Vieira files resolve to form special commission on emergency management

Representative David T. Vieira of Falmouth filed a resolve Jan. 14 to establish a 21-member “special commission on the field of emergency management” to study how the profession is organized, funded and credentialed in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The proposal (House No. 885) directs the commission to recommend approaches on funding director positions, education programs, scholarships and a possible licensure process and requires a final report 365 days after the commission’s first meeting.

The resolve tasks the commission with four specific initiatives: review options to fund emergency management director positions in all 351 Massachusetts communities with the premise that those positions would have no other responsibilities; recommend institutions and funding to establish programs that train emergency management associates and directors; review scholarship programs for study in emergency management; and review establishing a licensure process for emergency management directors timed to coincide with federal and interstate licensure developments.

The proposed membership mixes legislative, executive and external stakeholders. It calls for six members of the General Court, the House and Senate chairs of the Joint Committee on Public Safety and Homeland Security (or designees), the House and Senate chairs of the Joint Committee on Covid-19 and Emergency Preparedness and Management (or designees), one member each appointed by the House and Senate minority leaders, the secretary of the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security (or designee), the director of the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency (or designee), two FEMA Region I representatives appointed by the FEMA Region I administrator, the colonel of the Massachusetts State Police (or designee), the State Fire Marshal (or designee), three local emergency management directors appointed by the governor, two academia representatives appointed by the governor from a list provided by the International Association of Emergency Managers (IAEM), two representatives appointed by the Division of Professional Licensure, and two representatives appointed by the governor from a list provided by Massachusetts Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (VOAD).

The resolve cites definitions from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics to frame terms such as “emergency management” and “disaster,” and it references a 2022 definition of “professionalization.” It does not appropriate funds or create an immediate funding mechanism; the text directs the commission to ‘‘review and report’’ on funding options rather than to authorize expenditures. The resolve also notes a similar matter filed in the previous legislative session (House No. 740 of 2023–2024).

The proposal sets the commission’s final-report deadline at 365 days after the first meeting; the filing date does not itself start that clock — appointments and the first convening are required before the reporting period begins. The resolve does not specify who will pay for the commission’s operations, how the director positions would be funded if recommended, or detailed curriculum and scholarship amounts for proposed education programs. Any implementation of funding or licensure would require subsequent legislative or executive action.

The resolve was filed in the House and, as written, would create a study commission that relies on appointments by elected leaders and agency heads; further steps would depend on those appointments and any recommendations accepted by the Legislature or executive branch.