Bill Summary – FastDemocracy

CERTIFICATION OF ENROLLMENT
                               HOUSE BILL 1726
                           Chapter 46, Laws of 2024
                               68th Legislature
                             2024 Regular Session
  FIREFIGHTER TRAINING EXPENSES—REIMBURSEMENT RATE CALCULATION
                      EFFECTIVE DATE: June 6, 2024
Passed by the House January 17, 2024                 CERTIFICATE
  Yeas 97 Nays 0
                                       I, Bernard Dean, Chief Clerk of the
                                       House of Representatives of the
            LAURIE JINKINS             State of Washington, do hereby
Speaker of the House of                certify that the attached is HOUSE
Representatives                        BILL 1726 as passed by the House of
                                       Representatives and the Senate on
                                       the dates hereon set forth.
Passed by the Senate February 28,
                                              BERNARD DEAN
  Yeas 49 Nays 0                                                   Chief Clerk
              DENNY HECK
President of the Senate
Approved March 13, 2024 1:43 PM                         FILED
                                                    March 14, 2024
                                                 Secretary of State
              JAY INSLEE                         State of Washington
Governor of the State of Washington
                                 HOUSE BILL 1726
                   Passed Legislature - 2024 Regular Session
     State of Washington         68th Legislature     2023 Regular Session
     By Representatives Bronoske, Robertson, Griffey, Rule, Leavitt,
     Schmidt, Chapman, Ryu, Reeves, Graham, Ormsby, Paul, and Reed; by
     request of Washington State Patrol
     Read first time 02/02/23.   Referred to Committee on State Government
     & Tribal Relations.
      AN   ACT  Relating   to   the   director of fire  protection's
  administration and reimbursement of fire service-related training
  programs; and amending RCW 43.43.934.
  BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
     Sec. 1. RCW 43.43.934 and 2015 c 43 s 1 are each amended to read
 as follows:
     The director of fire protection shall:
     (1)(a)(i) With the state board for community and technical
 colleges, provide academic, vocational, and field training programs
 for the fire service; and (ii) with the state colleges and
 universities, provide instructional programs requiring advanced
 training, especially in command and management skills;
     (b) Cooperate with the common schools, technical and community
 colleges, institutions of higher education, and any department or
 division of the state, or of any county or municipal corporation in
 establishing and maintaining instruction in fire service training and
 education in accordance with any act of congress and legislation
 enacted by the legislature in pursuance thereof and in establishing,
 building, and operating training and education facilities.
                                       p. 1                     HB 1726.SL
     Industrial fire departments and private fire investigators may
 participate in training and education programs under this chapter for
 a reasonable fee established by rule;
     (c) Develop and adopt a master plan for constructing, equipping,
 maintaining, and operating necessary fire service training and
 education facilities subject to the provisions of chapter 43.19 RCW;
     (d) Develop and adopt a master plan for the purchase, lease, or
 other acquisition of real estate necessary for fire service training
 and education facilities in a manner provided by law; and
     (e)(i) Develop and adopt a plan for the Washington state patrol
 fire training academy to deliver basic firefighter training and
 testing to all city fire departments, fire protection districts,
 regional fire protection service authorities, and other public fire
 agencies in the state. The plan required by this subsection (1)(e)
 must specify that the delivery of training and testing services will
 be provided:
     (A) To recipients in the following order of priority:
     (I) Volunteer departments;
     (II) Combination departments; and
     (III) Fire agencies that employ only career firefighters and fire
 officers; and
     (B) By personnel of the fire training academy, either at the
 academy's facilities in North Bend, Washington, or regionally at
 local fire agencies.
     (ii)(((A) In lieu of receiving training and testing services from
 the fire training academy, city)) City fire departments, fire
 protection districts, regional fire protection service authorities,
 and other public fire agencies in the state may seek reimbursement
 for their firefighter I training expenses in accordance with the
 rules established by the Washington state patrol, director of fire
 protection. ((The amount of reimbursement will be calculated on a per
 capita basis. The per capita amount is equal to the three-year
 statewide firefighter per capita average for the regional direct
 delivery of training by the fire training academy. The three-year
 statewide firefighter per capita average is calculated by dividing
 the number of firefighters trained using the regional direct delivery
 program during the three-year period into the total cost of providing
 regional direct delivery during the same three-year period. The
 regional direct delivery costs used for the basis of these
 calculations does not include the costs of the fire training academy
                                     p. 2                       HB 1726.SL
 personnel used to coordinate the direct delivery programs, the
 state's indirect costs, or any other indirect costs.
     (B) Prior to the implementation of the reimbursement provisions
 in (e)(ii)(A) of this subsection, the amount of reimbursement for
 city fire departments, fire protection districts, regional fire
 protection service authorities, and other public fire agencies must
 be not less than three dollars for every one hour of firefighter I
 training, and may not exceed two hundred hours.))
     (iii) Subject to approval by the director of fire protection, and
 in accordance with the plan required by this subsection (1)(e), the
 fire training academy facilities ((and programs)) must be made
 available at no cost to fire service youth programs. The goal of
 making these facilities ((and programs)) available is to increase
 enrollment of volunteer firefighters, and to improve gender,
 cultural, and ethnic diversity within the fire service.
     (iv) For purposes of this subsection (1)(e), the following
 definitions apply:
     (A) "Basic firefighter training and testing" means training and
 testing for firefighters that is up to and includes the requirements
 of firefighter I, as identified by the national fire protection
 association standard 1001;
     (B) "Combination department" means a fire department with
 emergency service personnel comprising less than eighty-five percent
 of either volunteer or career membership;
     (C) "Delivery of training" includes all resources, personnel, and
 equipment necessary to deliver training at the fire academy in North
 Bend, Washington, or regionally at local fire agencies; and
     (D) "Volunteer department" means a fire department with volunteer
 emergency service personnel comprising eighty-five percent or greater
 of its department membership.
     (2)(a) Promote mutual aid and disaster planning for fire services
 in this state;
     (b) Assure the dissemination of information concerning the amount
 of fire damage including that damage caused by arson, and its causes
 and prevention; and
     (c) Implement any legislation enacted by the legislature to meet
 the requirements of any acts of congress that apply to this section.
     (3) In carrying out its statutory duties, the office of the state
 fire marshal shall give particular consideration to the appropriate
 roles to be played by the state and by local jurisdictions with fire
                                     p. 3                       HB 1726.SL
 protection responsibilities. Any determinations on the division of
 responsibility shall be made in consultation with local fire
 officials and their representatives.
     To the extent possible, the office of the state fire marshal
 shall encourage development of regional units along compatible
 geographic, population, economic, and fire risk dimensions. Such
 regional units may serve to: (a) Reinforce coordination among state
 and   local   activities   in  fire   service  training,   reporting,
 inspections, and investigations; (b) identify areas of special need,
 particularly in smaller jurisdictions with inadequate resources; (c)
 assist the state in its oversight responsibilities; (d) identify
 funding needs and options at both the state and local levels; and (e)
 provide models for building local capacity in fire protection
 programs.
     (4) The Washington state patrol, through the director of fire
 protection, may adopt rules necessary to carry out the purposes of
 this section.
         Passed by the House January 17, 2024.
         Passed by the Senate February 28, 2024.
         Approved by the Governor March 13, 2024.
         Filed in Office of Secretary of State March 14, 2024.
                                  --- END ---
                                     p. 4                        HB 1726.SL
Statutes affected: 
Original Bill: 43.43.934
Bill as Passed Legislature: 43.43.934
Session Law: 43.43.934