AN ACT to clarify that counties and cities have the authority to order evacuations in certain situations, and that the emergency management IMMUNITY statute applies to them, as recommended by the joint select committee on emergency preparedness and disaster management recovery.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

SECTION 1.  G.S. 14‑288.12(b) reads as rewritten:
"(b)	The ordinances authorized by this section may permit prohibitions and restrictions:
(1)	Of movements of people in public places, including directing and compelling the evacuation of all or part of the population from any stricken or threatened area within the governing body's jurisdiction, to prescribe routes, modes of transportation, and destinations in connection with evacuation; and to control ingress and egress of a disaster area, and the movement of persons within the area;
(2)	Of the operation of offices, business establishments, and other places to or from which people may travel or at which they may congregate;
(3)	Upon the possession, transportation, sale, purchase, and consumption of alcoholic beverages;
(4)	Upon the possession, transportation, sale, purchase, storage, and use of dangerous weapons and substances, and gasoline; and
(5)	Upon other activities or conditions the control of which may be reasonably necessary to maintain order and protect lives or property during the state of emergency.
The ordinances may delegate to the mayor of the municipality the authority to determine and proclaim the existence of a state of emergency, and to impose those authorized prohibitions and restrictions appropriate at a particular time."
SECTION 2.  G.S. 166A‑14(a) reads as rewritten:
"(a)	All functions hereunder and all other activities relating to emergency management as provided for in this Chapter or elsewhere in the General Statutes are hereby declared to be governmental functions. Neither the State nor any political subdivision thereof, nor, except in cases of willful misconduct, gross negligence or bad faith, any emergency management worker, firm, partnership, association, or corporation complying with or reasonably attempting to comply with this Article or any order, rule or regulation promulgated pursuant to the provisions of this Article or pursuant to any ordinance relating to any emergency management measures enacted by any political subdivision of the State, shall be liable for the death of or injury to persons, or for damage to property as a result of any such activity."

SECTION 3.  This act is effective when it becomes law.
In the General Assembly read three times and ratified this the 9th day of June, 2009.

	s/	 Walter H. Dalton
	 President of the Senate

	s/	 Joe Hackney
	 Speaker of the House of Representatives

	s/	 Beverly E. Perdue
	 Governor

Approved 12:08 p.m. this 19th day of June, 2009