ATLANTA – State Representative Alan Powell (R-Hartwell) was recently appointed to the Board of Homeland Security by Governor Nathan Deal.
“I am honored to be appointed to this board by Governor Deal,” said Rep. Powell. “As the chairman of the House Public Safety and Homeland Security Committee, I have been committed to enacted sound public policy that protects the citizens of Georgia. I look forward to continuing those efforts as a member of the Board of Homeland Security.”
The Board of Homeland Security was created after the 2018 legislative session by House Bill 779. The board is attached to the Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency and consists of 16 members. The board is tasked with advising the governor on: the implementation of the homeland security strategy by state and local agencies and providing specific guidance and counsel for helping those agencies implement the strategy; and all matters related to the planning, development, coordination, and implementation of initiatives to promote the homeland security strategy of the state.
The board will develop a state-wide homeland security strategy to improve the state’s ability to: protect against, respond to, and recover from domestic terrorism and other homeland security threats and hazards; and mitigate loss of life and property by lessening the impact of future homeland security threats and hazards.
The board’s homeland security strategy shall coordinate homeland security activities among and between local, state, and federal agencies and the private sector and will include specific plans for: intelligence gathering, analysis, and sharing; reducing the state’s vulnerability to domestic terrorism and other homeland security threats and hazards; protecting critical infrastructure, public transportation systems, and state or government facilities; protecting the state’s ports and airports; detecting, deterring, and defending against domestic terrorism and cyber, biological, chemical, and nuclear terrorism; positioning equipment, technology, and personnel to improve the state’s ability to respond to homeland security threats and hazards; providing the center certain forms of authority to aid the Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency in implementing the homeland security strategy of this state; and using technological resources to: facilitate the interoperability of governmental technology resources, including data, networks, and applications; coordinate the warning and alert systems of state and local agencies; incorporate multidisciplinary approaches to homeland security; and improve the security of governmental and private sector information technology and information resources. The homeland security strategy shall complement and operate in coordination with federal strategic guidance on homeland security.
Representative Alan Powell represents the citizens of District 32, which includes Franklin, Hart, and Madison counties. He was elected into the House of Representatives in 1990, and currently serves as the Chairman of Public Safety & Homeland Security. He also serves on the Appropriations Subcommittee on Public Safety and the Governmental Affairs, Motor Vehicles, Regulated Industries, Rules, and Small Business Development committees.
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