UNAPPROVED DRAFT BILL -- Subject to Change Without Notice!
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BILL NO.
INTRODUCED BY
(Primary Sponsor)BY REQUEST OF THE FIRE SUPPRESSION COMMITTEE
A BILL FOR AN ACT ENTITLED: "AN ACT CREATING A GRANT PROGRAM FOR VOLUNTEER FIRE AGENCIES; ESTABLISHING ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS AND REVIEW CRITERIA; AUTHORIZING THE DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES AND CONSERVATION TO ADOPT RULES; TRANSFERRING MONEY FROM THE HIGHWAY NONRESTRICTED ACCOUNT; PROVIDING A STATUTORY APPROPRIATION; AMENDING SECTION 17-7-502, MCA; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE."
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MONTANA:
NEW SECTION. Section 1. Legislative findings -- purpose. (1) The legislature finds that:
(a) volunteer firefighters protect much of Montana and many Montana communities and without those services untold dollars from fire loss and loss of life would be realized;
(b) there is an increasing difficulty in recruiting and retaining volunteer firefighters; and
(c) volunteer firefighters are a vital part of the state fire suppression team and are often the first to arrive on the scene of a fire and to begin the initial attack.
(2) The legislature further finds that governmental volunteer fire agencies in many of Montana's rural areas have difficulty in continuing their operations because of demographic and economic circumstances.
(3) It is the purpose of [sections 1 through 8] to establish a grant program that will support governmental volunteer fire agencies by creating a source of funds to cover the costs of buying and maintaining the emergency response vehicles and equipment that volunteer firefighters need in order to respond to calls.
NEW SECTION. Section 2. Definitions. As used in [sections 1 through 8] the following definitions apply:
(1) "Department" means the department of natural resources and conservation provided for in 2-15-3301.
(2) (a) "Emergency response vehicle" means a vehicle used for the dedicated purpose of responding to emergency fire calls.
(b) The term does not include a vehicle used for a volunteer firefighter's personal purposes.
(3) "Volunteer firefighter" means an individual who:
(a) is an active and enrolled member of a governmental volunteer fire agency formed under this chapter; and
(b) is not compensated for service as a firefighter.
NEW SECTION. Section 3. Volunteer fire agency grant program -- eligibility -- matching funds. (1) The department shall provide competitive grants to governmental volunteer fire agencies:
(a) for acquiring or leasing emergency response vehicles; or
(b) for purchasing equipment, other than routine supplies, for any of the following purposes:
(i) training;
(ii) communications;
(iii) fighting fires; or
(iv) providing emergency medical care during fire calls.
(2) A governmental volunteer fire agency may apply for a grant if it has been in operation for at least 12 months.
(3) A governmental volunteer fire agency applying for a grant under this section shall provide a 10% match for any grant funds received.
(4) The department, using the review process provided for in [section 4], shall award grants on an annual basis.
(5) The department may administer the grants in conjunction with similar federal and state government grant programs for volunteer fire agencies.
NEW SECTION. Section 4. Grant review criteria. When evaluating grant applications and recommendations, the department shall consider the following factors:
(1) demonstrated need;
(2) size of the geographic area covered by the governmental volunteer fire agency;
(3) distance from other fire service providers in the geographic region;
(4) number of calls in the previous calendar year; and
(5) number of volunteer firefighters on the active call roster.
NEW SECTION. Section 5. Rulemaking authority. (1) The department shall adopt rules necessary for the administration of [sections 1 through 8].
(2) The rules must include but are not limited to:
(a) the weighting of the criteria listed in [section 4] for scoring purposes; and
(b) reporting requirements for grant applicants and recipients.
NEW SECTION. Section 6. Governmental volunteer fire agency grant account -- statutory appropriation. (1) There is a governmental volunteer fire agency grant account in the state special revenue fund to the credit of the department to provide grants to governmental volunteer fire agencies pursuant to [sections 1 through 8].
(2) Money allocated by the legislature for the grant program must be deposited in the account.
(3) (a) Five percent of the annual appropriation for grants must be held in reserve each year to be distributed for emergency purposes only as provided in [section 7].
(b) Any unexpended funds held in reserve for emergency grant appropriations shall remain in the governmental volunteer fire agency grant account at the end of each fiscal year.
(4) The remainder of the money in the account must be expended from the account in accordance with the procedures outlined in [sections 1 through 8].
(5) Money in the governmental volunteer fire agency grant account is statutorily appropriated, as provided in 17-7-502, to the department for the purposes of [sections 1 through 8].
NEW SECTION. Section 7. Emergency grants. (1) In a documented situation that the department considers to be an emergency for which a governmental volunteer fire agency cannot pay the expenses, the department may provide funding to repair or replace an emergency response vehicle or equipment that has been damaged or destroyed.
(2) Emergency funding may be provided only for emergency response vehicles or equipment eligible for grant funding as provided in [section 3].
(3) Normal replacement of an emergency response vehicle or equipment may not be considered an emergency.
NEW SECTION. Section 8. Transfer of funds. (1) Except as provided in subsection (2), there is transferred $1 million annually from the highway nonrestricted account provided for in 15-70-125 to the governmental volunteer fire agency grant account established in [section 6].
(2) (a) If at the beginning of any fiscal year the unobligated cash balance in the governmental volunteer fire agency grant account exceeds $1 million, the transfer may not be made.
(b) If the governmental volunteer fire agency grant account has an unobligated account balance of less than $1 million at the end of any fiscal year, the amount of the transfer for the next fiscal year must be reduced by the amount of the unobligated cash balance.
Section 9. Section 17-7-502, MCA, is amended to read:
"17-7-502. Statutory appropriations -- definition -- requisites for validity. (1) A statutory appropriation is an appropriation made by permanent law that authorizes spending by a state agency without the need for a biennial legislative appropriation or budget amendment.
(2) Except as provided in subsection (4), to be effective, a statutory appropriation must comply with both of the following provisions:
(a) The law containing the statutory authority must be listed in subsection (3).
(b) The law or portion of the law making a statutory appropriation must specifically state that a statutory appropriation is made as provided in this section.
(3) The following laws are the only laws containing statutory appropriations: 2-17-105; 5-11-120; 5-11-407; 5-13-403; 7-4-2502; [section 6]; 10-1-1202; 10-1-1303; 10-2-603; 10-3-203; 10-3-310; 10-3-312; 10-3-314; 10-4-301; 15-1-121; 15-1-218; 15-23-706; 15-31-906; 15-35-108; 15-36-332; 15-37-117; 15-39-110; 15-65-121; 15-70-101; 15-70-369; 15-70-601; 16-11-509; 17-3-106; 17-3-212; 17-3-222; 17-3-241; 17-6-101; 17-7-304; 18-11-112; 19-3-319; 19-6-404; 19-6-410; 19-9-702; 19-13-604; 19-17-301; 19-18-512; 19-19-305; 19-19-506; 19-20-604; 19-20-607; 19-21-203; 20-8-107; 20-9-534; 20-9-622; 20-26-1503; 22-3-1004; 23-4-105; 23-4-202; 23-4-204; 23-4-302; 23-4-304; 23-5-306; 23-5-409; 23-5-612; 23-7-301; 23-7-402; 37-43-204; 37-51-501; 39-71-503; 41-5-2011; 42-2-105; 44-1-504; 44-12-206; 44-13-102; 50-4-623; 53-1-109; 53-6-703; 53-24-108; 53-24-206; 60-11-115; 61-3-415; 69-3-870; 75-1-1101; 75-5-1108; 75-6-214; 75-11-313; 76-13-150; 77-1-108; 77-2-362; 80-2-222; 80-4-416; 80-5-510; 80-11-518; 82-11-161; 87-1-513; 90-1-115; 90-1-205; 90-3-1003; and 90-9-306.
(4) There is a statutory appropriation to pay the principal, interest, premiums, and costs of issuing, paying, and securing all bonds, notes, or other obligations, as due, that have been authorized and issued pursuant to the laws of Montana. Agencies that have entered into agreements authorized by the laws of Montana to pay the state treasurer, for deposit in accordance with 17-2-101 through 17-2-107, as determined by the state treasurer, an amount sufficient to pay the principal and interest as due on the bonds or notes have statutory appropriation authority for the payments. (In subsection (3): pursuant to sec. 10, Ch. 360, L. 1999, the inclusion of 19-20-604 terminates when the amortization period for the teachers' retirement system's unfunded liability is 10 years or less; pursuant to sec. 4, Ch. 497, L. 1999, the inclusion of 15-38-202 terminates July 1, 2014; pursuant to sec. 10(2), Ch. 10, Sp. L. May 2000, and secs. 3 and 6, Ch. 481, L. 2003, the inclusion of 15-35-108 terminates June 30, 2010; pursuant to sec. 17, Ch. 593, L. 2005, the inclusion of 15-31-906 terminates January 1, 2010; pursuant to sec. 73, Ch. 44, L. 2007, the inclusion of 19-6-410 terminates upon the death of the last recipient eligible under 19-6-709(2) for the supplemental benefit provided by 19-6-709; and pursuant to sec. 6, Ch. 2, Sp. L. September 2007, the inclusion of 76-13-150 terminates June 30, 2009.)"
NEW SECTION. Section 10. Codification instruction. [Sections 1 through 8] are intended to be codified as an integral part of Title 7, chapter 33, and the provisions of Title 7, chapter 33, apply to [sections 1 through 8].
NEW SECTION. Section 11. Notification to tribal governments. The secretary of state shall send a copy of [this act] to each tribal government located on the seven Montana reservations and to the Little Shell Chippewa tribe.
NEW SECTION. Section 12. Effective date. [This act] is effective July 1, 2009.
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Latest Version of LC 494 (LC0494.01)
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