FIREFIGHTERS TRAINING COUNCIL ACT S.B. 264 & 265:
SUMMARY OF BILL
REPORTED FROM COMMITTEE
Senate Bills 264 and 265 (as reported without amendment)
CONTENT
Senate Bill 264 would amend the Firefighters Training Council Act to do the following:
-- Increase, from seven to nine, the number of members of the Firefighters Training Council.
-- Revise and expand the duties of the State Fire Marshal and the Council with respect to the development of standards and examination requirements for certification as a fire service member.
-- Require a person who was a hired as a part-time firefighter to pass both Part 1 and Part 2 of the certification exam within 12 months after being hired, to be eligible to continue his or her employment.
-- Prohibit the State Fire Marshal from waiving the certification exam for a person who was certified in another State if certain circumstances applied.
-- Allow the Council to establish and charge a fee for the cost of testing and training provided to a person who was not employed by an organized fire department or public safety department in Michigan but sought employment as a fire service member.
-- Require the fee to be deposited into the Fireworks Safety Fund and used to fund firefighter training; and allow firefighter training to be funded by any additional funding sources identified by the Council or State Fire Marshal.
-- Require the chairperson of a firefighter training committee established in each county to spend money for firefighter training, training equipment, or other required activities.
-- Require the State Fire Marshal, with the Council's approval, to promulgate rules establishing a disciplinary process for the suspension or revocation of a certification for certain violations.
-- Include public safety departments in provisions that apply to organized fire departments.
-- Specify that certification as a fire service member granted to a person would be valid unless or until the Council revoked the certification as part of a disciplinary action.
-- Authorize the Council to allow two or more counties to form and jointly operate a regional training committee charged with the oversight of training needs in those counties.
-- Require an organized fire department or public safety department to maintain an employment history record for each fire service member it employed.
Senate Bill 265 would amend the Michigan Fireworks Safety Act to require the Department of Treasury to spend from the Fireworks Safety Fund 100% of the money received from the testing and training fee proposed by Senate Bill 264, for the training of firefighters under the direction and approval of the Firefighters Training Council.
MCL 29.362 et al. (S.B. 264) Legislative Analyst: Drew Krogulecki
28.461 (S.B. 265)
FISCAL IMPACT
The bills would have an indeterminate fiscal impact on the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA) and a likely positive fiscal impact on local units of government that operate a fire department. Senate Bill 264 would make a number of changes regarding the particular details around firefighter training and certification; it is not clear what fiscal impact, if any, this would have on LARA. The bill also would allow the Firefighters Training Council to establish and charge a fee to recover the costs of testing and training individuals not employed by a fire department who wish to gain employment as a firefighter. This would seem to alleviate some financial burden on local fire departments for the training of people who chose to pursue training and certification on their own, as those costs would be borne by the individual rather than his or her potential future employer, presumably a fire department. There are no data to indicate how many would pursue this, but the current price of the Fire Fighter I and II courses is $13,275. Revenue generated from the proposed fee would be deposited in the Fireworks Safety Fund, and Senate Bill 265 would require that fee revenue to be used to provide firefighter training. The fee would generate an unknown amount of revenue for firefighter training, in addition to revenue already collected from the 6% tax on consumer fireworks that is currently credited to the Fund for that purpose.
Date Completed: 4-27-17 Fiscal Analyst: Josh Sefton
This analysis was prepared by nonpartisan Senate staff for use by the Senate in its deliberations and does not constitute an official statement of legislative intent.