State Emergency Council

Following a man-made or natural disaster, the Governor has the authority to issue a Declaration of Emergency, which among other things may allocate funds to respond to and recover from the event. The Governor is allowed to allocate up to $200,000 per event. Expenditures and requests beyond this amount are referred to the State Emergency Council for approval and award.

Notice of all meetings of the State Emergency Council (SEC) will be posted on the Arizona Public Meetings website.

Executive Order Number 79-4 designates the Director of the Arizona Division of Emergency Management responsible for the administration of any funds made available by the State of Arizona or by any agency of the Federal Government for meeting conditions constituting a state of emergency or a Presidential declaration of a major disaster.

Arizona Revised Statute (A.R.S.) Title 35, Chapter 1, Article 5, Section 192 authorizes liabilities and expenditures to be incurred and paid for as a result of emergencies declared by the Governor. The Governor is authorized to allocate up to $200,000 in emergency funds to a declared event; liabilities for any single event in excess of this cannot be made without consent of a majority of the members of the State Emergency Council. The director of the division of emergency management in the department of emergency and military affairs shall develop rules for administering the monies authorized for liabilities under this section, subject to approval by the governor. These rules are covered under A.A.C. Title 8 Chapter 2.

Arizona Revised Statute (A.R.S.) Title 26, Chapter 2, Article 1, Section 304 establishes the council members as well as the powers and duties of the council). The aggregate amount of all liabilities incurred for disaster assistance for all open events within any fiscal year (July 1 through June 30) cannot exceed four million dollars.