PRINTER'S NO. 1028
No. 872 Session of 2003
INTRODUCED BY RUFFING, DeWEESE, BEBKO-JONES, BELARDI, BROWNE,
BUNT, CAWLEY, CIVERA, COSTA, CURRY, DALEY, FABRIZIO, FRANKEL,
GEIST, GEORGE, GERGELY, HARHAI, HENNESSEY, HERMAN, HORSEY,
HUTCHINSON, JAMES, JOSEPHS, LAUGHLIN, LEACH, MANN, McGEEHAN,
MELIO, PALLONE, PISTELLA, READSHAW, ROBERTS, ROONEY, RUBLEY,
SAINATO, SHANER, SOLOBAY, STURLA, TANGRETTI, TIGUE, WALKO,
WHEATLEY, WOJNAROSKI, YOUNGBLOOD AND YUDICHAK, MARCH 13, 2003
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON VETERANS AFFAIRS AND EMERGENCY
PREPAREDNESS, MARCH 13, 2003
AN ACT
1 Establishing a grant program for paid municipal fire
2 departments; and making an appropriation.
3 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
4 hereby enacts as follows:
5 Section 1. Short title.
6 This act shall be known and may be cited as the Municipal
7 Fire Department Grant Act.
8 Section 2. Definitions.
9 The following words and phrases when used in this act shall
10 have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
11 context clearly indicates otherwise:
12 "Advanced life support services." The term shall have the
13 meaning given to it in the act of July 3, 1985 (P.L.164, No.45),
14 known as the Emergency Medical Services Act.
15 "Agency." The Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency.
1 "Basic life support services." The term shall have the
2 meaning given to it in the act of July 3, 1985 (P.L.164, No.45),
3 known as the Emergency Medical Services Act.
4 "Commissioner." The State Fire Commissioner.
5 "Facility." A structure or portion thereof intended for the
6 purpose of storage or protection of firefighting apparatus,
7 ambulances and rescue vehicles and related equipment and gear.
8 The term does not include meeting halls, social halls, social
9 rooms, lounges or any other facility not directly related to
10 firefighting or the furnishing of ambulance or rescue services.
11 "Fiscal year." The fiscal year of the Commonwealth.
12 "Municipality." A city, borough, incorporated town, township
13 or home rule municipality.
14 "Pension plan or system." The term shall have the meaning
15 given to it in section 102 of the act of December 18, 1984
16 (P.L.1005, No.205), known as the Municipal Pension Plan Funding
17 Standard and Recovery Act.
18 "Plan year." The 12-consecutive-month period applicable to a
19 pension plan which is utilized for various actuarial and
20 financial purposes and which shall be considered a calendar year
21 commencing on January 1 and ending on December 31.
22 "Program." The Municipal Fire Department Grant Program
23 established in section 3.
24 "Unfunded actuarial accrued liability." The term shall have
25 the meaning given to it in section 102 of the act of act of
26 December 18, 1984 (P.L.1005, No.205), known as the Municipal
27 Pension Plan Funding Standard and Recovery Act.
28 Section 3. Municipal Fire Department Grant Program.
29 (a) Establishment.--The Municipal Fire Department Grant
30 Program is established and shall be administered by the agency
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1 in consultation with the commissioner. Grants provided under the
2 program shall be used to improve and enhance the capabilities of
3 the paid municipal fire department to provide firefighting,
4 ambulance and rescue services.
5 (b) Guidelines and procedures.--The agency shall develop
6 guidelines, procedures and all applications necessary to
7 implement the program. The agency shall submit the guidelines,
8 procedures and applications to the Legislative Reference Bureau
9 for publication in the Pennsylvania Bulletin and Pennsylvania
10 Code within 90 days of the effective date of this act.
11 Section 4. Award of grants.
12 (a) Authorization.--The agency is hereby authorized to make
13 grant awards to each eligible municipal fire department for the
14 following:
15 (1) Construction and renovation of the fire department's
16 facility and purchase or repair of fixtures and furnishings
17 necessary to maintain or improve the capability of the
18 department to provide fire, ambulance and rescue services.
19 (2) Repair of firefighting, ambulance or rescue
20 equipment or purchase thereof.
21 (3) Debt reduction associated with paragraph (1) or (2).
22 (4) Contributions to a pension plan or system designated
23 for paid firefighters that has an unfunded actuarial accrued
24 liability as of the most recent plan year.
25 (b) Limits.--
26 (1) Grants awarded under this act shall be made on a
27 competitive basis following the submission of an application
28 and an appropriate review procedure undertaken by the agency
29 in consultation with the commissioner, and not be less than
30 $50,000 nor more than $2,000,000 per municipal fire
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1 department.
2 (2) No municipal fire department shall receive more than
3 one grant per fiscal year under sections 4 and 5.
4 (c) Time for filing application and department action.--
5 (1) The agency shall provide applications for grants
6 under this act to every paid fire department serving a
7 municipality in this Commonwealth on or before August 1 of
8 that year.
9 (2) Municipal fire departments seeking grants under this
10 act shall submit completed applications to the agency on or
11 before November 1 of that year. The agency shall act to
12 approve or disapprove the application by December 31 of that
13 year. Applications which have not been approved or
14 disapproved by the agency by December 31 shall be deemed
15 approved.
16 (3) Applications submitted after the November 1 deadline
17 shall be accepted by the agency and grants may be awarded at
18 the discretion of the agency from the reserve funds set aside
19 under section 5.
20 (d) Eligibility.--Grant funds awarded under this act shall
21 be limited to paid fire departments serving a municipality or
22 municipalities within this Commonwealth.
23 Section 5. Reserve funds.
24 (a) Percentage.--The agency shall reserve an amount not to
25 exceed 3% of the funds allocated in section 6 for the program
26 for the purposes of awarding grants to municipal fire
27 departments that submit applications after the November 1
28 deadline, that would have otherwise been eligible for and been
29 awarded a grant under the program.
30 (b) Limitations.--No municipal fire department may receive a
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1 grant from reserve funds in an amount greater than the amount
2 that it would have received had it applied in a timely manner.
3 Section 6. Program funding.
4 (a) Initial appropriation.--The sum of $25,000,000, or as
5 much thereof as may be necessary, is hereby appropriated to the
6 Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency for the purpose of
7 making grants to eligible municipal fire departments under this
8 act.
9 (b) Subsequent appropriations.--The General Assembly shall
10 annually include in the appropriation to the Pennsylvania
11 Emergency Management Agency in the General Appropriation Act an
12 appropriation from the General Fund in an amount sufficient to
13 make grant awards under this act.
14 (c) Restriction.--No moneys from the appropriation for
15 grants to municipal fire departments authorized under this act
16 shall be used for expenses or costs incurred by the agency for
17 the administration of the program.
18 Section 20. Effective date.
19 This act shall take effect July 1, 2003, or immediately,
20 whichever is later.
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