ABSTRACT
By virtue of the Tenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, all state governments have inherent power-called the police power-to enact reasonable legislation to protect the health, safety, and general welfare of the public. With no mandatory public policy regarding how to prepare for and mitigate against natural and human-made hazards, states have developed their own diverse methods of protecting public health and safety from the impacts of hazards. Some states take a direct approach, while other states are more hands-o and delegate much of the responsibility to local governments or allow market forces to control land uses in hazard areas. Still others mandate specic action on the part of the local governments, but allow implementation decisions to be made at the community level.
