AN ACT APPROPRIATING FUNDS FOR FIREFIGHTER TRAINING.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened:

Section 1. Subsection (b) of section 7-323p of the 2008 supplement to the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2008):

(b) The commission may establish and maintain a state fire school training and education extension account, which shall be a separate account within the General Fund. The account shall contain any moneys required by law to be deposited in the account. The account may be used for the administration and operation of such training and education extension programs and sessions as the Office of State Fire Administration may establish, for the purchase of such equipment as is required for use in the operation of such programs and sessions, and within available resources, for (1) reimbursement to municipalities and municipal fire departments for [one-half of] the costs of Firefighter I, Firefighter II, Recruit Firefighter, Fire Service Instructor I and Fire Officer I certification and recruit training of municipal volunteer and paid fire service personnel, and (2) reimbursement to state agencies for [one-half of] the costs of Firefighter I, Firefighter II, Recruit Firefighter, Fire Service Instructor I and Fire Officer I certification and recruit training of state agency fire service personnel. All proceeds derived from the operation of the training and education extension programs and sessions shall be deposited in the General Fund and shall be credited to and become a part of the resources of the account. All direct expenses incurred in the conduct of the training, certification and education programs and sessions shall be charged, and any payments of interest and principal of bonds or any sums transferable to any fund for the payment of interest and principal of bonds and any cost of equipment for such operations may be charged, against the account on order of the State Comptroller. Any balance of receipts above expenditures shall remain in the account to be used for its training and education programs and sessions, and for the acquisition, as provided by section 4b-21 of the 2008 supplement to the general statutes, alteration and repairs of real property for educational facilities, except such sums as may be required to be transferred from time to time to any fund for the redemption of bonds and payment of interest on bonds, provided repairs, alterations or additions to educational facilities costing fifty thousand dollars or less shall require the approval of the Commissioner of Public Works, and capital projects costing over fifty thousand dollars shall require the approval of the General Assembly or, when the General Assembly is not in session, of the Finance Advisory Committee.

Sec. 2. (Effective July 1, 2008) (a) The sum of two million five hundred thousand dollars is appropriated to the state fire school training and education extension account established by section 7-323p of the 2008 supplement to the general statutes, as amended by this act, from the General Fund, for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2009, to be used by the Commission on Fire Prevention and Control for funding entry level courses for volunteer and paid fire departments and state agency fire departments pursuant to said section.

(b) The sum of two million five hundred thousand dollars is appropriated to the state fire school training and education extension account established by section 7-323p of the 2008 supplement to the general statutes, as amended by this act, from the General Fund, for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2010, to be used by the Commission on Fire Prevention and Control for funding entry level courses for volunteer and paid fire departments and state agency fire departments pursuant to said section.

Statement of Purpose:

To provide for the full funding of entry level fire service personnel training and to appropriate two and one-half million dollars a year for such training.

[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline, except that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is not underlined.]