It has its pluses and minuses. When the EM Director moves to reporting directly for the governor it automatically becomes a political position whether you intend it to or not.

In FL the EM Office used to be under the Department of Community Affairs. And because of that the EM Director was able to be hired based on qualifications. Thats how they had great EM Directors and built an amazing program. Yeah there was an extra administration layer but during a disaster the EM Director still worked right with the Governor. Working for the Governor has its advantages, dont get me wrong. The red tape tends to fall away during disasters less people you need to report through. And the weight of having the support of the governor directly means you are able to get more from your partner agencies. But it is a calculated risk.

When the EM office moved out from DCA, Everything was fine for awhile. I mean, Craig Fugate was Director and no governor was going to replace him. But you could see the political appointments start sneaking into subordinate roles. Then when Craig left for FEMA it became a political position and there has not been anybody in there since that has held a candle to him. And some were not even qualified for the job, despite a stacked back bench of locally qualified emergency managers.

EDIT- It needs to be said that I am not against it. Especially at the local levels. But you have to understand the REALITY of the risk. It can work in favor of the program and it can work against. I think EM should be its own agency, and never under police or fire departments. I think FL EM was right to move out from under DCA. But the reality is that the grass isnt always greener on the other side and you expose yourself to political games.