Maryland Senate Bill 630 (2022): Maryland Department of Emergency Management - Office of Resilience
On October 1, 2022, Maryland Senate Bill 630 took effect, establishing the Maryland Office of Resilience within the Department of Emergency Management and creating a Chief Resilience Officer (CRO) to coordinate resilience efforts across state government. The Bill, which is codified in the state’s Public Safety Code in a new Subtitle 12, requires the Office of Resilience, led by the CRO, to coordinate across state agencies and local governments to “build resilience to risks identified in the Maryland Hazard Mitigation Plan.”
The duties of the CRO include coordinating state and local efforts to address risks in the Maryland Hazard Mitigation Plan, developing and implementing a state resilience strategy, and facilitating interagency collaboration. The CRO should also identify and secure funding sources, engage industry leaders to establish best practices for risk preparedness, and ensure that resilience investments prioritize vulnerable communities and environmental justice.
The Office of Resilience must coordinate and administer federal resilience programs, administer state mitigation grants and loans, identify flood risk assessment tools, provide technical assistance, and conduct outreach to local jurisdictions to create local resilience plans. The Office must also ensure investments prioritize vulnerable communities with a focus on environmental justice. The Office is also responsible for coordinating with appropriate state agencies and entities to improve interagency coordination to ensure timely support from the state following emergency events, minimize flooding, promote climate-informed investments, conduct outreach and education for the public, support neighborhood and coastal resilience, adapt agricultural practices to the changing environment, and reduce impacts from other hazards identified in the Maryland Hazard Mitigation Plan.
The University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science is required to coordinate with the Office of Resilience to examine resilience within the state and analyze resilience policies of other states. Finally, the Bill also requires a yearly resiliency efforts report from the Office of Resilience documenting the Office’s activity, recommendations from the Maryland Department of the Environment and University of Maryland Center for Environmental Sciences, and 1-, 2-, 5- and 10-year resilience plans.
Two years after the enactment of SB 630, Maryland Executive Order 01.01.2024.31 - Strengthening the State of Maryland’s Resilience Strategy was issued, expanding on the requirements for resilience plans and the Office of Resilience’s responsibilities.
Publication Date: October 1, 2022
Related Organizations:
- State of Maryland
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- Laws
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