SB43 Summary

• State Emergency Management Agency must develop uniform guidelines by December 31, 2021 for identifying and designating volunteer "safer place" facilities to protect individuals during severe weather events, in cooperation with the Alabama Association of Emergency Managers and Association of County Commissions.

• Guidelines must include methods for community notification, an application process through local emergency management agencies, nondiscrimination requirements based on race, color, national origin, age, disability, sex, or religion, and procedures for withdrawal of designation.

• Safer place facilities must satisfy applicable building codes, provide improved protection from elements, include a second means of emergency exit, smoke detectors, and adequate sanitary facilities, but are not required to provide staff, food, water, medicine, electricity, or other services.

• No state or local government entity may provide compensation or financial support to individuals or entities for designation or operation of safer place facilities, and facility users assume all risks at their own discretion.

• Individuals volunteering structures as safer places qualify as volunteers under the Volunteer Service Act and receive the same legal protections as emergency management workers under Alabama Code Section 31-9-16.