Established pursuant to the Missouri Constitution.

The committee shall consist of five members, three Republicans and two Democrats, and will be responsible for Pandemic Preparedness. The duties of the committee shall be:

1) To examine the state's preparedness and evaluate state and local contingency plans with regard to a pandemic or epidemic.

2) To study the need for coordinated response plans on local, state, and regional levels.

3) To examine interagency cooperation and public-private agreements between on the local, regional, and state levels.

4) To examine the role of healthcare insurers, Medicaid or other federal medical programs, and service providers in coordinated response plans.

5) To study the availability of communication and the need for developing communication procedures.

6) To research methods for filling critical infrastructure services such as police, fire, and emergency medical technician services as well as sanitation, water, and electrical services.

The committee shall be staffed by counsel from Senate Research and may hold public hearings at locations to be determined by the chairman. Reasonable, actual and necessary expenses of the committee shall be reimbursed by the Missouri Senate.

The committee shall issue a report and make recommendations, as deemed appropriate by a majority of the members of the committee, to the general assembly for legislative action no later than January 26, 2007.