Bill Text: IL HB2761 | 2013-2014 | 98th General Assembly | Chaptered

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Bill Title: Creates the Interstate Mutual Aid Act. Authorizes the State and units of local government to enter into mutual aid agreements with units of government from another state to provide for the coordination of communications, training, response to, and stand-by for planned events and emergency responses between the units of government. Contains provisions concerning licenses and certifications, liability, and employee benefits.

Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill

Status: (Passed) 2013-08-12 - Public Act . . . . . . . . . 98-0309 [HB2761 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2013-HB2761-Chaptered.html

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Public Act 098-0309
HB2761 Enrolled LRB098 09335 OMW 39476 b
AN ACT concerning local government.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the
Interstate Mutual Emergency Aid Act.
Section 5. Definitions. As used in this Act:
(a) "Emergency responder" includes emergency medical
services personnel and firefighters, including firefighters
trained in the areas of hazardous materials, specialized
rescue, extrication, water rescue, and other specialized
areas.
(b) "Mutual aid emergency" or "emergency" means an
occurrence or condition resulting in a situation that poses an
immediate risk to health, life, property, or the environment,
where the governmental entity having jurisdiction over the
situation determines (i) that the situation exceeds its ability
to render appropriate aid and (ii) that it is in the public's
best interest to request mutual aid from an out-of-state entity
with whom the governmental entity has a written mutual aid
agreement. "Mutual aid emergency" or "emergency" does not
include a situation that initially rises to the level of
disaster or emergency requiring a state or local declaration of
a state of emergency, unless that declaration occurs after the

initial request for mutual aid has been made.
(c) "Training exercises" means necessary advance actions
taken by emergency responders pursuant to a mutual aid
agreement in order to prepare to more adequately address a
potential mutual aid emergency.
Section 10. Mutual aid agreements. In order to more
adequately address emergencies that extend or exceed a
jurisdiction's emergency response capabilities, either without
rising to the level of a state or local declaration of a state
of emergency, or in the initial stages of an event which may
later become a declared emergency, a political subdivision of
this State, including a county, city, village, township, or
other unit of local government, or any combination thereof, may
enter into a mutual aid agreement with one or more units of
government from another state. The mutual aid agreement may
provide for coordination of communications, staging, training,
and response to planned and unplanned events which a local
jurisdiction has determined exceed, or are likely to exceed,
its emergency response capabilities. When engaged in training,
staging, and emergency response in accordance with the mutual
aid agreements, emergency responders from outside of this State
are permitted to provide services within this State in
accordance with this Act and the terms of the mutual aid
agreement.

Section 15. Licenses, certifications, and permits. An
emergency responder from outside this State who holds a
license, certificate, or other permit recognized or issued by
another state shall be deemed licensed, certified, and
permitted to render mutual aid during a mutual aid emergency
within this State pursuant to a mutual aid agreement authorized
by this Act, if the emergency responder is (i) acting within
the scope of his or her license, certificate, or permit and
within the scope of what an equivalent license, certificate, or
permit from or recognized by this State would authorize and
(ii) acting pursuant to a request for mutual aid made pursuant
to a mutual aid agreement authorized by this Act.
Section 20. Governmental functions; liability; emergency
responders. Any function performed by an emergency responder
that is (i) acting within the scope of his or her license,
certificate, or permit and within the scope of what an
equivalent license, certificate, or permit recognized by this
State would authorize and (ii) pursuant to a mutual aid
agreement authorized by this Act shall be deemed to have been
for public and governmental purposes, and all liabilities and
immunities from liability applicable to this State's political
subdivisions and their officers and employees shall extend to
the emergency responders from another state while providing
mutual aid during a mutual aid emergency or while engaged in
training exercises pursuant to a written mutual aid agreement

authorized by this Act. This Section shall not provide greater
immunities to emergency responders from outside of this State
than those immunities provided to emergency responders with the
equivalent license, certificate, or permit in this State. This
Section shall only apply to causes of action accruing on or
after the effective date of this Act.
Section 25. Employee benefits. Emergency responders from
outside this State, while rendering mutual aid within this
State pursuant to a mutual aid agreement authorized by this
Act, remain employees and agents of their respective employers
and jurisdictions. Nothing in this Act, or any mutual aid
agreement entered into pursuant to this Act, creates an
employment relationship between the jurisdiction requesting
aid and the employees and agents of the jurisdiction rendering
aid. All pension, relief, disability, death benefits, workers'
compensation, and other benefits enjoyed by emergency
responders rendering emergency mutual aid shall extend to the
services they perform outside their respective jurisdictions
as if those services had been rendered in their own
jurisdiction.
Section 30. Limitations. This Act does not limit, modify,
or abridge the emergency management compact entered into under
the Emergency Management Assistance Compact Act.