FELIPE VI

KING OF SPAIN

To all who present it and understand it.

Sabed: That the General Courts have approved and I come to sanction the following law.

PREAMBLE

1. The vulnerability of people in our society to the multiple and complex threats of natural, industrial or technological catastrophes is less than thirty years ago, due to the influence of public policies that have been applied since then, based in essence on a great development of the warning systems, the planning of the responses and the allocation of means of intervention. Even so, the scale of these types of risks is such that they can affect national security, as recognized by the two National Security Strategies approved so far. The decline in the number of victims as a result of disasters is a reality, but the destructive consequences of goods or disturbing communications and transport or damage to the environment have been steadily increasing. influence of threat-enhancing factors, especially climate change and human activity itself, which generates risks that are inseparable from it, often due to the legitimate desire for progress.

Society has not been and is not indifferent to this reality because it is aware that these risks affect its security in a decisive manner. The information has contributed powerfully to its awareness and to the creation of a growing demand for public action aimed at protecting people and goods in the face of emergencies. This is why, without prejudice to the need for citizen collaboration, all the competent public authorities, from the local level to the European and international institutions, have determined public policies to develop instruments. regulatory, organisational and media enabling them to exercise their respective responsibilities in this field and to improve them continuously. Integrated in public security, civil protection today is of the order of the first order among the different public policies and has been shaped as one of the genuine public spaces and legitimizers of the State. In Spain it has experienced a remarkable development over the last thirty years, not without inefficiencies caused mainly by the difficulties of coordination of an open, flexible system with multiple actors and levels of action and, in consequence, of recognized complexity.

Law 2/1985, of 21 January, of Civil Protection, established a first normative framework for action for civil protection, adapted to the then nascent autonomous state. The validity of such legislation was confirmed by the Constitutional Court through several judgments that recognized the State's competence, as derived from Article 149.1.29. of the Constitution and, therefore, integrated in public security, not only to respond to emergencies in which there is a national interest, by mobilising resources at their disposal, but also in order to ensure and safeguard the coordination of the various civil protection services and resources by integrating them into "a minimum national design or model". This law has been complemented by numerous regulatory provisions, some as important as the Basic Civil Protection Standard, approved by Royal Decree 407/1992 of April 24, or the Basic Self-Protection Standard, approved by the Royal Decree of the Spanish Government. Decree 393/2007 of 23 March, while different Emergency Plans and Basic Guidelines for Planning on Specific Risks have been developed.

New state resources have also been created for effective intervention, such as the Military Emergency Unit. On the other hand, the Autonomous Communities and the Local Authorities have deployed their own competences in the field, regulating their actions, setting up their own civil protection services, developing competent bodies of coordination of emergencies that have led to substantial progress in the management of all types of emergencies and effective municipal civil protection services. The recently approved Statutes of Autonomy confirm in an express way the respective autonomous powers, although, as is natural, with respect from the State itself and in collaboration with the State.

, the European Union has also joined the common effort and has set in motion a Civil Protection Mechanism, based on the solidarity and collaboration of the Member States, apart from other financial and support measures. the latter.

All these developments in the risks, the media, the legislation and the changes involved in the approach and in the organisation of civil protection services advise an update of the regulatory legal framework of the In addition to collecting some particularly relevant forecasts dispersed in already existing rules and addressing certain shortcomings of the previous legal regulation, make greater emphasis on prevention to avoid or mitigate the adverse impacts of these situations, as well as the integration, coordination and efficiency of the actions of the Public Administrations.

This new law therefore proposes to strengthen the mechanisms that enhance and improve the functioning of the national system for the protection of citizens in the face of emergencies and catastrophes, which has already been introduced by the previous law. This system of civil protection is understood as an instrument of public security, integrated into national security policy. System that will facilitate the cooperative, coordinated and efficient exercise of the competences distributed by the constitutional doctrine among the Public Administrations, in the light of the new circumstances and social demands, when interconnecting Open and flexible means the plurality of services and actions aimed at the common objective. In this sense, the new standard serves the recommendations of the Commission for the Reform of Public Administrations, by incorporating specific measures of evaluation and inspection of the National System of Civil Protection, of collaboration interadministrative within the National Alert Network for Civil Protection and Data Integration of the National Information Network on Civil Protection. At the same time, it will make it possible to achieve better compliance with the commitments made at international level and the European Union, all with the ultimate aim of tackling in the quickest and most effective manner any emergency situations that may arise, for the benefit of those concerned and in compliance with the principle of interterritorial solidarity. By means of the provisions and duties that the law establishes in this regard and by virtue of the functions of political and administrative coordination that it attributes to the National Council of Civil Protection, among others, a model is being concretize in practice. a minimum national level which will enable an effective management by the Government of emergencies of national interest and a general coordination of the system integrating all efforts.

2. With regard to the purpose described and the criteria in which it is inspired, this law is structured in six titles, plus the provisions of the final part.

Title I lays down general application provisions. In addition to defining civil protection as a public service and clarifying the terminology used by a catalogue of definitions of the most substantial concepts, the actions of the National Civil Protection System and the principles for which they will be governed. The processes already consolidated in the cycle of emergency, forecasting, prevention, planning, intervention and recovery are incorporated in the general coordination of the political action through the definition and monitoring of the integration strategies of the all public and private activity in the field. Coordination is substantial for the effective and harmonious functioning of the system and for optimising its resources, and determining that all actions and means are geared primarily to reducing permanent and sustainable development. risks and vulnerabilities affecting the population and protected goods, as well as increasing the individual and collective capacity to react to emergencies.

Any activity that could potentially have catastrophic effects should be carried out with due care and due diligence in self-protection measures. The actions of the civil protection system will be governed in a special way by the principles set out in this law, which are key points of reference that contribute to their logical structuring. In addition to the expressed and general applicable to the operation of the Public Administrations, the different strengths and vulnerabilities of the people must always be borne in mind, in compliance with the principle of equality and international conventions signed by Spain.

The law regulates a minimum set of citizens ' rights and duties in the field of civil protection, as well as principles of action by the public authorities regarding them, which will be specified in certain aspects by their standards for development. The intention of this regulation and its location in the legal text aims to highlight that the citizen is not only the recipient of the public action aimed at preventing and dealing with emergency situations, but the centre of the system of Civil protection and the corresponding rights and duties that have a direct effect on the Constitution. The law states that all citizens have the right to be informed about the important collective risks that affect them, which forces the public authorities to disclose the measures that are willing to counteract them, to recommend conduct to prevent them and to give maximum citizen participation when planning and implementing actions in the face of emergencies, which is also configured as a right.

In Title II, the classic cycle of actions of the public authorities in the field is described in a complete and orderly manner in the first five chapters. Each one of them is complementary to the others and their proper functioning is essential to achieve the objectives of the law. The evaluation and inspection mechanisms set out in the sixth chapter, in combination with the action strategies defined in the previous title, complete an advanced concept of integral and inclusive management of all parts of the system, which can be managed in a flexible and open way to meet the needs of citizens ' protection and accountability.

The law places a special emphasis on prevention. The process begins by enhancing the knowledge about the risks as a means to prevent them and to anticipate their harmful consequences, incorporating as a differentiated performance the anticipation. The National Civil Protection Information Network will be created, which will connect all data and information needed to ensure effective responses to emergency situations. It is one of the pillars of the system, which will be managed by the National Centre for the Monitoring and Coordination of Civil Protection Emergencies of the Directorate General for Civil Protection and Emergencies by means of a national interconnection plan agreed by all Public Administrations within the National Council for Civil Protection. This new legal concept does not attract new powers to the State, but materializes and delimits the scope of the reciprocal duties of cooperation between administrations in accordance with the principle of solidarity, particularly as regards the the transmission of information and, where appropriate, the duty of active cooperation of all administrations with the one to which the emergency is to be managed.

Prevention is one of the priority goals of civil protection. Many of the policies developed by the Public Administrations, as long as they can affect or condition the safety of people or goods, have preventive objectives. The law encourages all these efforts to be channeled and integrated through the coordinating bodies that it establishes. The planning, especially the self-protection plans, the training of personnel belonging to the civil protection system and singularly the inclusion in school curricula of contents on self-protection and first aid, are The law seeks to prevent the horizontal nature of prevention.

In addition, specific preventive measures of long-term nature have been regulated in previous civil protection policies. The activities listed under this law as a risk for emergencies must have an impact technical study on those identified previously in the risk maps or territorial plans corresponding to the place where they are located. preview to perform. This is to make these activities compatible with economic and social development with the security of people and goods, rationalizing their design to minimize the risk they can generate. The National Emergency Prevention Fund is created as an adequate financial instrument to help give the necessary impetus to actions for the analysis and location of risks, awareness campaigns and information campaigns. preventive measures for the citizens, education programmes for prevention in schools or other similar programmes, with a view to concluding agreements or agreements between the General Administration of the State, the Autonomous Communities and the other public and private entities.

Other preventive resources already provided for in the previous regulations are improved. All civil protection plans must establish preventive and alert information programmes to ensure the ongoing training of the services involved in emergencies, those affected by them and the means of communication, if any. Power, the National Civil Protection Alert Network, as an instrument for immediate communication and prevention of any emergency, by incorporating the competent emergency coordination bodies of the Autonomous Communities as a means of the transmission of the alarms to whom it corresponds.

As far as planning is concerned, the law chooses to maintain essentially the scheme of the previous legislation, already consolidated, while simplifying it as far as possible. Hence, the current Basic Guidelines are included in the Basic Civil Protection Standard and that the territorial plans of the special ones are differentiated more clearly. Special plans for war situations are expected to be approved, taking into account the special laws and international conventions signed by Spain. As regards self-protection, which is set out in Title I as a duty, the provisions laid down in the previous law are supplemented and the essential aspects of the current regulatory regulation are given legal status. The obligation to assume the cost of the corresponding protection measures is imposed on the entities or undertakings that generate a risk to the population.

The approval mechanism of the plans by another more appropriate to the competitive distribution is also deleted.

The immediate response to emergencies is the critical point of every civil protection system, which, on the other hand, sometimes shows deficiencies in previous actions. The extent and diversity of means with which the national system has been endowed in recent years, as previously mentioned, needs coordination. This is why the law specifies the activities to be carried out and the intervention and assistance services so that they can be rationally structured and appropriate training plans and training plans that seek prompt, coordinated responses. and efficient.

The operational coordination centres are strengthened, in addition to what has been foreseen in the European Union Civil Protection Mechanism with its Emergency Response Coordination Centre. On the one hand, the competent emergency coordination bodies of the Autonomous Communities are consolidated as essential members of the civil protection system; on the other hand, the current coordination centre of the General Directorate is strengthened. Civil Protection and Emergencies, which is transformed into the National Centre for the Monitoring and Coordination of Civil Protection Emergencies, which corresponds to the management of the information and alert networks of the system, the interconnection and collaboration with other international coordination centres and set up as a coordination centre operational from which the national interest emergencies will be addressed. In such cases, the competent emergency coordination bodies of the Autonomous Communities shall be integrated operationally in the system, synergistically reinforcing the capacity of the system.

The State's operational intervention focuses primarily on the constitutional doctrine in emergency cases of national interest. In addition, it has been sought to strengthen the directives and coordination of the Minister of the Interior in these cases, and the duty of collaboration of all the administrations that have mobilized resources. At the same time, the law imposes on the State the obligation to make available to the Autonomous Communities and Local Entities the human and material resources available for civil protection, in the form that is agreed upon in the National Council of Civil Protection. In addition to this criterion of reciprocity, it is clear that the State cannot ignore any situation of risk affecting a part of the population, even if it is the competent authorities to deal with it. It follows that the resources which the State allocates for these purposes are also likely to be used by the other administrations, as far as possible and appropriate to ensure that all citizens are at the highest level of protection.

The last of the actions is the restoration of normalcy in the area of disaster. Although there is already regulatory regulation in the state area, the regulation on numerous occasions varies according to each individual situation. The law provides for a common regulatory framework for such aid adapted to the general legislation of grants. The declaration of an area seriously affected by an emergency of civil protection is envisaged for the adoption of other types of repair measures, for example the temporary exemption or reduction of taxes and moratoriums in the payment of Social security, as well as the consideration of a situation of force majeure of the extinctions or suspensions of work contracts or the temporary reductions of the working day which have their direct cause in the emergencies.

Title III is dedicated exclusively to the formation of the human resources of the National System of Civil Protection, a matter that is obvious in the previous legal text and in the regulations. Human resources are an essential element for the proper functioning of the system, which is why it should be a priority objective in the civil protection policies of public administrations. The new law is committed to its formation, as a mechanism of coordination par excellence in the medium and long term, since it provides common competences to all its members who are decisive in making their interventions coordinated.

addition, the actions aimed at the civil protection of the population have long ceased to have the character of the conjunctural and improvised response with which they were born. At present, an effective civil protection policy requires a high level of preparation and specialized training for all those involved in these actions throughout their cycle, whether they are personnel at the service of the Competent Public Administrations, other professionals or those who provide their voluntary collaboration. The law therefore requires that all persons involved in civil protection tasks be properly trained and seek to promote training in all areas by harmonizing the relevant systems, methods and procedures. qualifications to ensure the interoperability of civil protection officers. For these purposes, the law specifies the vertebral functions that correspond to the National School of Civil Protection, without prejudice to the activities and centers that may be created or already exist in the other competent administrations.

As regards the powers of the organs of the General Administration of the State in matters of civil protection, to which Title IV is dedicated, it has been chosen to continue attributing the fundamental responsibility to the Ministry of the Internal, under the political direction and the top coordination of the Government. This does not prevent other departments and certain bodies and public entities from carrying out important functions in this field, which, because of its implications, has a transversal nature. Moreover, it is essential that all areas of the administration assume that they must give their support, with the means and competences available to them, in order to cope with and overcome the emergency situations, since they affect the more primary legal and general interests of the greatest relevance.

Now, the plurality and diversity of the actions that the General Administration of the State can and must take to ensure civil protection requires strengthening the coordination mechanisms, as only this will be possible. to achieve a unitary response and avoid undesirable interference or duplication. Hence, the law recognizes the Government's Delegates as coordinators of the actions of the organs and services of the General Administration of the State, under the instructions of the Ministry of the Interior, whose head will be the top the authority in the matter and to which all specific powers that allow it to be exercised are attributed.

law also reiterates the participation of the Armed Forces and the State Security Forces and Corps in the actions of civil protection, as well as the Military Emergency Unit. The law incorporates the essential norms that discipline the intervention of the Military Emergency Unit, which has been consolidated in a short time as a highly effective instrument in the fight against all kinds of emergencies.

Given the peculiarities of public action for civil protection, in which various levels of government and administration are provided with their own competences, it is necessary to organise a cooperation scheme. The law delves into the philosophy of permanent and structured cooperation in "ad hoc" bodies, already established by the previous legislation, and creates the National Council for Civil Protection. the importance of the coordination of public policies for civil protection and the participation of the Autonomous Communities and Local Administration at the highest level in the elaboration of the State policy, without forgetting or reducing the multilateral technical coordination in the tasks of planning, interconnection of networks and systems (i) action, training and others requiring it, for which the committees and working groups it deems necessary should be set up. The cooperation scheme is completed with the possibility of constituting, by the respective regional laws, territorial bodies for participation and coordination.

In the external field, the new law provides coverage and organizes the State's contribution to the European Union's Civil Protection Mechanism and international cooperation missions in this field, increasingly frequent and complex, assumptions that the legislation passed more than two decades ago could hardly foresee.

The sanctioning regime is ordered in Title VI, in accordance with the general principles and rules that inform the sanctioning administrative law today and which failed to take into consideration the early 1985 law.

Finally, the additional provisions recognize that civil protection volunteering has always played an important role in civil protection, although complementary and auxiliary to the corresponding public functions. The law aims to strengthen this role, in the framework of the principles and legal regime laid down in the voluntary legislation of the voluntary sector, while stressing the duty and the right of training of volunteers and without prejudice to the general duty of cooperation of all citizens, where appropriate. It also aims to integrate the capabilities of the Spanish Red Cross in personnel and media, as well as those of the radio fans and other collaborating entities whose effort has been and will continue to be very important.

On the other hand, what is established in this standard is the necessary coherence with the national security systems and the protection of critical infrastructures and with the international treaties signed by Spain.

The award of the medal to the merit of civil protection is regulated as a public recognition of the meritorious actions carried out by those who, regardless of legal imperatives or even exceeding the level of demand of They are involved in actions related to civil protection, be it in their preventive aspects as well as emergency intervention.

The possibility of granting aid in the event of disasters is foreseen even if the area seriously affected by a civil protection emergency is not previously declared, as well as the National Council for Civil Protection. agree on unit cost prices for services which will facilitate the quantification of expenditure in collaboration agreements to be concluded for emergencies involving various administrations and which will have an impact on the efficiency of the system resources.

3. In short, the law will update the legal framework in a matter as sensitive to citizens as civil protection. It does so in the light of the experience gained since the enactment of the previous law, taking into account the competences of the Autonomous Communities, as well as the European Union legislation and the commitments made by Spain in the framework of the international cooperation, in similar terms to how today this matter is regulated in other states of federal or decentralised structure.

But, above all, it is about arbitrating the legal budgets that allow us to continue to raise the level of protection of the citizenry gradually over the coming years. It is no longer to remember that, at the moment when a modern administrative system begins to be built in our country, Javier de Burgos warned that " the relief of calamities ... must not be abandoned in the event of generous inspirations, but submit to the constant, regular and uniform action of the administration. " Two centuries later, it is evident that the State, like the other public authorities, is called to offer any person foresight and protection in the face of catastrophes of all kinds, since life is at stake, physical integrity, normal enjoyment of goods and rights and the defence of natural and cultural resources, the protection of which is one, if not the most important, of the reasons for being of the State itself.

TITLE I

General provisions

Article 1. Object and purpose.

1. Civil protection, as an instrument of public security policy, is the public service that protects people and goods by ensuring an adequate response to the various types of emergencies and disasters caused by causes natural or derived from human action, whether accidental or intentional.

2. The purpose of this law is to establish the National Civil Protection System as an essential instrument to ensure the coordination, cohesion and effectiveness of public civil protection policies, and to regulate the powers of the administration. General of State in the field.

Article 2. Definitions.

For the purposes of this law:

1. Danger. Potential to cause harm in certain situations to groups of persons or property that must be preserved by civil protection.

2. Vulnerability. The characteristic of a collectivity of persons or goods that make them liable to be affected to a greater or lesser degree by a danger in certain circumstances.

3. Threat. Situation in which persons and goods preserved by civil protection are exposed to an imminent or latent danger to a greater or lesser extent.

4. Risk. It is the possibility of a threat to affect people or property groups.

5. Civil protection emergency. Situation of collective risk over an event that puts people or goods in imminent danger and requires quick management by the public authorities to address them and mitigate the damage and try to prevent it from becoming a catastrophe. It corresponds to other denominations as an extraordinary emergency, as opposed to an ordinary emergency that has no collective affectation.

6. Catastrophe. A situation or event that alters or substantially disrupts the functioning of a community or society by causing large numbers of victims, damages and material impacts, the attention of which exceeds the available means of the own community.

7. Essential services. Services necessary for the maintenance of basic social functions, health, safety, social and economic well-being of citizens, or the effective functioning of State institutions and public administrations.

Article 3. The National System of Civil Protection.

1. The National Civil Protection System integrates the civil protection activity of all Public Administrations, in the field of their competencies, in order to ensure a coordinated and efficient response through the following Actions:

a) Previewing collective risks through actions aimed at getting to know them early and preventing them from occurring or, where appropriate, reducing the damage that they may derive from them.

b) Plan the means and measures needed to address risk situations.

c) Conduct immediate response operational intervention in case of emergency.

d) Adopt recovery measures to restore essential infrastructure and services and to alleviate the damage caused by emergencies.

e) To coordinate, monitor and evaluate the System to ensure an effective and harmonious functioning of the System.

2. The actions of the System shall be governed by the principles of collaboration, cooperation, coordination, interterritorial solidarity, subsidiarity, efficiency, participation, inclusion and universal accessibility of persons with disabilities.

3. Citizens and legal persons will participate in the System in the terms established in this law.

Article 4. National Civil Protection System Strategy.

1. The National Civil Protection System Strategy consists of prospectively analyzing the risks that may affect individuals and goods protected by civil protection and the necessary response capabilities, and in formulating the strategic lines of action to align, integrate and prioritize efforts to optimize the resources available to mitigate the effects of emergencies.

The National Civil Protection Council will approve the basic lines of the National Civil Protection System Strategy and the guidelines for its implementation, monitoring and periodic evaluation. Annual action plans or sectoral programmes may be established for implementation. This Strategy shall be reviewed at least every four years.

2. The National Civil Protection Strategy will integrate and align all the actions of the General Administration of the State in this field. It will be approved by the National Security Council, on the proposal of the Minister of the Interior.

Article 5. Right to protection in the event of a disaster.

1. All residents in the Spanish territory have the right to be taken care of by public administrations in the event of a disaster, in accordance with the provisions of the laws and without more limitations than those imposed by the same conditions. dangerous inherent in such situations and the availability of media and intervention resources.

2. The public authorities shall ensure that the care of citizens in the event of a disaster is equivalent to the place of their residence, in accordance with the provisions of Article 139.1 of the Constitution.

3. Competent public services shall identify victims as quickly as possible in the event of emergencies and provide accurate information to their relatives or to persons who are close to them.

4. The public authorities shall ensure that specific measures are taken to ensure that persons with disabilities are aware of the risks and measures of self-protection and prevention, are cared for and informed in cases of emergency and participate in civil protection plans.

Article 6. Right to information.

1. Everyone has the right to be adequately informed by the public authorities about the important collective risks affecting them, the measures envisaged and taken to address them and the conduct they need to follow to prevent them.

2. Such information must be provided both in an emergency and pre-emptively, before the danger situations become present.

Article 7. Right to participation.

1. Citizens have the right to participate, directly or through entities representing their interests, in the elaboration of the rules and civil protection plans, in terms that are legally or regulatively established.

2. The participation of citizens in civil protection tasks may be channelled through the voluntary bodies, in accordance with the provisions of the laws and regulations of development.

Article 7a. Duty of collaboration.

1. Citizens and legal persons are subject to the duty to cooperate, personally or materially, in civil protection, in the event of a request from the competent authority in accordance with Article 30.4 of the Constitution and in the terms of this law.

2. In cases of emergency, any person, from the age of majority, shall be obliged to carry out the personal benefits required by the competent authorities in the field of civil protection, without the right to compensation for such protection. cause, and compliance with orders and instructions, general or particular, that they establish.

3. Where the nature of the emergencies makes it necessary, the competent authorities in the field of civil protection may proceed to the temporary requisition of all types of property, as well as to the temporary intervention or occupation of which they are necessary and, where appropriate, the suspension of activities. Those who, as a result of these actions, suffer damages in their goods and services, will have the right to be compensated in accordance with the provisions of the laws.

4. Where the nature of the emergencies requires the entry into an address and, where appropriate, the evacuation of persons in danger, the provisions of Article 15 (2) of the Organic Law 4/2015 of 30 March 2015 shall apply. protection of citizen security.

5. Restrictive measures of rights which are adopted or which impose personal or material benefits shall be limited to the time strictly necessary to deal with emergencies and shall be appropriate to the institution of the same.

6. Surveillance and protection services against the risks of emergencies of public or private enterprises shall be considered as a contributor to civil protection, and may therefore be assigned to them in the protection plans. (a) a civil law enforcement authority, which is responsible for its territorial scope and, where appropriate, required by the competent authorities for emergency action. Conditions shall be laid down which ensure that the allocation of tasks to the supervision and protection services of undertakings which manage services of general interest shall not affect the maintenance of such services in security and continuity conditions, as well as the compensation scheme for damages caused by their action in this field.

7. The holders of centres, establishments and agencies, in which activities provided for in Article 9.2.b are carried out, which may give rise to emergencies, must provide sufficient information to the potentially affected citizens of the the risks and prevention measures taken, and shall be obliged to:

(a) Communicate the body to be established by the public administration in each competent case, the information programmes to the citizens put into practice and the information provided.

b) Carry out the installation and maintenance of alarm signal generation systems for the population, in areas that may be immediately affected by the civil protection emergencies that may be affected. be generated by the development of the activity performed.

c) Ensure that this information is fully accessible to persons with disabilities of any kind.

8. The media are obliged to collaborate free of charge with the authorities in the dissemination of the preventive and operational information in the face of the risks and emergencies in the way that they tell them and in the terms that establish in the corresponding civil protection plans.

Article 7 ter. Duty of caution and self-protection.

1. Citizens need to take the necessary steps to avoid risk generation as well as expose themselves to them. Once an emergency has occurred, they must act in accordance with the information provided by the competent public service agents.

2. The owners of the centres, establishments and agencies, public or private, which generate emergency risk, will be obliged to take the measures of self-protection provided for in this law, in the terms of the same and in the regulations

3. The competent civil protection authorities shall promote the establishment of self-protection organisations between undertakings and entities which generate risk for the provision of adequate information and advice.

Article 7c. Volunteering in the field of civil protection.

1. Civil protection volunteering may collaborate in the management of emergencies, as an expression of citizen participation in the social response to these phenomena, in accordance with what they establish the applicable norms, without prejudice to the general of collaboration of citizens in the terms of Article 7a.

The activities of volunteers in the field of civil protection will be carried out through the voluntary entities in which they are integrated, in accordance with the legal regime and the values and principles that inspire action. voluntary regulation, and in accordance with the guidelines of the voluntary service, without in any case their collaboration entailing an employment relationship with the current administration.

2. Public authorities will promote the participation and training of volunteers in support of the National Civil Protection System.

3. The emergency communications network consisting of volunteer radio amateurs may supplement those available in an ordinary way through civil protection services.

TITLE II

Actions of the National Civil Protection System

CHAPTER I

anticipation

Article 8. Definition.

The purpose of anticipation is to determine the risks in a territory based on the conditions of vulnerability and possible threats, and includes the analysis and studies to obtain information and predictions about dangerous situations.

Article 9. National Civil Protection Information Network.

1. The National Civil Protection Information Network is created in order to contribute to the anticipation of the risks and to facilitate an effective response to any situation that requires it, without prejudice to the competences of the communities. autonomous. This Network will allow the National Civil Protection System:

a) The collection, storage and agile access to information about known emergency risks, as well as the protection measures and resources available for this.

b) Ensure the exchange of information in all actions of this title.

2. The Network will contain:

(a) The National Map of Civil Protection Risks, as an instrument to identify geographic areas susceptible to damage from emergencies or catastrophes.

(b) Official catalogues of activities that may cause a civil protection emergency, including information on the centres, establishments and dependencies on which they are carried out, in terms of rules are set out.

c) The computerised record of civil protection plans, which will integrate them all into the terms that they regulate.

(d) The catalogues of resources that can be mobilized, with the understanding of human and material resources, managed by the Public Administrations or by private entities, that can be used by the National System of Civil protection in the event of an emergency, in the terms provided for in this law and which will be regulated.

(e) The National Register of Emergency and Disaster Data, which shall include information on the occurrence, consequences and losses caused, as well as on the means and procedures used to address them.

(f) Any other information necessary to provide for the risks of emergencies and to facilitate the exercise of the powers of the Public Administrations in the field of civil protection, in the terms that they regulate set.

3. Competent Public Administrations shall provide the necessary data for the establishment of the Network and shall have access to it, in accordance with the criteria to be adopted by the National Civil Protection Board.

CHAPTER II

Prevention of Civil Protection Risks

Article 10. Prevention policy.

1. Prevention in civil protection consists of the set of measures and actions aimed at preventing or mitigating the possible adverse impacts of the risks and threats of emergency.

2. As a step prior to the provision of scheduled activities in accordance with Article 9.2.b), a technical study of the direct effects on the risks of civil protection emergencies identified in the area should be carried out. It shall include at least data on the location, design and size of the project of the activity, an identification and assessment of such effects and the measures to prevent or reduce the adverse consequences of such impact. It shall be subject to an impact assessment on the risks of civil protection emergencies by the competent body in this field.

3. The civil protection plans provided for in Chapter III of this Title shall contain information and preventive and alert communication programmes which enable citizens to take appropriate measures to safeguard persons and to protect their citizens. goods, to facilitate as soon as possible the swift action of the intervention services, and to restore normality quickly after any emergency. The dissemination of these programmes should ensure their reception by the most vulnerable groups.

Accessibility measures for people with disabilities, especially those aimed at ensuring that they receive information about these plans, will be incorporated into their content.

4. The public authorities will promote the investigation of emergencies, in order to prevent them from being repeated, and the insurance of the risk of emergencies, to guarantee the efficiency of the society's response to these events in a manner compatible with the social, economic and fiscal sustainability.

5. The public authorities will promote, in the field of their competences and in charge of their respective budgetary allocations, the implementation of awareness programmes and preventive information for citizens and education for the prevention in schools.

Article 11. Emergency Prevention Fund.

1. The Emergency Prevention Fund, managed by the Ministry of the Interior, is hereby established, provided the appropriations entered for the purpose in the General Budget of the State, to be financed, in the field of the General Administration of the Status, the following preventive activities:

a) Analysis of dangerousness, vulnerability and risks.

b) Maps of civil protection risks.

c) Awareness programmes and preventive information for citizens.

d) Education programs for prevention in schools.

e) Other character analog activities to be determined.

2. The Ministry of the Interior will be able to subscribe instruments of collaboration with other ministerial departments, with other public administrations and with public or private entities, for the realization of the activities included in this chapter, which will be fully or partially funded from the Emergency Prevention Fund.

Article 12. National Civil Protection Alert Network.

1. The National Civil Protection Alert Network is created as a system of communication of emergency notices to the competent authorities in the field of civil protection, without prejudice to the competences of the autonomous communities, in order to essential public services and citizens are informed of any emergency threat.

2. The management of the Network will be the responsibility of the Ministry of the Interior, through the National Center for Monitoring and Coordination of Civil Protection Emergencies.

3. All public administrations bodies that can contribute to the detection, monitoring and forecasting of imminent danger to persons and property will immediately communicate to the National Monitoring and Coordination Center of the Civil Protection Emergencies any situation of which they have knowledge that may result in a civil protection emergency.

4. The competent emergency coordination bodies of the autonomous communities will be responsible for the information of civil protection emergencies to the National Center for the Monitoring and Coordination of Civil Protection Emergencies, as well as for the for the transmission of the alert to which it corresponds.

CHAPTER III

Planning

Article 13. Basic Rule of Civil Protection.

The Basic Civil Protection Standard, approved by royal decree on the proposal of the head of the Ministry of the Interior, and after the National Council for Civil Protection, establishes the basic guidelines for the identification of risks of emergencies and actions for their integral management, minimum content and general criteria for the preparation of Civil Protection Plans, and for the development by the competent bodies of the activities of implementation necessary for its proper effectiveness.

Article 14. Civil Protection Plans.

1. The Civil Protection Plans are the instruments for forecasting the organic-functional framework and the mechanisms that allow the mobilization of the human and material resources necessary for the protection of persons and property in case of emergency, as well as the coordination scheme of the different Public Administrations called to intervene.

2. The Civil Protection Plans are the General State Plan, the Territorial Plans, regional or local, the Special Plans and the Self-Protection Plans.

3. The General State Plan and the Territorial and Special Plans of State or Autonomous State shall be informed by the National Council of Civil Protection, for the purposes of its adaptation to the National System of Civil Protection.

Article 15. Types of Plans.

1. The General State Plan develops the organization and procedures of the General Administration of the State to provide support and assistance to the other Public Administrations, in cases of emergency civil protection, as well as exercise the direction and coordination of all public administrations in emergencies declared in the national interest. The approval of the General State Plan corresponds to the Government, on the proposal of the Minister of the Interior.

2. Territorial plans are all those that are developed to deal with the emergency risks that can be presented in the territory of an Autonomous Community or Local Entity. Such Plans shall be approved by the competent, regional or local authority, in accordance with the provisions of their specific legislation.

3. Special Plans are intended to address the risks of floods; earthquakes; tidal waves; volcanic; adverse weather events; forest fires; accidents in facilities or processes in which they are used or storage of chemical, biological, nuclear or radioactive substances; civil aviation accidents and the transport of dangerous goods, as well as those relating to the protection of the population in the event of war and those other than determine in the Basic Standard. The Special Plans may be state or regional, depending on their territorial scope, and shall be approved by the competent administration in each case. The special plans relating to nuclear risk and to the protection of the population in the event of war will, in any event, be of State competence, without prejudice to the participation of the Communities ' administrations. Autonomous and Local Entities, as set out in the Basic Standard.

4. The Self-Protection Plans provide for the planned organic and functional framework for the centres, establishments, facilities or dependencies set out in the applicable regulations, in order to prevent and control the emergency risks of civil protection on persons and property and provide adequate response in such situations.

CHAPTER IV

Immediate response to emergencies

Article 16. Definition.

An immediate response to civil protection emergencies is the action of public or private intervention and assistance services following the occurrence of an emergency or in a situation that may lead to in emergency, in order to prevent damage, to rescue and protect people and property, to ensure citizen security and to meet the basic needs of the affected population. It includes emergency health, psychological and social care, shelter and initial repair of damage to restore essential services and infrastructure, as well as other actions and assessments needed to start the recovery.

Article 17. Intervention and assistance services in civil protection emergencies.

1. The Technical Services of Civil Protection and Emergencies of all Public Administrations, the Services of Prevention, Extinction of Civil Protection, will have the consideration of public services of intervention and assistance in emergencies of civil protection. Fire and Rescue, and Prevention and Extinction of Forest Fires, Security Forces and Corps, Emergency Health Care Services, the Armed Forces and, specifically, the Military Emergency Unit, the competent for the coordination of emergencies of the Autonomous Communities, the Technical Forestry and Environmental Agents, Rescue Services, multidisciplinary teams for the identification of victims, persons in contact with victims and their families, and all those who depend on the authorities Public have this end.

2. The competent authorities for the coordination of emergencies of the Autonomous Communities, in addition to the attention of emergencies which do not have collective affections but which require the performance of various operational services, may act in the civil protection emergencies such as the Operational Coordination Centre, as set out in the relevant plans.

3. When voluntary organisations and collaborating entities are required, their mobilisation and actions will be subordinate to those of public services.

4. The Basic Civil Protection Standard will regulate the basis for improving the coordination and efficiency of the actions of the services regulated in this article.

Article 18. The National Centre for the Monitoring and Coordination of Civil Protection Emergencies.

1. The National Centre for the Monitoring and Coordination of Civil Protection Emergencies exercises the following functions:

a) Manage the National Civil Protection Information Network. It shall draw up, with the agreement of the National Council for Civil Protection, a national plan for the interconnection of emergency information that will allow for the agile communication between the different Public Administrations and the efficiency of the management, coordination and the monitoring of emergencies.

b) Manage the National Civil Protection Alert Network under the terms provided for in this law.

c) periodically report data and statistics on emergencies and assess the appropriateness and manner of use of social networks in the face of a civil protection emergency.

d) Act as a Center for Operational Coordination in emergencies of national interest. In these cases, the competent emergency coordination bodies of the Autonomous Communities shall be integrated operationally in this Centre, with the functions and coordination mechanisms to be determined, as well as the information networks. for the management and coordination of the services involved in its resolution. The extent of such integration and the conditions for making them effective shall be determined by the National Civil Protection Board.

(e) Act as a contact point for the communication and exchange of information with the bodies of the European Union, within the framework of the Civil Protection Mechanism of the Union and other international bodies, as well as with the other countries with which Spain has established a Convention or Treaty on cooperation in the field of civil protection.

f) Canalize the information to be provided by citizens and public and private entities in the terms set forth in this law.

2. The functions entrusted to the National Centre for the Monitoring and Coordination of Civil Protection Emergencies are in the Directorate-General for Civil Protection and Emergencies.

Article 19. Availability of State resources.

1. The State will collaborate with the Autonomous Communities and the Local Entities, facilitating the human and material resources available in case of emergencies that have not been declared of national interest, in the terms agreed upon in the National Council for Civil Protection.

2. The members of the Security Forces and Corps of the State or the Armed Forces involved in such emergencies shall act in accordance with the orders of their natural commands and directed by the designated authority in the civil protection plan. which corresponds.

3. The liability for damages arising from the intervention of the media of the General Administration of the State referred to in the previous paragraph shall be the responsibility of the Public Administration to assume the direction of the emergency.

CHAPTER V

Recovery

Article 20. Recovery phase.

1. The recovery phase is integrated by the set of actions and measures of assistance of public and private entities aimed at restoring normalcy in the disaster zone, after the immediate response to the disaster has been completed. emergency.

2. Where an emergency occurs the magnitude of which requires the intervention of the General Administration of the State for recovery, the measures set out in this Chapter shall be applied, on the basis of a declaration of the same in accordance with the provisions of this Chapter. Article 23. For reasons justifying the intervention of the General Administration of the State in recovery tasks, the Autonomous Community concerned or, where appropriate, the National Council for Civil Protection shall be informed as soon as possible.

3. Recovery measures will be implemented as a support to help restore normalcy in the affected areas, not in any case having an indemnity.

Article 21. Material damage.

1. Material damage shall be true, economically assessable and referred to property that has insurance coverage, public or private.

2. The aid for material damage shall be compatible with those which may be granted by other public authorities or with the compensation provided for under insurance policies, without in any event the overall amount of the aid. can exceed the value of the damage produced.

3. The assessment of material damage shall be carried out by bodies specialised in the assessment of claims or by technical services which are dependent on public administrations, in the field of their powers on the basis of the data provided by the Commission. the Public Administrations concerned. The Insurance Compensation Consortium shall be entitled to the credit of the assessment work in accordance with its professional fee scale.

4. In order to facilitate the processing of aid and the assessment of damage, the competent authority and the Insurance Compensation Consortium may exchange information on beneficiaries of the aid and compensation granted, their the respective amounts and the goods concerned. The insurance companies operating in the Spanish territory shall be obliged to supply the Insurance Compensation Consortium with the information requested by them to comply with the provisions set out above. The Insurance Compensation Consortium may issue valuation and expert reports at the request and in favor of the Public Administrations concerned.

Article 22. Personal injury.

Where personal injury has occurred, financial assistance shall be granted for death and for absolute and permanent incapacity, as provided for in the fourth provision.

Article 23. Procedure for declaration of an area seriously affected by a civil protection emergency.

1. The declaration of an area seriously affected by an emergency of civil protection provided for in this law shall be made by agreement of the Council of Ministers, on the proposal of the Ministers of Finance and Public Administrations and of the Interior and, where appropriate, of the holders of the other ministries concerned, including, in any case, the delimitation of the affected area. Such a declaration may be requested by the public authorities concerned.

In these cases, and prior to their declaration, the Government may request a report from the affected community or autonomous communities.

2. For the purposes of the declaration of an area seriously affected by a civil protection emergency, it shall be assessed, in any event, that personal or material damage has occurred resulting from a disaster which seriously disturbs the conditions of life. of the population in a given geographical area or when the cessation of all or some of the essential public services is brought to a standstill.

Article 24. Applicable measures.

1. In the terms approved by the Council of Ministers, when a zone seriously affected by a civil protection emergency is declared, some of the following measures may be adopted:

(a) Economic assistance to individuals for damage to habitual housing and household goods.

b) Compensation to Local Corporations for expenses arising from non-deferred actions.

(c) Aid to natural or legal persons who have carried out the personal or property provision.

(d) Aid for industrial, commercial and service establishments.

e) Grants for damage to municipal infrastructure, provincial and island road network.

(f) Aid for damage to agricultural, livestock, forestry and marine aquaculture production.

g) Opening of preferential loan lines supported by the Official Credit Institute.

2. In addition to the measures provided for in the preceding paragraph,

following may be adopted:

a) Tax measures:

1. º Exemption of the share of the Property Tax, corresponding to the financial year in which the emergency has occurred affecting housing, industrial, tourist and commercial establishments, agricultural, livestock and forestry holdings, working premises and the like, where they have been damaged and evidence is provided that both persons and property in them have had to be rehoused in whole or in part in others different houses or premises until the repair of the damage suffered, or the damage to crops are claims not covered by any public or private insurance formula.

2. Reduction in the Tax on Economic Activities, corresponding to the financial year in which the emergency has occurred to the industries of any nature, commercial establishments, tourism and professionals, whose premises of business or property affected by this activity have been damaged, provided that they have had to be rehoused or there has been damage that would force the temporary closure of the activity. The indicated reduction shall be proportional to the time elapsed from the day on which the cessation of the activity has occurred until its restart under normal conditions, either on the same premises or on other facilities.

3. The exemptions and reductions in fees in the taxes mentioned in the previous ordinals will include those of the surcharges legally authorized on them.

4. The taxpayers who, having the right to the benefits established in the previous ordinals, have satisfied the receipts corresponding to that fiscal year, may ask for the return of the amounts entered.

5. º Waiver of the rates of the autonomous agency Headquarters of Traffic for the processing of the casualties of vehicles requested as a consequence of the damages produced, and the issue of duplicates of permits of circulation or from driving destroyed or lost to such causes.

6. The decrease of the income in local taxes that, if any, occurs in the municipalities, provincial deputies, island councils and island councils as a result of the application of this article, will be compensated by the General Budget of the State, in accordance with the provisions of Article 9 of the recast text of the Local Government Law, approved by the Royal Legislative Decree of 5 March.

7. The Personal Damage Aid will be exempt from the Income Tax of the Physical Persons.

8. In exceptional circumstances, the Minister of Finance and Public Administration may authorise a reduction in the net yield rates for farms and agricultural activities carried out in the disaster areas.

b) Labour and Social Security Measures:

1. The extinctions or suspensions of work contracts or temporary reductions in the working day that have their direct cause in the emergency, as well as in the loss of activity directly derived from the They shall be duly accredited and shall be regarded as having come from a situation of force majeure, with the consequences arising from Articles 47 and 51 of the recast text of the Law on the Staff Regulations, adopted by Royal Decree Legislative 1/1995 of 24 March. In the first case, the General Treasury of Social Security may exonerate the employer from the payment of the Social Security contributions and by concepts of joint collection for the duration of the suspension period, maintaining the condition of that period as effectively listed by the worker. In the event of termination of the contract, workers ' compensation shall be borne by the Salarial Guarantee Fund, subject to the legally established limits.

In the event that the company decides to suspend contracts or the temporary reduction of the working day based on exceptional circumstances, the State Employment Public Service may authorize that the time in the unemployment benefits, as laid down in Title III of the recast text of the General Law on Social Security, adopted by the Royal Legislative Decree 1/1994 of 20 June, which bring their immediate cause for emergency, are to be collected; is computed for the purposes of consuming the maximum prescribed periods of perception. Similarly, in such cases, workers may be authorised to receive unemployment benefits without the necessary periods of contribution to be entitled to them.

2. Companies and self-employed persons included in any social security scheme may request and obtain, on the basis of the damages suffered, a moratorium of up to one year without interest in the payment of social security contributions and collection concepts corresponding to three consecutive calendar months, from the previous one to the production of the disaster or, in the case of workers included in the Special Regime of self-employed or self-employed persons, since the month in which they were produced.

3. " Social Security contributors who are entitled to the benefits established in the previous ordinals and have satisfied the quotas corresponding to the exemptions or the moratorium in question may ask for the refund of the quantities entered, including, where appropriate, interest on late payment, surcharges and costs in accordance with the legal provisions laid down in law. If the person who is entitled to the refund is liable to the Social Security for other periods, the credit for the refund shall be applied to the payment of outstanding debts with that in the form that is legally applicable.

Article 25. Monitoring and coordination.

1. Following the declaration of an area seriously affected by a civil protection emergency, monitoring of the measures set out in this Chapter shall be carried out on the terms to be determined in a regulatory manner.

2. For the coordination and monitoring of the measures taken by the General Administration of the State and, where appropriate, by other Public Administrations, a Coordination Commission shall be set up, composed of representatives of the Administrations. affected state, autonomic and local.

CHAPTER VI

National Civil Protection System Assessment and Inspection

Article 26. Assessment and inspection.

1. The evaluation and inspection of the National Civil Protection System shall be aimed at contributing to the improvement of the quality of the response of the public authorities in the comprehensive management of risks and emergencies.

2. The assessment and inspection shall apply to all actions of the National System and shall be carried out by the competent Public Administrations, in the terms set out in the following paragraph.

3. The National Council for Civil Protection will develop guidelines for the evaluation of the general implementation actions and a National System Inspection Program to be carried out by the Public Administrations in their respective fields. of competition, while respecting the powers of self-organisation and the management of its own services.

Article 27. Annual Memory of the National Civil Protection System.

The government, prepared by the National Council for Civil Protection and on the proposal of the Minister of the Interior, will raise an annual report to the Senate to assess the effectiveness of the National System.

CHAPTER VII

Emergencies of national interest

Article 28. Definition.

These are emergencies of national interest:

1. Those requiring for the protection of persons and property the application of the Organic Law 4/1981, of June 1, regulating the states of alarm, exception and site.

2. Those where it is necessary to provide for the coordination of different administrations because they affect several Autonomous Communities and require a contribution of resources at the supra-regional level.

3. Those which, by their effective or foreseeable dimensions, require a national address.

Article 29. Statement.

In the cases provided for in the previous article, the declaration of national interest shall be the responsibility of the holder of the Ministry of the Interior, either on his own initiative or at the request of the Autonomous Communities or of the Government in the same. Where the declaration of emergency of national interest is made at the initiative of the Ministry of the Interior, it shall in any event be specified in advance of communication with the Autonomous Community or Autonomous Communities concerned, by means which do not prejudice the speed of the declaration and the effectiveness of the public response.

Article 30. Effects.

1. Declared the emergency of national interest, the holder of the Ministry of the Interior will assume its direction, which will include the ordination and coordination of the actions and the management of all the state, regional and local resources of the field territorial affected, without prejudice to the provisions of the law for states of alarm, exception and site, and in specific national security regulations.

2. The Minister of the Interior may, depending on the seriousness of the situation, require the collaboration of the different Public Administrations that have resources that can be mobilized, even if the emergency does not affect their territory.

TITLE III

The Human Resources of the National Civil Protection System

Article 31. The formation of human resources.

1. The public authorities shall promote the training and development of the technical competence of the personnel of the National Civil Protection System.

2. Training in civil protection will have the official recognition of the educational system and vocational training for employment, in the framework of the National System of Qualifications and Vocational Training, in the terms established by the Government, on the proposal of the competent ministries.

Article 32. The National School of Civil Protection.

1. The National School of Civil Protection, as a vertebrate instrument of specialized training and high-level controls, develops the following activities:

(a) Forming and training the staff of the civil protection services of the General Administration of the State and other public and private institutions, by means of the relevant conventions, as well as to persons of other collectives that are of interest to the National Civil Protection System. It may agree with other administrations, through the relevant conventions, on the training and training of staff in the service of such administrations.

b) Develop R & D + i actions in the field of civil protection training.

c) Collaborate with the civil protection training centers of the other Public Administrations.

(d) Collaborate on training activities to be provided for in the framework of the Union Civil Protection Mechanism or other European initiatives to promote the interoperability of equipment and services. It may also carry out training activities in favour of other States or of foreign or international institutions.

e) The National School of Civil Protection, after authorization from the Ministries of Education, Culture and Sport and Employment and Social Security, respectively, may impart the actions conducive to obtaining the titles professional training officers and certificates of professionalism related to civil protection.

2. The functions entrusted to the National School of Civil Protection are in the Directorate-General for Civil Protection and Emergencies.

TITLE IV

Competencies of the organs of the General Administration of the State

Article 33. Powers of the Government.

They are the government's powers in civil protection:

a) Regular the National Civil Protection Information Network and the National Civil Protection Alert Network.

b) Approve the Basic Civil Protection Standard.

c) Approve the General State Plan for Civil Protection.

d) Approve the special civil protection and state competition plans.

e) Declare a zone seriously affected by a civil protection emergency.

(f) Adopt the relevant international cooperation agreements in the field of civil protection.

g) Approve the Intervention Protocol of the Military Emergency Unit and, where appropriate, that of other State media that can be used for civil protection.

h) The rest of the law and the rest of the legal order.

Article 34. Powers of the Minister of the Interior.

1. The Minister of the Interior is responsible for promoting, coordinating and developing the Government's policy on civil protection.

2. These are the competences of the Minister of the Interior:

a) Develop the rules of action that the Government approves in the field of civil protection.

b) Develop the Basic Civil Protection Standard, the General State Plan and the Special Plans for Civil Protection of State-level competition and competition, and raise them to the Government for approval, as well as propose to the Security Council National the approval of the National Strategy for Civil Protection.

c) Declare the national interest emergency and its completion, as well as assume the management and coordination functions that correspond to it in this situation.

(d) Propose to the Government, together with the Minister of Finance and Public Administrations and, where appropriate, the holders of the other ministries concerned, the declaration of an area seriously affected by an emergency of protection civil.

e) to exercise the superior management, coordination and inspection of the actions and means of implementation of the civil protection plans of the State.

f) Dispose, in general terms, the intervention of the State Security Forces and Corps and request from the head of the Ministry of Defense the collaboration of the Armed Forces.

g) Chair the National Civil Protection Board.

h) To make the offer of contribution of emergency intervention teams within the framework of the European Union Civil Protection Mechanism.

i) agree to the mobilisation of the resources of the National Civil Protection System to cooperate in disasters in third countries and to coordinate the action of aid teams, as provided for in Article 42.

j) Impose the penalties for very serious infringements provided for in Title VI.

k) The others that are attributed to you by this law and by the rest of the legal order.

Article 35. Powers of other departments, agencies and entities of the state public sector.

The remaining ministries, public bodies and other entities of the state public sector will participate in the exercise of civil protection activities, in the field of their respective competences and in accordance with what establish the rules in force and the civil protection plans. The Minister of the Interior shall decide and the competent authority of the relevant Department or body shall order the intervention of these State resources.

Article 36. Competencies of the Government Delegates.

The Government Delegates, under the instructions of the Ministry of the Interior, will coordinate the actions on civil protection of the organs and services of the General Administration of the State of their respective areas. territorial cooperation, in cooperation with the bodies responsible for civil protection of the relevant Autonomous Communities and Local Entities.

Article 37. The Armed Forces. The Military Emergency Unit.

1. The collaboration of the Armed Forces in the field of civil protection will be carried out mainly through the Military Emergency Unit, without prejudice to the collaboration of other units that are required, in accordance with the provisions of the Military Emergency Unit. specific legislation, in this law and in development legislation.

2. The Military Emergency Unit has as its mission to intervene anywhere in the national territory to contribute to the safety and well-being of the citizens, in order to meet the objectives of the Civil Protection in the (a) presumed necessary, together with the institutions of the State and the Public Administrations, in accordance with the provisions of the Organic Law 5/2005, of 17 November, of the National Defense, in this law and in the rest of the applicable rules.

3. The intervention of the Military Emergency Unit, which will be assessed in the circumstances, will be requested by the Minister of the Interior and will be ordered by the Minister of Defense. The arrangements for their interventions shall be laid down.

4. The Military Emergency Unit, in the event of an emergency of national interest, shall assume the operational direction of the Emergency Military Unit, acting under the direction of the Minister of the Interior.

Article 38. Participation of the State Security Forces and Corps.

1. The State Security Forces and Corps will collaborate in civil protection actions, in accordance with the provisions of the Organic Law 2/1986, of March 13, of Forces and Security Corps, and in this law and in the development.

2. Civil protection plans, in the field of their competence, may assign functions to the State Security Forces and Corps, without attributing them to specific units.

TITLE V

Cooperation and coordination

Article 39. National Council for Civil Protection.

1. The National Council of Civil Protection is the body of cooperation in this field of the General Administration of the State, of the Administrations of the Autonomous Communities, of the Cities with Statute of Autonomy and of the Local Administration, represented by the Spanish Federation of Municipalities and Provinces, as an association of State-wide Local Entities with greater implementation. It is intended to contribute to effective, coherent and coordinated action by the relevant administrations in the face of emergencies.

2. The Minister of the Interior, who presides him, is part of the National Council, the ministers of the ministerial departments to be determined by the Government, the representatives of the Autonomous Communities and the Cities with the Statute of Autonomy. competent in matters of civil protection, designated by them, and the person, with representative powers, designated by the Spanish Federation of Municipalities and Provinces.

The National Council operates in plenary and in the Permanent Commission. In any case, it will be up to the plenary to approve the basic lines of the National System of Civil Protection Strategy, as well as to exercise the other functions determined by the National Council's rules of procedure.

3. The National Council shall adopt its rules of procedure, which shall regulate its organisation and operation.

4. The National Council will have the status of the Spanish Committee of the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction of the United Nations.

Article 40. Territorial bodies for participation and coordination in the field of civil protection.

In accordance with the provisions of the autonomous regulations, representatives of the General Administration of State may participate in the territorial bodies of participation and coordination in matters of civil protection.

Article 41. Contribution to the European Union Civil Protection Mechanism.

1. The Ministry of the Interior, as the Spanish contact point of the European Union Civil Protection Mechanism, both in terms of prevention activities, as well as in the preparation and response to disasters that develop in the framework of the Mechanism, act, where appropriate, in coordination with the Departments of the General Administration of the State concerned, as well as with the Autonomous Communities.

2. The Ministry of the Interior shall ensure the necessary consistency of the Spanish participation in the Union Civil Protection Mechanism and maintain appropriate cooperation with the European Monitoring and Information Centre. It will continue to act as the point of contact for the Common System of Emergency Information and Communication of the Mechanism. The arrangements for Spanish civil protection modules that are available under the Mechanism shall be established.

Article 42. International Cooperation.

The Ministry of the Interior will collect and mobilize the resources of the National System to prevent and deal with disaster situations in third countries, when it comes under international treaties and agreements. bilateral agreements signed by Spain, or when the Government agrees on a proposal from the Ministers for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation and the Interior, and those other Departments whose powers, where appropriate, may be affected.

TITLE VI

Sanctioning Regime

Article 43. Exercise of sanctioning power by the General Administration of the State.

The competent authorities of the General Administration of the State shall exercise the power of sanctioning, in accordance with the provisions of this Title, when the alleged acts of infringement are carried out on the occasion of emergencies declared in the national interest or the implementation of civil protection plans whose management and management corresponds to that.

Article 44. Responsible subjects.

The responsibility for the violations committed will fall directly on the author of the fact that the infringement consists of.

Article 45. Violations.

1. Administrative violations in the field of civil protection are the actions and omissions established in this law.

2. The violations are classified as very serious, severe and minor.

3. They constitute very serious infringements:

(a) Failure to comply with obligations arising out of civil protection plans, where there is a particular danger or significance for the safety of persons or property.

(b) In the case of emergencies declared, failure to comply with the orders, prohibitions, instructions or requirements made by the holders of the competent bodies or the members of the intervention and assistance services; as to the duties of collaboration with the services of surveillance and protection of public or private companies, when it poses a special danger or transcendence for the safety of persons or property.

(c) Failure to fulfil the duties provided for in Article 7 bis.7 of this Law, where it is particularly dangerous or important for the safety of persons or property.

d) The commission of a second serious infringement within one year.

4. They constitute serious infringements:

(a) Failure to comply with obligations arising from civil protection plans, where there is no particular danger or significance for the safety of persons or property.

(b) In the case of emergencies declared, failure to comply with the orders, prohibitions, instructions or requirements made by the holders of the competent bodies or the members of the intervention and assistance services; as to the duties of collaboration with the services of surveillance and protection of public or private undertakings, where there is no special danger or significance for the safety of persons or property.

(c) Failure to comply with the obligations laid down in Article 7a.7, where it does not pose a particular danger or significance to the safety of persons or property.

(d) Failure to comply with the obligations laid down in Article 7a.  8, when it is of special importance for the safety of persons or property.

e) The commission of a third minor infringement within one year.

5. They constitute minor infractions:

(a) Failure to comply with the obligations laid down in Article 7 bis.8, where it does not constitute a special significance for the safety of persons or property.

b) Any other non-compliance with this law that does not constitute a serious or very serious infringement.

Article 46. Penalties.

1. Very serious infringements will be punishable by a fine of EUR 30,001 to EUR 600,000.

2. Serious infringements shall be punishable by a fine of EUR 1,501 to EUR 30,000.

3. Minor infringements shall be punishable by a fine of up to EUR 1,500.

Article 47. Graduation.

The application of the penalties provided for in this law will be carried out in accordance with the provisions of Article 131 of Law 30/1992, of 26 November, of the Legal Regime of Public Administrations and of the common administrative, and its development provisions.

Article 48. Competence for the exercise of sanctioning powers.

They will be competent for the resolution of sanctioning procedures:

(a) The holder of the Government Delegation in the case of minor infractions.

(b) The holder of the Directorate-General for Civil Protection and Emergencies in the case of serious infringements.

(c) The holder of the Ministry of the Interior in the case of very serious infringements.

Article 49. Sanctioning procedure.

1. The exercise of the power of sanction in matters of civil protection shall be governed by Title IX of Law No 30/1992 of 26 November 1992 and its implementing provisions, without prejudice to the specialities covered by this Title.

2. The maximum time limit for the resolution of sanctioning procedures for serious and very serious infringements shall be six months, and three months for procedures for minor infringements.

Article 50. Provisional measures.

1. Exceptionally, in the case of imminent threat to persons or property, the provisional measures provided for in paragraph 2 of this Article may be adopted by the competent authorities in respect of civil protection with a view to prior to the initiation of the procedure, which must be ratified, amended or revoked in the opening agreement within the maximum period of 15 days. In any event, these measures will have no effect if, on the expiry of that period, the procedure is not opened or the opening agreement does not contain an express statement on the measures.

2. The competent authority for its opening may, at any time, take the measures of a provisional nature which ensure the effectiveness of the final decision which may be placed on it and those which prevent maintenance or the aggravation of the effects of the imputed infringement. Such measures shall be proportionate to the nature and gravity of the infringement and may be in particular:

(a) The safe deposit of the instruments or effects used for the commission of the infringements, and in particular of objects or dangerous substances.

(b) The adoption of security measures for persons, property, establishments or facilities that are under threat, in charge of their owners.

c) The preventive suspension or closure of factories, premises or establishments.

d) The partial or total suspension of activities in establishments that are notoriously vulnerable and do not have the necessary Self-Protection Plans or safety measures in operation.

Additional disposition first. Volunteering in the field of civil protection and collaborating entities.

1. The public authorities will promote the participation and proper training of volunteers in support of the National Civil Protection System, without prejudice to the general duty of collaboration of all citizens.

2. The activities of voluntary persons in the field of civil protection shall be provided in accordance with the legal regime and the values and principles which inspire the voluntary action set out in the voluntary regulation, and in accordance with Article 1 (1) of Regulation (EU) No with the guidelines of the public entities and organisations in which they are developed.

3. The Red Cross and other entities whose purposes are those related to civil protection will contribute their personnel and means to the tasks of the same.

Additional provision first bis. Spanish Red Cross and other collaborating entities.

1. The Spanish Red Cross, as an auxiliary of the Public Administrations in the humanitarian and social activities promoted by them, has the consideration of a contributing entity of the National System of Civil Protection and will be able to contribute with its means to the actions of the latter, where appropriate, by means of the subscription of conventions. The civil protection plans referred to in Article 14 shall include, where appropriate, the actions to be carried out by this entity.

2. Other entities whose purposes include those related to civil protection may contribute their means to the tasks of civil protection.

Additional provision second. National Security, National Defense and Critical Infrastructure Systems and international treaty derivatives.

The provisions of this law are without prejudice to the provisions of the current regulations for the National Security, National Defense and Critical Infrastructure systems and the derivatives of international treaties signed by Spain.

Additional provision third. Medal of merit for civil protection.

1. The Medal of Civil Protection shall be awarded to persons, natural or legal, who stand out for their activities in civil protection.

2. The types and categories of medals to be awarded by the General Administration of the State and the arrangements for granting them shall be established, which shall in no case entail economic compensation.

Additional provision fourth. Aid for situations not declared as a zone seriously affected by a civil protection emergency.

State regulatory rules on grants arising from emergency or catastrophic situations shall apply to aid resulting from situations in which the declaration has not been produced. the area seriously affected by an emergency of civil protection, as well as the personal injury aid of Article 22 and the material damage contained in Article 21 and paragraphs (a), (b) (c) and (d) of Article 24 (1). The provisions of Article 21 (4) of this Law shall apply to the processing of such grants.

Additional provision fifth. Unit prices to determine the cost of the services provided.

For its possible application to the collaboration agreements that are signed between Administrations Públicas, as well as to cover the expenses resulting from the intervention of the public services in the emergency situations, the National Civil Protection Board may approve a unit price ratio of material and human resources that may serve as a reference to determine the cost of the services provided.

Additional provision sixth. Plans and programmes with sectoral regulation.

The ministerial departments which have assigned the planning and programs to the entry into force of this Law in the face of concrete situations of collective risk in which the safety or the life of the people can be endangered, establish the mechanisms of collaboration with the Public Administrations competent in the field of civil protection to ensure the coherence of the National Civil Protection System.

Additional provision seventh. No increase in public spending.

The measures included in this law may not result in an increase in appropriations, remuneration, or other personnel costs.

The support of the National Civil Protection System in the field of the General Administration of the State will be carried out in accordance with the allocations that will be included annually in the General State budgets, in accordance with the principles and objectives of budgetary stability and financial sustainability.

Additional disposition octave. Regulatory adaptation.

The provisions of this law shall take into account the provisions of Law 26/2011 of 1 August, of adaptation to the International Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

Additional provision ninth. Sanctioning competition at the municipal level.

Mayors shall be competent for the resolution of sanctioning procedures in the field of civil protection in accordance with the provisions of the specific legislation applicable to them.

Additional provision tenth.

The aid provided for in this law will not have the consideration of a computable income for the purposes of granting and maintaining the right, and where appropriate, of the amount of pension and invalidity pensions for social security in its non-contributory mode.

Single transient arrangement. Existing civil protection plans.

The existing civil protection plans for the entry into force of this law will continue to apply until they are replaced by those that are developed and approved in accordance with it.

Single repeal provision. Regulatory repeal.

Law 2/1985, of 21 January, of civil protection, as well as other rules of equal or lower rank, is repealed as soon as they contradict or oppose the provisions of this law.

Final disposition first. Competence title.

This law is dictated by the provisions of Article 149.1.29. of the Constitution, which attributes exclusive competence to the State in matters of public security.

Final disposition second. Enabling regulatory development.

1. The Government is empowered to issue the necessary provisions for the development and implementation of the provisions of this law.

2. The development of the labour and social security measures provided for in Article 24 shall be carried out by the Minister for Employment and Social Security.

Final disposition third. Update of the amount of the fines.

The Government is empowered to update the amount of the fines, in accordance with the variations of the public multi-purpose income indicator.

Final disposition fourth. Entry into force.

This law shall enter into force six months after its publication in the "Official State Gazette".

Therefore,

I command all Spaniards, individuals and authorities, to keep and keep this law.

Madrid, 9 July 2015.

FELIPE R.

The President of the Government,

MARIANO RAJOY BREY