Bill > A1773

Introduced Session

This bill establishes the "Volunteer Fire Company Assistance Program" in the Division of Fire Safety in the Department of Community Affairs to support the ongoing operations and sustainability of volunteer fire companies. The bill establishes a special non-lapsing fund to be known as the "Volunteer Fire Company Assistance Program Fund" (fund), which is required to be annually credited with money appropriated by the Legislature. Under the bill, the Director of the Division of Fire Safety (division) is required to develop and administer a grant program to annually distribute moneys in the fund to volunteer fire companies in the form of grants to support the ongoing operations and sustainability of volunteer fire companies, including the purchasing of emergency equipment. To participate in the grant program, a volunteer fire company would be required to submit an application to the division in a manner and on such forms as determined by the director. An application is required to include information detailing the volunteer fire company's proposed plans for the grant funding, including, but not limited to:· the amount of the grant award being sought; · a specific description of any emergency equipment to be purchased; and · a description of how the grant award will be used to maximize the ongoing operations and sustainability of the volunteer fire department, including ensuring compliance with any applicable State and federal laws and regulations. The director is required to establish an annual maximum grant award amount to ensure that the maximum number of program applicants receive a grant award, given available funding. Under the bill, within one year of receiving a grant, each participating volunteer fire company is required to submit a report to the division in a manner and on such forms as determined by the director of the division, detailing:· expenditure of grant funds under the grant program; · specific emergency equipment and other items purchased with the grant award intended for providing fire and life safety services; and· the impact, if determinable, that the grant award has had on maximizing the ongoing operations and sustainability of volunteer fire department. The director is required to compile the reports for inclusion in a comparative profile of the participating volunteer fire companies and post the profile for public inspection on the division's Internet website in an easily accessible location. The bill also provides that, within one year of posting the comparative profile, the director will submit a report to the Governor and the Legislature that contains information on the implementation of the grant program, including: the total number of volunteer fire companies which applied for grant funding; the average amount of grant awards which were disbursed to volunteer fire companies; a summary of the types of emergency equipment which were most frequently sought with grant awards; and any recommendations that the director deems appropriate and necessary concerning the disbursement of funding for volunteer fire companies. The bill appropriates $10 million, as specified in the bill, from the General Fund for the purpose of supporting the ongoing operations and sustainability of volunteer fire departments.

AI Summary

Committee Categories

Brian Rumpf (R)*,  Vicky Flynn (R),  Sean Kean (R),  Gerry Scharfenberger (R), 

Introduced, Referred to Assembly Public Safety and Preparedness Committee (on 01/09/2024)

Official Document