CHAPTER 159
SB 378 – FINAL VERSION
03/03/10 0808s
05/05/10 1575eba
2010 SESSION
06/10
SENATE BILL 378
AN ACT relative to the New Hampshire public works mutual aid program.
SPONSORS: Sen. Fuller Clark, Dist 24; Sen. Odell, Dist 8; Sen. Merrill, Dist 21; Rep. Patten, Carr 4; Rep. Cooney, Graf 7
COMMITTEE: Public and Municipal Affairs
This bill permits public agencies to enter into agreements for reciprocal emergency management aid and assistance and other public works programs.
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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
03/03/10 0808s
05/05/10 1575eba
10-2784
06/10
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Ten
AN ACT relative to the New Hampshire public works mutual aid program.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
159:1 New Section; Agreements Between Government Units; Public Works Mutual Aid Agreements. Amend RSA 53-A by inserting after section 3 the following new section:
53-A:3-a Public Works Mutual Aid Agreements. Public agencies may enter into agreements under this chapter for reciprocal emergency management aid and assistance and other public works programs, including provisions for the furnishing and exchanging of supplies, equipment, facilities, personnel, and services. Any such agreement shall be subject to the provisions of this section and to all provisions of this chapter that are not inconsistent with this section.
I. Such an agreement may provide for the manner in which the agreement may be amended and that additional entities may become parties to the agreement.
II. Unless otherwise prohibited or restricted by such an agreement, a private entity providing public services that would otherwise be provided by a public agency, including but not limited to a privately owned water or wastewater utility, may become a party to the agreement and participate in the implementation of it in the same manner as a public agency.
III. The agreement may create a board of directors or other body to govern and administer the agreement and the program of mutual aid established thereby. The membership, powers, and duties of any governing body so established shall be as set forth in the agreement. Except as provided in the agreement, there shall be no requirement that all parties to the agreement be represented on such body.
IV. The agreement may include provisions by which each municipality or private entity indemnifies the other municipality or private entity and its officers, employees, and agents against any liability arising out of the indemnifying municipality’s or private entity’s negligent or otherwise wrongful conduct. No agreement shall be written or construed to require the state or any state agency to defend or indemnify any other entity.
V. All functions performed under such an agreement are governmental functions, and the parties performing such functions shall be entitled to the same immunities and exemptions provided in RSA 21-P:41.
159:2 Ratification of New Hampshire Public Works Mutual Aid Program. The mutual aid and assistance agreement creating the New Hampshire Public Works Mutual Aid Program, approved by the New Hampshire attorney general on July 7, 1998, is hereby ratified, and all actions taken pursuant to that agreement have been lawfully taken. The agreement shall hereafter be governed by RSA 53-A:3-a and all other provisions of RSA 53-A that are not inconsistent with RSA 53-A:3-a.
159:3 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.
Approved: June 17, 2010
Effective Date: August 16, 2010