HCS HB 619 & 118 -- CIVIL AIR PATROL

SPONSOR:  Dusenberg (Aull)

COMMITTEE ACTION:  Voted "do pass" by the Special Committee on
Homeland Security by a vote of 7 to 0.

This substitute specifies the situations in which the Civil Air
Patrol may be activated and states that the patrol may be used to
assist National Guard noncombatant missions or missions in
support of civil authorities and state agencies which have
established agreements with the patrol.

Activation requests must be made to the commanding officer of the
Civil Air Patrol, Missouri Wing.  Prior to its activation, the
commanding officer or the Adjutant General must apply for federal
mission status and funding.  If a mission of the patrol is
granted federal mission status and assigned an accompanying
federal mission number, the operation will be paid for by the
federal government and members of the patrol will be considered
federal employees for the purpose of tort claims arising from the
mission.

If an operation is not granted federal mission status, the state
will pay for the mission using funds appropriated from the state
agency which requested the participation of the patrol.  In this
case, members of the patrol will be considered state employees
for the purpose of tort claims and workers' compensation claims.

These provisions apply to any Civil Air Patrol personnel and
aircraft from any state that are flying missions for Missouri
state agencies.

FISCAL NOTE:  No impact on state funds in FY 2008, FY 2009, and
FY 2010.

PROPONENTS:  Supporters of House Bill 619 say that the Civil Air
Patrol can fly federal missions, but cannot fly missions for the
State of Missouri because they are not covered by state workers'
compensation insurance.  This coverage will help the patrol
attract and retain qualified volunteers for flying missions and
allow them to fly missions for the state which will be more cost
effective than using the National Guard.

Supporters of House Bill 118 say that the bill has a minor flaw
which was corrected in House Bill 619.

Testifying for HB 619 were Representative Aull; Randy Fuller,
James H. Williams, and Troy M. Campbell, Missouri Wing of the
Civil Air Patrol; State Emergency Management Agency, Department
of Public Safety; and Office of the Adjutant General.  Testifying
for HB 118 was Representative Schaaf.

OPPONENTS:  There was no opposition voiced to the committee.

OTHERS:  Others testifying on House Bill 619 say that there is a
need to find out who would actually pay workers' compensation for
the Civil Air Patrol, as nothing is currently budgeted.

Testifying on HB 619 was Office of the Adjutant General.

Missouri House of Representatives
94th General Assembly, 1st Regular Session
Last Updated July 25, 2007 at 11:19 am