KRS § 95A.262 — KY Code / Title IX / Chapter 95A / Section 95A.262
95A.262 Hepatitis A and B inoculation of firefighters -- Allotment of funds -- Qualifications for allotment -- Firefighters training center fund -- Reimbursement for equipment losses -- Low-interest loan fund -- Implementation of programs
Status: in_force

95A.262 Hepatitis A and B inoculation of firefighters -- Allotment of funds --

Qualifications for allotment -- Firefighters training center fund --

Reimbursement for equipment losses -- Low-interest loan fund --

Implementation of programs.

(1) The Kentucky Fire Commission shall, in cooperation with the Cabinet for Health

and Family Services, develop and implement a continuing program to inoculate

every paid and volunteer firefighter in Kentucky against hepatitis A and B. The

program shall be funded from revenues allocated to the Firefighters Foundation

Program fund pursuant to KRS 136.392 and 42.190, not to exceed five hundred

thousand dollars ($500,000) per fiscal year.

(2) (a) Except as provided in subsection (3) of this section, the Kentucky Fire

Commission shall allot on an annual basis a share of the funds accruing to and

appropriated for volunteer fire department aid to volunteer fire departments in

cities of all classes, fire protection districts organized pursuant to KRS

Chapter 75, county districts established under authority of KRS 67.083, and

volunteer fire departments created as nonprofit corporations pursuant to KRS

Chapter 273.

(b) The commission shall allot eleven thousand dollars ($11,000) annually to

each qualifying department.

(c) Any qualifying department which fails to participate satisfactorily in the

Kentucky fire incident reporting system as described in KRS 304.13-380 shall

forfeit annually five hundred dollars ($500) of its allotment.

(d) If two (2) or more qualified volunteer fire departments, as defined in KRS

95A.500 to 95A.560, merge after January 1, 2000, then the allotment shall be

in accordance with the provisions of KRS 95A.500 to 95A.560.

(e) Administrative regulations for determining qualifications shall be based on

the number of both paid firefighters and volunteer firemen within a volunteer

fire department, the amount of equipment, housing facilities available, and

any other matters or standards that will best effect the purposes of the

volunteer fire department aid law. A qualifying department shall:

1. Include at least twelve (12) firefighters;

2. Have a chief;

3. Have at least one (1) operational fire apparatus or one (1) on order; and

4. Have at least fifty percent (50%) of its firefighters who have completed

at least one-half (1/2) of one hundred fifty (150) training hours, or as

otherwise established by the commission under KRS 95A.240(6),

toward certification within the first six (6) months of the first year of the

department's application for certification, and there shall be a plan to

complete the one hundred fifty (150) training hours, or as otherwise

established by the commission by KRS 95A.240(6), within the second

year.

These personnel, equipment, and training requirements shall not be made

more stringent by the promulgation of administrative regulations.

(f) No allotment shall exceed the total value of the funds, equipment, lands, and

buildings made available to the local fire units from any source whatever for

the year in which the allotment is made.

(g) A portion of the funds provided for above may be used to purchase group or

blanket health insurance and shall be used to purchase workers' compensation

insurance, and the remaining funds shall be distributed as provided in this

section.

(3) There shall be allotted two hundred thousand dollars ($200,000) of the insurance

premium surcharge proceeds accruing to the Firefighters Foundation Program fund

that shall be allocated each fiscal year of the biennium to the firefighters training

center fund, which is hereby created and established, for the purposes of

constructing new or upgrading existing training centers for firefighters. If any

moneys in the training center fund remain uncommitted, unobligated, or

unexpended at the close of the first fiscal year of the biennium, then such moneys

shall be carried forward to the second fiscal year of the biennium, and shall be

reallocated to and for the use of the training center fund, in addition to the second

fiscal year's allocation of two hundred thousand dollars ($200,000). Prior to funding

any project pursuant to this subsection, a proposed project shall be approved by the

Kentucky Fire Commission as provided in subsection (4) of this section and shall

comply with state laws applicable to capital construction projects.

(4) Applications for funding low-interest loans and firefighters' training centers shall be

submitted to the Kentucky Fire Commission for their recommendation, approval,

disapproval, or modification. The commission shall review applications

periodically, and shall, subject to funds available, recommend which applications

shall be funded and at what levels, together with any terms and conditions the

commission deems necessary.

(5) Any department or entity eligible for and receiving funding pursuant to this section

shall have a minimum of fifty percent (50%) of its personnel certified as recognized

by the Kentucky Fire Commission.

(6) Upon the written request of any department, the Kentucky Fire Commission shall

make available a certified training program in a county of which such department is

located.

(7) The amount of reimbursement for any given year for costs incurred by the

Kentucky Community and Technical College System for administering these funds,

including but not limited to the expenses and costs of commission operations, shall

be determined by the commission and shall not exceed five percent (5%) of the total

amount of moneys accruing to the Firefighters Foundation Program fund which are

allotted for the purposes specified in this section during any fiscal year.

(8) The commission shall withhold from the general distribution of funds under

subsection (2) of this section an amount which it deems sufficient to reimburse

volunteer fire departments for equipment lost or damaged beyond repair due to

hazardous material incidents.

(9) Moneys withheld pursuant to subsection (8) of this section shall be distributed only

under the following terms and conditions:

(a) A volunteer fire department has lost or damaged beyond repair items of

personal protective clothing or equipment due to that equipment having been

lost or damaged as a result of an incident in which a hazardous material (as

defined in any state or federal statute or regulation) was the causative agent of

the loss;

(b) The volunteer fire department has made application in writing to the

commission for reimbursement in a manner approved by the commission and

the loss and the circumstances thereof have been verified by the commission;

(c) The loss of or damage to the equipment has not been reimbursed by the

person responsible for the hazardous materials incident or by any other

person;

(d) The commission has determined that the volunteer fire department does not

have the fiscal resources to replace the equipment;

(e) The commission has determined that the equipment sought to be replaced is

immediately necessary to protect the lives of the volunteer firefighters of the

fire department;

(f) The fire department has agreed in writing to subrogate all claims for and

rights to reimbursement for the lost or damaged equipment to the

Commonwealth to the extent that the Commonwealth provides reimbursement

to the department; and

(g) The department has shown to the satisfaction of the commission that it has

made reasonable attempts to secure reimbursement for its losses from the

person responsible for the hazardous materials incident and has been

unsuccessful in the effort.

(10) If a volunteer fire department has met all of the requirements of subsection (9) of

this section, the commission may authorize a reimbursement of equipment losses

not exceeding ten thousand dollars ($10,000) or the actual amount of the loss,

whichever is less.

(11) Moneys which have been withheld during any fiscal year which remain unexpended

at the end of the fiscal year shall be distributed in the normal manner required by

subsection (2) of this section during the following fiscal year.

(12) No volunteer fire department may receive funding for equipment losses more than

once during any fiscal year.

(13) The commission shall make reasonable efforts to secure reimbursement from the

responsible party for any moneys awarded to a fire department pursuant to this

section.

(14) The commission, in accordance with the procedures in subsection (4) of this

section, may make low-interest loans, and the interest thereon shall not exceed three

percent (3%) annually or the amount needed to sustain operating expenses of the

loan fund, whichever is less, to volunteer fire departments for the purposes of major

equipment purchases and facility construction. Loans shall be made to departments

which achieve the training standards necessary to qualify for volunteer fire

department aid allotted pursuant to subsection (2) of this section, and which do not

have other sources of funds at rates which are favorable given their financial

resources. The proceeds of loan payments shall be returned to the loan fund for the

purpose of providing future loans. If a department does not make scheduled loan

payments, the commission may withhold any grants payable to the department

pursuant to subsection (2) of this section until the department is current on its

payments. Money in the low-interest loan fund shall be used only for the purposes

specified in this subsection. Any funds remaining in the fund at the end of a fiscal

year shall be carried forward to the next fiscal year for the purposes of the fund.

(15) Each fiscal year there shall be allotted one million dollars ($1,000,000) from the

fund established in KRS 95A.220 to be used by the commission to conduct training-

related activities.

(16) If funding is available from the fund established in KRS 95A.220, the Kentucky

Fire Commission may implement the following:

(a) A program to prepare emergency service personnel for handling potential

man-made and non-man-made threats. The commission shall work in

conjunction with the state fire marshal and other appropriate agencies and

associations to identify and make maps of gas transmission and hazardous

liquids pipelines in the state;

(b) A program to provide and maintain a mobile test facility in each training

region established by the Kentucky Fire Commission with equipment to

administer Comprehensive Physical Aptitude Tests (CPAT) to ascertain a

firefighter's ability to perform the physical requirements necessary to be an

effective and safe firefighter;

(c) A program to provide defensive driving training tactics to firefighters. The

commission shall purchase, instruct in the use of, and maintain mobile

equipment in each of the training regions, and fund expenses related to

equipment replacement;

(d) A program to annually evaluate equipment adequacy and to provide for

annual physical examinations for instructors, adequate protective clothing and

personal equipment to meet NFPA guidelines, and to establish procedures for

replacing this equipment as needed;

(e) A program to establish a rotational expansion and replacement program for

mobile fleet equipment currently used for training and recertification of fire

departments;

(f) A program to expand and update current emergency medical services,

emergency medical responder, emergency medical technician, advanced

emergency medical technician, and paramedic training and certification

instruction;

(g) A program to purchase thermal vision devices to comply with the provisions

of KRS 95A.400 to 95A.440; and

(h) A program to reimburse firefighters for out-of-pocket expenses for cancer

screenings. The commission may promulgate administrative regulations

pursuant to KRS Chapter 13A to:

1. Establish a periodic cap and maximum on the reimbursement to the

firefighter seeking reimbursement;

2. Establish which cancer screening tests are eligible for reimbursement,

provided that only cancer screening tests approved by the United States

Food and Drug Administration for cancer detection in humans may be

reimbursed;

3. Determine eligibility requirements for participants, which in the

discretion of the commission may also include retired firefighters; and

4. Establish any other policy to effect the purposes of this program.