The bill directs the Director of the Maine Emergency Management Agency to coordinate with the Commissioner of Education to perform an assessment of the number of Maine public schools that have adopted an all-hazards approach to emergency preparedness and requires the director and the commissioner to coordinate their efforts for community outreach for all-hazards emergency planning. The bill requires the director to report by September 18, 2006 to the Task Force to Study Maine's Homeland Security Needs with its findings and recommendations. This bill also requires that all new schools be designed to include backup energy generators or be wired for portable energy generators, thus enabling their use as public shelters.

This bill also requires the Commissioner of Education to determine methods for incorporating emergency plans within the elementary and secondary public school curriculum. It requires the commissioner to report by January 15, 2007 with findings and proposed recommended changes to the curriculum to the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over education and cultural affairs and the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over criminal justice and public safety matters.

Finally, this bill directs the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention, in conjunction with the Maine Hospital Association, to update its survey of emergency health system capacity in the State and to report to the Task Force to Study Maine's Homeland Security Needs on the results of this study and recommendations to address surge capacity by September 18, 2006. It also requires the Director of the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention to work with stakeholders to ensure that the regional resource centers are provided sufficient funding and requires the director to study the qualifications of local health officers and develop recommendations for enhancing their role in emergency preparedness plans. It requires the director to report to the Task Force to Study Maine's Homeland Security Needs on the results of this study and proposed recommendations by September 18, 2006 and to the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over health and human services matters and the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over criminal justice matters by January 15, 2007.