FIREFIGHTER TRAINING GRANT FUNDING                                                         S.B. 833:

                                                                                  SUMMARY OF INTRODUCED BILL

                                                                                                         IN COMMITTEE

Senate Bill 833 (as introduced 3-2-16)

Sponsor:  Senator Goeff Hansen

Committee:  Appropriations

Date Completed:  5-3-16

CONTENT

The bill would amend the Firefighters Training Council Act to do the following:

-- Add the following to the definition of "firefighter training" for which firefighter training grants may be spent: emergency medical service, hazardous material response, technical rescue, airport rescue and firefighting, fire inspection, fire investigation, and fire safety education.

-- Allow grants to be spent on Fire Fighter I and Fire Fighter II training under the National Fire Protection Association Standard No. 1001.

-- Require that grants be funded from fireworks safety fees assessed under Section 8 of the Michigan Fireworks Safety Act.

-- Replace the Firefighters Training Fund with the Fireworks Safety Fund as the fund source for grants.

-- Allow the Firefighters Training Council (FFTC) to redistribute undesignated grant money through an application process rather than through statutory formula.

-- Allow the State Fire Marshal to deny grant and redistribution requests not meeting the requirements of the Act.

MCL 29.362 et al.                                                                                                     

FISCAL IMPACT

The bill would have a minor fiscal impact on the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs, and would have an indeterminate fiscal impact on local units of government.  The primary fiscal impact of the bill would result from authorizing the FFTC to redistribute undesignated grant funds through an application process rather than by statutory formula.  Under current law, these unobligated amounts must be redistributed through a formula that is based 30% on the geographical area of a county, and 70% on the population of the county.  The amount of this secondary redistribution can vary greatly from year to year.  For example, in fiscal year (FY) 2014-15, a total of $1.0 million in firefighter training grants was awarded to counties; of that amount, about $234,000 was unobligated as of December 31, 2014, and was redistributed.  In FY 2015-16, however, the amount unobligated as of December 31, 2015, was only $11,700.  The bill presumably would not have an effect on these amounts, but would affect how they are allocated.

                                                                                        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.