California to Join Disaster Rescue Group
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Tuesday signed legislation allowing California to join 47 states in a pact to provide rescue responders and other resources to disaster locations.
California’s firefighters had balked at the Emergency Management Assistance Compact out of fear that they would have less legal protection and reduced death and disability benefits if they were hurt while assisting in another state.
After a prolonged standoff, Schwarzenegger and Democratic legislators, in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, fashioned a compromise that protects the firefighters.
The Schwarzenegger administration said that without membership in the compact, California had to negotiate individual arrangements with other states, potentially delaying response times.
The legislation, AB 823, was sponsored by Assemblyman Pedro Nava (D-Santa Barbara).
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