Bill Text: WV HB4101 | 2022 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Relating to authorized expenditures of revenues from certain state funds for fire departments
Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Republican 8-2)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2022-01-25 - To House Finance [HB4101 Detail]
Download: West_Virginia-2022-HB4101-Introduced.html
WEST VIRGINIA LEGISLATURE
2022 REGULAR SESSION
Introduced
House Bill 4101
By Delegates Statler, Bridges, Jennings, Kimes, Lovejoy, Paynter, Pethtel, Toney, and B. Ward
(By Request of the Joint Committee on Volunteer Fire Departments and Emergency Medical Services)
[Introduced January 17, 2022; Referred to the Committee on Pensions and Retirement then Finance]
A BILL to amend and reenact §8-15-8b of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating to authorized expenditures of revenues from certain state funds for fire departments; clarifying and expanding categories of allowable expenditures; permitting state grant funds to be deposited into a state account and be transferred from the account for unrestricted use; and setting forth a 60-day time frame for fire departments receiving grant funds to transfer unrestricted funds from a restricted account.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
ARTICLE 15. FIRE FIGHTING; FIRE COMPANIES AND DEPARTMENTS; CIVIL SERVICE FOR PAID FIRE DEPARTMENTS.
§8-15-8b. Authorized expenditures of revenues from the Municipal Pensions and Protection Fund and the Fire Protection Fund; deductions for unauthorized expenditures; record retention.
(a) Money received from the
state for volunteer and part-volunteer fire companies and departments, pursuant
to §33-3-14d, §33-3-33, and §33-12C-7 of this code, may not shall
be deposited into a bank account dedicated to state
received funds and may not be commingled with moneys received from any other
source other than the state. except money received as a grant from
the Fire Service Equipment and Training Fund as provided in §29-3-5f of this
code Distributions from the Municipal Pensions and Protection Fund and the
Fire Protection Fund allocated to volunteer and part-volunteer fire companies
and departments may be expended only for the following:
(1) Personal protective
equipment, including protective head gear helmet, bunker coats, gloves,
pants, boots, combination of bunker pants and boots, coats, and gloves, and
a Nomex Hood or equivalent;
(2) Equipment for compliance with the national fire protection standard or automotive fire apparatus, NFPA-1901;
(3) Compliance with insurance service office recommendations relating to fire departments;
(4) Rescue equipment, communications equipment, and ambulance equipment: Provided, That no moneys received from the Municipal Pensions and Protection Fund or the Fire Protection Fund may be used for equipment for personal vehicles owned or operated by volunteer or part-volunteer fire company or department members;
(5) Capital improvements
reasonably required for effective and efficient fire protection service and
maintenance of the capital improvements The direct costs incurred due to
the purchase of land, the construction of new facilities, or the expansion of
current facilities, when these costs can be demonstrated by the department to
increase the effectiveness and efficiency of the fire protection services; as
well as maintenance required to maintain the functionality of physical
facilities of the department;
(6) Retirement of debts, but only if the debts were incurred exclusively for the purchase of the goods and services allowed under this subsection;
(7) Payment of utility bills, including internet and telephone bills which may include cell phones when the cell phone is used for fire department related work only;
(8) Payment of the cost of
immunizations, including any laboratory work incident to the immunizations, for
firefighters against hepatitis-b and other blood-borne pathogens Provided,
That the vaccine shall be purchased through the state immunization program or
from the lowest-cost vendor available: Provided, however, That volunteer
and part-volunteer fire companies and departments shall seek to obtain no-cost
administration of the vaccinations through local boards of health: Provided
further, That in the event any volunteer or part-volunteer fire company or
department is unable to obtain no-cost administration of the vaccinations
through a local board of health, the company or department shall seek to obtain
the lowest cost available for the administration of the vaccinations from a
licensed health care provider;
(9) Any filing fee
required to be paid to the Legislative Auditor’s Office under §12-4-14 of this
code relating to sworn statements of annual expenditures submitted by volunteer
or part- volunteer fire companies or departments that receive state funds or
grants only when: (A) purchased
through the state immunization program or lowest-cost provider; and (B) no-cost
or low-cost administration from local boards of health or other similar programs
are unavailable;
(10) (9) Insurance policies, including:
(A) Property/casualty insurance premiums for protection and indemnification against loss or damage or liability;
(B) Life insurance premiums to provide a benefit not to exceed $20,000 for firefighters;
(C) Accident and sickness insurance premiums which may be offered to cover individual members of a volunteer or part-volunteer fire company; or
(D) Umbrella policies that contain various types of insurance policies to protect against loss and liability, so long as life insurance premiums in the amounts prescribed above and property/casualty insurance are part of any umbrella policy;
(11)(10)
Operating expenses reasonably required in the normal course of providing
effective and efficient fire protection service, which include, but are not
limited to, gasoline, bank fees, postage, and accounting costs;
(12) (11)
Dues paid to national, state, and county associations;
(13) (12)
Workers’ compensation premiums;
(14) Life insurance
premiums to provide a benefit not to exceed $20,000 for firefighters; and
(15) (13)
Educational and training supplies and fire prevention promotional materials,
not to exceed $500 per year; and
(14) Food, bottled water, and food-related items, like disposable plates and utensils, to provide necessary meals and water to a fire company when responding to an emergency and is in no way connected to any fundraising events.
(b) If a volunteer or
part-volunteer fire company or department spends uses any amount
of money received from the Municipal Pensions and Protection Fund or the Fire
Protection Fund for an item, service, or purpose not authorized by this
section, that amount, when determined by an official audit, review, or
investigation, shall be deducted from future distributions to the volunteer
fire company or part-volunteer fire department.
(c) If a volunteer or part-volunteer fire company or department purchases goods or services authorized by this section, but then returns the goods or cancels the services for a refund, then any money refunded shall be deposited back into the same, dedicated bank account used for the deposit of distributions from the Municipal Pensions and Protection Fund and the Fire Protection Fund.
(d) A volunteer or part-volunteer fire company or department shall have a dedicated bank account for all funds received from the Municipal Pensions and Protection Fund, the Fire Protection Fund, and any other state distribution, including state grant money.
(1) Any distributions received from the Municipal Pensions and Protection Fund or the Fire Protection Fund shall remain in the bank account dedicated to receiving state funds and be used in accordance with this section.
(2) All other moneys, including state grants, must be transferred out of the account used to receive state funds and transferred into another bank account within 60 days of receipt and such transfer must be in the exact amount of the deposit. If any money is received from sources other than the Municipal Pensions and Fire Protection Fund or the Fire Protection Fund and is not transferred to another account within 60 days, the money may only be used in accordance with this section.
(d)(e) Each
volunteer or part-volunteer fire company and department shall retain, for five
calendar years, all invoices, receipts, and payment records for the goods and
services paid with money received from the state for volunteer and
part-volunteer fire companies and departments, pursuant to §33-3-14d, §33-3-33,
and §33-12C-7 of this code and money received as a grant from the Fire Service
Equipment and Training Fund as provided in §29-3-5f of this code.
(e)(f)
Volunteer and part-volunteer fire companies and departments may also invest the
received moneys, described in subsection (a) of this section, and collect
interest thereon: Provided, That volunteer and part-volunteer fire companies and
departments shall not commingle the received moneys with funds received from
any other source, shall not use the invested money as collateral or security
for any loan, and shall retain all resulting statements of accounts and
earnings for a minimum of five years from the date of the statements.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to clarify allowable expenditures for fire departments receiving distributions from the Municipal Pensions and Fire Protection Fund or the Fire Protection Fund.
This bill was recommended for passage during the 2022 Regular Session by the Joint Committee on Volunteer Fire Departments and Emergency Medical Services.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from a heading or the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.
