Baltimore County lawmakers have considered a bill that specifies the county executive?s powers during an emergency, including the ability to regulate traffic, set a curfew and control people on public streets.
The bill, which members of the County Council will discuss at its meeting today, lists nearly12 specific powers modeled off legislation in other metropolitan counties. Until now, county officials said executive authority during emergencies has always been assumed.
“I?m never comfortable with that word,” said Lt. Richard Muth, director of the county?s Office of Emergency Preparedness. “Do these powers come to us anyway? We didn?t feel comfortable with ?yeah, probably.?”
County Executive Jim Smith ordered a voluntary evacuation of several areas after heavy rains this summer, but radio and television stations declined to broadcast the order because it wasn?t mandatory, Muth said. The county charter was scrutinized for any other ambiguities and gaps in protections, he said.
Under the proposal, the county executive can declare a state of emergency with an order that must be promptly publicized and filed with the county council. The state of emergency can not extend beyond save days without the council?s approval.
Most counties in the region issued a state of emergency to obtain Maryland National Guard Humvees to transport fire and police crews during the blizzard of 1996, and during Tropical Storm Isabel in 2003. County executives also can implore the governor to declare an emergency to make state funds available.
“That doesn?t mean the state will do it,” Maryland Emergency Management Administration Spokeswoman Katie Leahan said. “The governor might or he might not.”
The county recently received $182,000 in federal funds to prepare for a quick response to a public health emergency, such as a bioterrorist attack. Part of the funds will help the county meet the federally mandated “cities readiness initiative,” which requires jurisdictions to provide oral antibiotics to the entire population within 48 hours of a catastrophe.
Emergency proposal
The bill for Baltimore County emergencies, would establish who has the authority to:
» Control traffic, including public and private transportation
» Designate zones in which the occupancy and use of buildings or vehicles may be controlled
» Control the movement of people or vehicles in, into or from the area of emergency
» Evacuate the area
» Control places of amusements and places of assembly
» Control people on public streets
» Establish curfews
» Establish requirements to “shelter in place”
» Control the sale, transportation and use of alcohol
» Control the possession, sale, carrying and use of firearms or other weapons and ammunition
» Control the storage, use and transportation of explosives, flammable materials or liquids considered dangerous to public safety
