Nevada committee hears bill to move Division of Emergency Management into governor’s office

CARSON CITY — The Assembly Committee on Government Affairs on an unspecified date in May heard testimony on Assembly Bill 553, which would move the Nevada Division of Emergency Management from the Office of the Military to the Office of the Governor.

Supporters told the committee the organizational change would shorten decision timelines during crises and improve coordination across state agencies. ‘‘Clear lines of authority and direct communication channels with the governor equal clarity and speed during crisis,’’ said a staff member identified in the hearing as the administrator of the Nevada Division of Emergency Management.

The administrator said the division has been operating in close coordination with the governor’s office during recent emergencies, including wildfire-related closures and major outages. Tim Robb, the governor’s homeland security adviser, told the committee that the authority to declare emergencies rests with the governor and that placing the division nearer the governor in the state organization chart would expedite action during emergencies.

Committee members asked about the effect on training, command relationships with the National Guard, and whether the change would politicize emergency decisions. The administrator said the division’s staff are civilian employees and that training requirements would not change; the agency’s training is predominantly Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and emergency-management based. On concerns about partisanship, Robb said state employees and professional recommendations guide decisions to the governor.

Members also discussed national practice. The administrator said 36 states plus the District of Columbia have emergency-management directors appointed at the governor level; of those, the administrator stated 23 report directly to governors while 28 report either to the governor or to a governor-appointed secretary. The administrator acknowledged the figures while describing the move as consistent with guidance from the National Governors Association and the National Emergency Management Association.

Assembly members pressed for clarity on permanence and organizational level. Robb told the committee the change would place the division chief at the same level in the state organizational chart as other cabinet-level directors. The administrator and Robb said most major agencies that participate in emergency response already report through the governor’s cabinet; the division of forestry was cited as an example of an agency that currently operates through the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources for wildfire suppression coordination.

No members of the public testified for, against, or neutrally on AB 553 at the hearing. After questions and brief closing remarks from Robb, the committee closed the hearing on the measure. The hearing record did not reflect a committee vote on the bill during this session.

The committee’s next scheduled meeting, announced at the end of the hearing, is Tuesday, May 13 at 8 a.m. in Room 4100.