AN ACT ENSURING THE SAFETY OF PEOPLE WITH PETS IN DISASTERS
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same as follows:
SECTION 1. Section 1 of chapter 639 of the acts of 1950, as amended by section 1 of chapter 579 of the acts of 1968, is hereby amended by inserting after the word “persons” the following words:- and household pets and service animals, as defined by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 5170b,.
SECTION 2. Said section 1 of said chapter 639, as so amended, is hereby further amended by adding the following paragraph:-
Any emergency plan of operations shall include strategies to support the needs of people with household pets and the needs of household pets under their care, including service animals. The local organization for civil defense shall take appropriate steps to educate the public regarding the resources available in the event of an emergency and the importance of emergency preparedness planning.
SECTION 3. Any emergency plan of operations shall be consistent with sections 1 and 2 not later than 12 months after the effective date of this act.
Approved, March 24, 2014.