THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA

SENATE BILL

INTRODUCED BY WAUGH, TARTAGLIONE, PILEGGI, ERICKSON, SOLOBAY, ALLOWAY, BREWSTER, SCHWANK, WASHINGTON AND COSTA, MAY 11, 2012

REFERRED TO VETERANS AFFAIRS AND EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS, MAY 11, 2012  

AN ACT

Amending Title 35 (Health and Safety) of the Pennsylvania

Consolidated Statutes, providing for grants to municipal fire

and emergency services organizations; and imposing a

pyrotechnic public safety fee.

The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

hereby enacts as follows:

Section 1.  Title 35 of the Pennsylvania Consolidated

Statutes is amended by adding a chapter to read:

CHAPTER 79

GRANTS TO MUNICIPAL FIRE AND EMERGENCY

SERVICES ORGANIZATIONS

Subchapter

A.  Preliminary Provisions

B.  Municipal Fire and Emergency Services Organizations

Grant Program

C.  Grant Funding Provisions

D.  Miscellaneous Provisions

SUBCHAPTER A

PRELIMINARY PROVISIONS

Sec.

7901.  Scope of chapter.

7902.  Definitions.

§ 7901.  Scope of chapter.

This chapter relates to grants to municipal fire and

emergency services organizations.

§ 7902.  Definitions.

The following words and phrases when used in this chapter

shall have the meanings given to them in this section unless the

context clearly indicates otherwise:

"Advanced life support services."  The advanced prehospital

and interhospital emergency medical care of serious illness or

injury by appropriately trained health professionals and by

certified EMT-paramedics.

"Agency."  The Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency.

"Basic life support services."  Prehospital or interhospital

emergency medical care and management of illness or injury

performed by specially trained and certified or licensed

personnel.

"Commissioner."  The State Fire Commissioner.

"Facility."  A structure or portion thereof intended for the

purpose of storage or protection of firefighting apparatus,

ambulances and rescue vehicles and related equipment and gear.

The term does not include meeting halls, social halls, social

rooms, lounges or any other facility not directly related to

firefighting or the furnishing of ambulance or rescue services.

"Grant program."  The Municipal Fire and Emergency Services

Organizations Grant Program established in Subchapter B

(relating to Municipal Fire and Emergency Services Organizations

Grant Program).

"Invalid coach."  A vehicle which is primarily maintained,

operated and intended to be used for routine transport of

persons who are convalescent or otherwise nonambulatory and do

not ordinarily require emergency medical treatment while in

transit. The vehicles will not be considered ambulance or

emergency medical service vehicles.

"Municipal fire and emergency services organization."  As

follows:

(1)  A fire department, ambulance service or rescue squad

established, operated and funded by a municipality within

this Commonwealth which meets all of the following:

(i)  Provides fire protection or emergency services.

(ii)  Has personnel which consists of all paid

employees or a combination of paid employees and unpaid

volunteers.

(iii)  Provides 24-hour, 365-days-per-year staffing

by full-time, paid employees.

(2)  Emergency services provided by a municipal fire and

emergency services organization may include:

(i)  Ambulance services, which may include basic life

support or advanced life support services and the

transportation of patients within this Commonwealth.

(ii)  Rescue services, which may include response to

fire, vehicle accidents and water rescue efforts.

(3)  The term does not include any corporation,

association or organization that is primarily engaged in the

operation of invalid coaches which are intended for the

routine transport of persons who are convalescent or

otherwise nonambulatory and do not ordinarily require

emergency medical treatment while in transit.

SUBCHAPTER B

MUNICIPAL FIRE AND EMERGENCY SERVICES

ORGANIZATIONS GRANT PROGRAM

Sec.

7911.  Establishment.

7912.  Publication and notice.

7913.  Award of grants.

§ 7911.  Establishment.

The Municipal Fire and Emergency Services Organization Grant

Program is established and shall be administered by the agency

in consultation with the commissioner. Grants provided under

this program shall be used to improve and enhance the

capabilities of municipal fire and emergency services

organizations to provide services.

§ 7912.  Publication and notice.

The agency shall publish notice of the grant program

availability through the Legislative Reference Bureau for

publication in the Pennsylvania Bulletin:

(1)  within 30 days of June 28, 2012, for the fiscal

years beginning July 1, 2011, and July 1, 2012; and

(2)  by August 8 for fiscal years beginning after June

30, 2013.

§ 7913.  Award of grants.

(a)  Authorization.--The agency is authorized to make a grant

award to each municipal fire and emergency services organization

for the following:

(1)  Construction and renovation of the municipal fire

and emergency services organization's facility and purchase

or repair of fixtures and furnishings necessary to maintain

or improve the capability of the organization to provide

services.

(2)  Repair of equipment or purchase thereof.

(3)  Debt reduction associated with paragraph (1) or (2).

(4)  Training and certification of members.

(b)  Limits.--

(1)  Except as provided in paragraph (3), grants shall be

not less than $2,500 and not more than $15,000 per municipal

fire and emergency services organization company.

(2)  Grants may be awarded on a pro rata basis if the

total dollar amount of the approved application exceeds the

amount of funds appropriated by the General Assembly for this

purpose.

(3)  In a municipality where there are two or more

municipal fire and emergency services organizations and if

two or more municipal fire and emergency services

organizations consolidated their use of equipment,

firefighters and services within five years preceding the

date of the current year application submission deadline, the

consolidated entity shall be deemed eligible to receive a

grant not to exceed the amount of the combined total for

which the individual companies would have been eligible had

they not consolidated.

(c)  Time for filing application and agency action.--

(1)  Within 30 days of June 28, 2012, for the fiscal

years beginning July 1, 2011, and July 1, 2012, and by

September 1 of each year thereafter, the agency shall provide

written instructions for grants under this chapter to the

president of every municipal fire and emergency services

organization in this Commonwealth.

(2)  Within 45 days of June 28, 2012, for the fiscal

years beginning July 1, 2011, and July 1, 2012, and by

September 8 of each year thereafter, the agency shall provide

applications to the president of every municipal fire and

emergency services organization. The application for the

fiscal years commencing July 1, 2011, and July 1, 2012, shall

be a combined application. Municipal fire and emergency

services organizations seeking grants under this chapter

shall submit completed applications to the agency. The

application period shall remain open for 45 days each year.

The agency shall act to approve or disapprove applications

within 60 days of the application submission deadline each

year. Applications which have not been approved or

disapproved by the agency within 60 days after the close of

the application period each year shall be deemed approved.

(d)  Eligibility.--To receive grant funds under this chapter,

a municipal fire and emergency services organization shall have

actively responded to one or more fire or rescue emergencies

during the previous calendar year and must have signed and be

under an agreement to actively participate in the Pennsylvania

Fire Information Reporting System which is administered by the

agency.

SUBCHAPTER C

GRANT FUNDING PROVISIONS

Sec.

7921.  Pyrotechnic public safety fee.

7922.  Prohibition.

§ 7921.  Pyrotechnic public safety fee.

(a)  Assessment.--There shall be assessed upon each separate

sale at retail of consumer fireworks sold at facilities licensed

under the act of May 15, 1939 (P.L.134, No.65), referred to as

the Fireworks Law, a fee equal to 25% of the purchase price of

the consumer fireworks.

(b)  Distribution.--Money collected as a result of the fee

imposed under subsection (a) shall be distributed as follows:

(1)  One million dollars shall be appropriated annually

to fund grants to eligible municipal fire and emergency

services organizations in accordance with this chapter.

(2)  Remaining funds shall be allocated in accordance

with section 7833(b) (relating to allocation of appropriated

funds).

§ 7922.  Prohibition.

No money from the appropriation under section 7921(b)

(relating to pyrotechnic public safety fee) for municipal fire

and emergency services organization grants may be used for

expenses or costs incurred by the agency for the administration

of the grant program authorized under Subchapter B (relating to

Municipal Fire and Emergency Services Organizations Grant

Program).

SUBCHAPTER D

MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS

Sec.

7931.  Expiration of authority.

7932.  Special provisions.

§ 7931.  Expiration of authority.

The authority of the agency to award grants under Subchapter

B (relating to Municipal Fire and Emergency Services

Organizations Grant Program) shall expire June 30, 2022.

§ 7932.  Special provisions.

(a)  Claim.--An applicant for a grant under this chapter who

failed to return a signed agreement for the preceding year shall

not be permitted to apply for a grant in the current year unless

the applicant has provided the commissioner with a reasonable

written explanation as to why it did not claim its grant.

(b)  Demonstration.--An applicant for a grant under this

chapter must demonstrate that it complied with all of the terms

of its grant agreement in the previous year regarding the use of

the grant money it received in previous years or it shall not be

eligible to receive a grant in the current year.

(c)  Approval.--An applicant shall not be approved for a

grant to be used for purposes other than those stated in section

7913(a) (relating to award of grants).

Section 2.  This act shall take effect in 60 days.