New York Laws
Article 26 - Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services
709 - Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services; Creation; Powers and Duties.

(a) oversee and coordinate the state's homeland security and
comprehensive emergency management resources, subject to any laws, rules
or regulations governing the budgeting and appropriation of funds;
(b) review homeland security and comprehensive emergency management
policies, protocols and strategies of state agencies. The agencies shall
include, but not be limited to, the state agencies included on the
disaster preparedness commission as identified in section twenty-one of
this chapter;
(c) develop policies, protocols and strategies, which may be used to
prevent, detect, respond to and recover from terrorist acts or threats
and other natural and man-made disasters, which for purposes of this
section shall have the same meaning as defined in article two-B of this
chapter;
(d) identify potential inadequacies in the state's policies, protocols
and strategies to detect, respond to and recover from terrorist acts or
threats and other natural and man-made disasters;
(e) undertake periodic drills and simulations designed to assess and
prepare responses to terrorist acts or threats and other natural and
man-made disasters;
(f) coordinate state resources for the collection and analysis of
information relating to natural and man-made disasters throughout the
state subject to any applicable laws, rules, or regulations;
(g) coordinate and facilitate information sharing among local, state,
and federal agencies to ensure appropriate intelligence to assist in the
early identification of and response to natural and man-made disasters,
subject to any applicable laws, rules, or regulations governing the
release, disclosure or sharing of any such information;
(h) assess the preparedness of state and local public health systems
to respond to terrorist acts and other natural and man-made disasters,
including ensuring the availability of early warning systems designed to
detect potential threats and determining adequacy and availability of
necessary vaccines and pharmaceuticals and hospital capacity;
(i) coordinate strategies, protocols and first-responder equipment
needs that may be used to monitor, detect, respond to and mitigate the
consequences of a potential biological, chemical or radiological
terrorist act or threat;
(j) work with local, state and federal agencies and private entities
to conduct assessments of the vulnerability of critical infrastructure
to terrorist attack, cyber attack, and other natural and man-made
disasters, including, but not limited to, nuclear facilities, power
plants, telecommunications systems, mass transportation systems, public
roadways, railways, bridges and tunnels, and develop strategies that may
be used to protect such infrastructure from terrorist attack, cyber
attack, and other natural and man-made disasters;
(k) develop plans that may be used to promote rapid recovery from
terrorist attacks and other natural and man-made disasters, to ensure

prompt restoration of transportation, utilities, critical communications
and information systems and to protect such infrastructure;
(l) develop plans that may be used to contain and remove hazardous
materials used in a terrorist attack or released as a result of natural
or man-made disaster;
(m) act as primary contact with the federal department of homeland
security;
(n) adopt, promulgate, amend and rescind rules and regulations to
effectuate the provisions and purposes of this article and the powers
and duties of the division in connection therewith;
(o) consult with appropriate state and local governments, institutions
of higher learning, first responders, health care providers and private
entities as necessary to effectuate the provisions of this article, and
work with those entities to establish, facilitate and foster cooperation
to better prepare the state to prevent and respond to threats and acts
of terrorism and other natural and man-made disasters;
(p) to serve as a clearinghouse for the benefit of municipalities
regarding information relating to available federal, state and regional
grant programs in connection with homeland security, disaster
preparedness, communication infrastructure and emergency first responder
services, and to promulgate rules and regulations necessary to ensure
that grant information is timely posted on the division's website;
(q) request from any department, division, office, commission or other
agency of the state or any political subdivision thereof, and the same
are authorized to provide, such assistance, services and data as may be
required by the division of homeland security and emergency services in
carrying out the purposes of this article, subject to applicable laws,
rules, and regulations;
(r) develop standards and a certification process for training
programs for training of private security officers in commercial
buildings which shall:
(i) improve observation, detection and reporting skills;
(ii) improve coordination with local police, fire and emergency
services;
(iii) provide and improve skills in working with advanced security
technology including surveillance and access control procedures;
(iv) require at least forty hours of training including three hours of
training devoted to terrorism awareness; and
(v) have been certified as a qualified program by the division of
homeland security and emergency services;
(s) work in consultation with or make recommendations to the
commissioner of agriculture and markets in developing rules and
regulations relating to ammonium nitrate security; and
(t) develop, maintain, and deploy state, regional and local all-hazard
incident management teams.
(u) Notwithstanding article six-C of this chapter, or any other
provision of law to the contrary, the division of homeland security and
emergency services shall establish best practices regarding training and
education for firefighters and first responders which shall include but
not be limited to: minimum basic training for firefighters and first
responders; in-service training and continuing education; and
specialized training as it may apply to the specific duties of a
category of emergency personnel.
* (v) develop a program to make electric generating equipment owned or
leased by the state available to county offices of emergency management
pursuant to section seventy-three-a of the public service law.
* NB Effective and Repealed December 22, 2023

3. The division of homeland security and emergency services shall
consist of several offices including, but not limited to, the office of
counterterrorism, which shall have the powers, and be responsible for
carrying out the duties, including but not limited to those set forth in
section seven hundred nine-a of this article; the office of emergency
management, which shall have the powers, and be responsible for carrying
out the duties, including but not limited to those set forth in article
two-B of this chapter; the office of fire prevention and control, which
shall have the powers, and be responsible for carrying out the duties,
including but not limited to those set forth in article six-C of this
chapter and the office of interoperable and emergency communications,
which shall have the powers, and be responsible for carrying out the
duties, including but not limited to those set forth in section seven
hundred seventeen of this article.
4. As set forth in section seven hundred ten of this article, the
commissioner of the division of homeland security and emergency services
shall be appointed by the governor, with the advice and consent of the
senate, and hold office at the pleasure of the governor. The directors
of the offices of counterterrorism, emergency management, fire
prevention and control, and interoperable and emergency communications,
and such other offices as may be established, shall be appointed by, and
hold office at the pleasure of, the governor and they shall report to
the commissioner of the division of homeland security and emergency
services.
5. The directors of the offices of counterterrorism, emergency
management, fire prevention and control, interoperable and emergency
communications, and of such other offices as may be established, shall,
in consultation with the commissioner, have the authority to promulgate
rules and regulations to carry out the duties of their office, including
the establishment of fees necessary to compensate for costs associated
with the delivery of training and services.
6. The directors of the offices of counterterrorism, emergency
management, fire prevention and control, interoperable and emergency
communications, and such other offices as may be established, shall have
the authority to enter into contracts with any person, firm,
corporation, municipality, or government entity.
7. Annual report of the division. The commissioner of the division of
homeland security and emergency services shall, on or before January
first in each year, submit to the governor, the temporary president of
the senate, and the speaker of the assembly, a report concerning the
performance of the division with respect to outreach to businesses,
not-for-profit organizations, and the general public, which shall
include information regarding the content and scope of seminars,
conferences, surveys, programs, and other programmatic means of engaging
such parties to identify and meet the needs of such parties with respect
to emergency mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery, and the
participation of such parties therein.