HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES STAFF ANALYSIS
BILL #: CS/CS/HB 1567 Qualifications of the Director of the Division of Emergency Management
SPONSOR(S): State Affairs Committee, Constitutional Rights, Rule of Law & Government Operations
Subcommittee, Grant
TIED BILLS: IDEN./SIM. BILLS: CS/SB 1262
REFERENCE ACTION ANALYST STAFF DIRECTOR or
BUDGET/POLICY CHIEF
1) Constitutional Rights, Rule of Law & 14 Y, 0 N, As CS Miller Miller
Government Operations Subcommittee
2) State Affairs Committee 18 Y, 0 N, As CS Miller Williamson
SUMMARY ANALYSIS
The Division of Emergency Management (FDEM) is created in the Executive Office of the Governor to prepare
the state emergency plan, coordinate emergency planning and response with local and federal authorities, and
assist local government emergency planning, preparation, and response.
The State Emergency Management Act provides specific authorization and emergency powers to counties,
requiring each to establish and maintain an emergency management agency and develop a county emergency
management plan. Municipalities are encouraged to create their own emergency management plan but must
coordinate with the county emergency management agency. Each county must have an emergency
management agency headed by a director appointed either by the board of county commissioners or the
county chief administrative officer and serving at the pleasure of the appointing authority. Current law provides
no specific minimum qualifications for county emergency management directors (county directors) other than
the minimum training and education standards in a job description approved by the county.
The bill creates minimum education, experience, and training standards for all county directors. All county
directors must have at least 50 hours of training in specified fields or a bachelor’s degree. County directors
must have at least four years of verifiable experience in comprehensive emergency management services with
direct supervisory responsibility for responding to at least one emergency or disaster. A master’s degree in
certain fields may be substituted for two years of the required experience but not for the required s upervisory
experience. Alternatively, a valid accreditation as a Certified Master Exercise Practitioner, a Certified
Emergency Manager, or a Florida Professional Emergency Manager may substitute for the required
experience but the accreditation must be kept in good standing until the actual time and experience
requirement are satisfied. The bill further requires a county director to complete 150 hours of comprehensive
emergency management training, including specific courses offered by the Federal Emergency Management
Agency (FEMA) through the Emergency Management Institute (or equivalent courses established by FEMA).
The bill also requires a county director to have a valid Florida driver license. County emergency management
directors have until June 30, 2026, to meet the new criteria.
The bill does not appear to have a fiscal impact on the state or local governments.
This docum ent does not reflect the intent or official position of the bill sponsor or House of Representatives .
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FULL ANALYSIS
I. SUBSTANTIVE ANALYSIS
A. EFFECT OF PROPOSED CHANGES:
Present Situation
State Emergency Management Act
Florida is vulnerable to a wide variety of emergencies, including natural, technological, and human
origin disasters threatening the health and safety of people, damaging and destroying property,
disrupting services, and impeding economic growth and development. 1 To reduce these vulnerabilities,
promote emergency2 preparedness, response, mitigation, recovery, and coordinate all emergency
management functions of the state with the political subdivisions of the state, other states, and the
Federal Government,3 the Legislature adopted the State Emergency Management Act (Act). 4
Under the Act, “emergency management” is defined as “the preparation for, the mitigation of, the
response to, and the recovery from emergencies and disasters.”5 Specific emergency management
responsibilities include without limitation:
Reducing vulnerabilities of people and communities to damage, injury, and loss of life and
property resulting from natural, technological, or manmade emergencies or hostile military or
paramilitary action.
Preparing for prompt and efficient response and recovery to protect lives and property affected
by emergencies.
Responding to emergencies using all systems, plans, and resources necessary to preserve the
health, safety, and welfare of persons or property affected by emergencies.
Assisting recovery from emergencies by providing for the rapid and orderly start of restoration
and rehabilitation of persons and property affected by emergencies.
Providing an emergency management system embodying all aspects of pre-emergency
preparedness and post-emergency response, recovery, and mitigation.
Assisting with the anticipation, recognition, appraisal, prevention, and mitigation of emergencies
which may be caused or aggravated by inadequate planning for, and regulation of, public and
private facilities and land use.6
The Division of Emergency Management is created within the Executive Office of the Governor (DEM) 7
to implement the purposes of the Act, including coordinating planning and response to emergencies
with local and federal authorities.8 The duties of FDEM include preparing and updating the state
comprehensive emergency management plan,9 adopting standards and requirements for county
emergency plans,10 assisting political subdivisions 11 with preparing and maintaining their emergency
management plans,12 reviewing such plans of political subdivisions,13 and coordinating federal, state,
and local emergency management actions in advance of an actual emergency to ensure availability of
adequately trained and equipped personnel before, during, and after an emergency or disaster. 14
1 S. 252.311(1), F.S.
2 Section 252.34(4), F.S., defines “emergency” as “any occurrence, or threat thereof, whether natural, technological, or manmade, in
war or in peace, which results or may result in substantial injury or harm to the population or substantial damage to or loss of property.”
3 Ss. 252.311, 252.32, F.S.
4 Ss. 252.31-252.60, F.S. See s. 252.31, F.S.
5 S. 252.34(5), F.S.
6 S. 252.34(5)(a)-(f), F.S.
7 S. 14.2016(1), F.S.
8 S. 252.32, F.S.
9 The state comprehensive emergency plan must be integrated into and coordinate with federal emergency management plans and
programs. S. 252.35(2)(a), F.S.
10 S. 252.35(2)(b), F.S.
11 Section 252.34(10), F.S., defines “political subdivision” as any county or municipality.
12
S. 252.35(2)(c), F.S.
13 S. 252.35(2)(d), F.S.
14 S. 252.35(2)(l), F.S.
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The Governor is responsible for meeting the dangers presented by emergencies using the powers
authorized in the Act.15 The Governor also is responsible for appointing the director of DEM, who
serves at the pleasure of the Governor and is the head of DEM for all purposes. 16
Basic state policy for responding to disasters is to support local emergency response efforts while also
recognizing the need for state assistance when the scope of a disaster is greater than can be met by
local resources.17 The Act provides specific authorization and emergency powers to counties, requiring
each county to establish and maintain an emergency management agency and develop a county
emergency management plan.18 Municipalities are encouraged to create their own emergency
management plans but must coordinate with the county emergency management agency. 19
County emergency management agencies must have a director appointed by either the board of county
commissioners or the county chief administrative officer and serving at the pleasure of the appointing
authority. The county emergency management director (county director) may be a county constitutional
officer20 or an employee of such an officer. The county director is responsible for the organization,
administration, and operation of the county emergency management agency; must coordinate the
emergency activities, services, and programs of the agency throughout the county; and serves as the
county liaison to DEM and other local emergency management agencies. 21
By statute, the only qualifications a county director must meet are the minimum training and education
standards in the job description approved by the county.22 Since there are no uniform minimum
requirements for county directors, counties vary in the qualifications required for the position as shown
by the following table:
15 S. 252.36(1)(a), F.S.
16 S. 14.2016,(1), F.S.
17 S. 252.311(3), F.S.
18 S. 252.38(1)(a), F.S.
19 S. 252.38(2), F.S.
20
Sheriff, Tax Collector, Property Appraiser, Supervisor of Elections, or Clerk of Courts. Art. VIII, s. 1(d), Fla. Const.
21 S. 252.38(1)(b), F.S.
22 Id.
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Minimum Required Required Licenses/
County Required Experience
Education Certifications
Bachelor of Arts 5 years full-time in emergency Accreditation as a Certified
(BA) degree in management, at least 1 year supervising Emergency Manager
Broward23
required subject 24 emergency management programs and
personnel
Graduation from a 2- 5 years professional experience in Valid driver license;
year college or emergency management, emergency National Incident
university or a BA incident command and control; a BA Management System
Escambia25
degree degree can substitute for 2 years of (NIMS) certifications IS700,
experience IS800, IS100, IS200,
ICS300, and ICS400
BA degree in 6 years related experience or a master of Certified Emergency
required subject 27 arts degree with at least 4 years of related Manager (CEM), or Florida
experience may be substituted; at least 4 Professional Emergency
Sarasota26
years of supervisory experience in Manager (FPEM) or ability
emergency management to obtain within 1 year; valid
driver license
BA degree in 5 years progressively responsible work in Valid driver license
Volusia28
required subject 29 emergency management
Emergency Manager Qualifications
The Emergency Management Institute (EMI) run by FEMA is the primary center for the development
and delivery of emergency management training nationally, emphasizing programs such as the
National Incident Management System (NIMS).30 A comprehensive approach to managing emergency
and disaster incidents, NIMS is intended to apply across all jurisdictional levels and functional
disciplines for the management of all potential incidents, hazards, and impacts regardless of size,
location, or complexity.31 The National Qualification System (NQS) within NIMS establishes guidance
and tools to assist stakeholders in developing processes for qualifying, certifying, and credentialing
deployable emergency personnel.32 The most advance program offered by FEMA is the Master
Exercise Practitioner Program.33 In addition to the NIMS program, national certification is available
through the International Association of Emergency Managers (IAEM). IAEM has two levels of
individual certification: the Certified Emergency Manager (CEM) and the Associate Emergency
Manager (AEM).34
23 “Training and Requirements for Emergency Management Professionals in Broward County,” available at
https://www.emergencymanagementedu.org/florida/broward-county/ (last visited January 16, 2024).
24 Homeland security, terrorism studies, emergency preparedness, business administration, public health. Id.
25
Escambia County, “BCC Job Descriptions,” available at https://myescambia.com/our-services/human-resources/employment/job-
descriptions (last visited January 16, 2024).
26 Sarasota County Government, “Emergency Management Chief (Manager III) – R16608,” available at
https://sgrjobs.com/SGR/position.php?JobID=453641 (last visited January 18, 2024).
27 Public administration, management, business science, or technical field. Id.
28
Volusia County, “Emergency Management Director – Emergency Management Division; job notice” (12/29/2022), available at
https://www.salary.com/job/volusia-county-fl/emergency-management-director-emergency-management-
division/j202212291022506814877 (last visited January 16, 2024).
29 Business, public administration, emergency management, homeland security, or related field. Id.
30 National Association of Counties, “Managing Disasters at the County Level: A National Survey,” available at
https://www.naco.org/sites/default/files/documents/Emergency%20Management%20in%20County%20Government_03.25.19.pdf (last
visited January 16, 2024).
31 Id. See also “National Incident Management System,” available at https://www.fema.gov/emergency-managers/nims (last visited
January 19, 2024).
32 FEMA, “National Incident Management System Guideline for the National Qualification System (Nov. 2017),” 1, available at
https://www.fema.gov/sites/default/files/2020-05/fema_nims_nqs_guideline_0.pdf (last visited January 19, 2024).
33
See supra, n. 17.
34 International Association of Emergency Managers, “Associate Emergency Manager (AEM) and Certified Emergency Manager
(CEM),” available at https://www.iaem.org/certification/intro (last visited January 19, 2024).
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NIMS maintains a core training curriculum, including the following courses, all of which are available
online as interactive web-based instruction:35
ICS-100 is an introduction to the incident command system (ICS).36 This course introduces the
ICS, provides the foundation for higher level ICS training, describes the history, features and
principles, and organizational structure of the ICS, and explains the relationship between ICS
and NIMS.
ICS-200 is an introduction to the ICS for single resources and initial action incidents. This
course reviews the ICS, provides the context for ICS within initial incident response, supports
higher level ICS training, and training on, and resources for, personnel who are likely to assume
a supervisory position within ICS.
IS-700 is an introduction to the national incident management system.37 This course provides an
overview of the concepts, principles, and components making NIMS a comprehensive approach
guiding the whole community – all levels of government, nongovernmental organizations, and
the private sector – to work together to prevent, protect against, mitigate, respond to, and
recover from the effects of incidents.
IS-703 is an introduction to NIMS resource management. This course introduces federal, state,
local, tribal, and territorial emergency managers, first responders, and incident commanders
from all emergency management disciplines to NIMS resource management, including private
industry and volunteer agency personnel responsible for coordination activities during a
disaster.
IS-800 is an introduction to the National Response Framework. This course provides guidance
for the all entities involved in emergency management and response, focusing particularly on
those who are involved in delivering and applying the response core capabilities.
DEM issues a professional development series certificate for successful completion of EMI independent
study courses.38
The Florida Emergency Preparedness Association (FEPA) is a private non-profit corporation providing
an educational network for emergency managers at all levels of government as well as the private
sector.39 FEPA issues a Florida Professional Emergency