,000 population that chooses to have an emergency management program separate from that of the county in which such town is located. See Virginia Code 44-146.16
  • Primary state highway system: consists of all highways and bridges under the jurisdiction and control of the Commonwealth Transportation Board and the Commissioner of Highways and not in the secondary state highway system. See Virginia Code 33.2-100
  • Probation: A sentencing alternative to imprisonment in which the court releases convicted defendants under supervision as long as certain conditions are observed.
  • Process: includes subpoenas, the summons and complaint in a civil action, and process in statutory actions. See Virginia Code 1-237
  • Remainder: An interest in property that takes effect in the future at a specified time or after the occurrence of some event, such as the death of a life tenant.
  • Resource shortage: means the absence, unavailability, or reduced supply of any raw or processed natural resource or any commodities, goods, or services of any kind that bear a substantial relationship to the health, safety, welfare, and economic well-being of the citizens of the Commonwealth. See Virginia Code 44-146.16
  • Roadway: means that portion of a highway improved, designed, or ordinarily used for vehicular travel. See Virginia Code 33.2-100
  • Secondary highway: means any highway in or component of the secondary state highway system. See Virginia Code 33.2-100
  • State: includes District of Columbia;

    (f) "Transit facilities" means all real and personal property located in the Zone, necessary or useful in rendering transit service between points within the Zone, by means of rail, bus, water or air and any other mode of travel, including, without limitation, tracks, rights-of-way, bridges, tunnels, subways, rolling stock for rail, motor vehicle, marine and air transportation, stations, terminals and ports, areas for parking and all equipment, fixtures, buildings and structures and services incidental to or required in connection with the performance of transit service;

    (g) "Transit services" means the transportation of persons and their packages and baggage by means of transit facilities between points within the Zone including the transportation of newspapers, express and mail between such points, and charter service which originates within the Zone but does not include taxicab service or individual-ticket-sales sightseeing operations;

    (h) "Transit Zone" or "Zone" means the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Zone created and described in Section 3 as well as any additional area that may be added pursuant to Section 83(a) of this Compact; and

    (i) "WMATC" means Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Commission. See Virginia Code 33.2-3100

  • state agency: means the same as that term is defined in § 2. See Virginia Code 1-206
  • State of emergency: means the condition declared by the Governor when in his judgment the threat or actual occurrence of an emergency or a disaster in any part of the Commonwealth is of sufficient severity and magnitude to warrant disaster assistance by the Commonwealth to supplement the efforts and available resources of the several localities and relief organizations in preventing or alleviating the damage, loss, hardship, or suffering threatened or caused thereby and is so declared by him. See Virginia Code 44-146.16
  • Summons: Another word for subpoena used by the criminal justice system.
  • Supreme Court: means the Supreme Court of Virginia. See Virginia Code 1-249
  • Systems of state highways: has the meaning assigned to it in § 1-251. See Virginia Code 33.2-100
  • Town: means any existing town or an incorporated community within one or more counties which became a town before noon, July 1, 1971, as provided by law or which has within defined boundaries a population of 1,000 or more and which has become a town as provided by law. See Virginia Code 1-254
  • Trial: A hearing that takes place when the defendant pleads "not guilty" and witnesses are required to come to court to give evidence.