2023 Pennsylvania Consolidated & Unconsolidated Statutes › Title 35 - HEALTH AND SAFETY › Chapter 73 - Commonwealth Services › Section 7385.1 - Capital grants for municipal fire departments

§ 7385.1. Capital grants for municipal fire departments.
(a) Source.--
Money transferred under 3 Pa.C.S. § 1113(a)(6) (relating to disposition of certain funds) shall be utilized by the commissioner to administer capital grants.
(b) Recipients.--
Municipal and combination fire departments recognized by the commissioner under standards developed through rules and guidelines in consultation with the State Fire Advisory Board may be recipients of grants under subsection (a) upon application.
(c) Purposes.--
Capital grants administered to recipients under this section shall be used to:
(1) Establish or modernize facilities that house firefighting equipment, ambulances or rescue vehicles.
(2) Acquire or renovate existing structures to house firefighting equipment, ambulances or rescue vehicles or for the construction or modernization of facilities.
(3) Repair or purchase firefighting, ambulance or rescue equipment as necessary to provide proper and adequate training.
(d) Restrictions.--
Capital grants administered under this section may not be used for:
(1) Operating expenses.
(2) Refinancing of renovated structures.
(3) Refinancing the construction or modernization of facilities.
(4) Apparatus equipment, communication equipment or accessory equipment.
(5) Reduction of debt or other obligations issued prior to the effective date of this section.
(e) Applications.--
The following apply:
(1) Every application for a capital grant shall be accompanied by a notarized financial statement of the entity making the application accompanied with information sufficient to show need for the grant funding.
(2) Applications shall be reviewed by the Application Review Committee utilizing criteria established under subsection (b).
(f) Amounts and criteria.--
The following apply:
(1) Capital grant amounts and the criteria for determining amounts shall be established by the commissioner in consultation with the State Fire Advisory Board.
(2) An entity may be awarded a capital grant, if available, for an approved project in lieu of approved reimbursement payments or, if not available, shall receive payments in the form of reimbursements.
(g) Use.--
Capital grants may be used in combination with the funding authorized under section 7813(e) (relating to award of grants) if an applicant is officially proceeding with an approved project evidenced by required documentation as determined by the commissioner.
(h) Administration.--
The commissioner may use up to $50,000 of the funds available under this section for administrative costs.
(i) Annual reports.--
(1) The commissioner shall prepare an annual report on the capital grants administered under this section. The report shall include all of the following information:
(i) The total number of applications received for capital grants.
(ii) The total number of applications approved and the amounts funded for each recipient.
(iii) An analysis of how the grants were used by each recipient.
(2) The commissioner shall submit the annual report under paragraph (1) no later than October 1, 2023, and by October 1 of each year thereafter, to all of the following:
(i) The chair and minority chair of the Veterans Affairs and Emergency Preparedness Committee of the Senate.
(ii) The chair and minority chair of the Veterans Affairs and Emergency Preparedness Committee of the House of Representatives.
(3) The commissioner shall post the annual report under paragraph (1) on the Office of the State Fire Commissioner's publicly accessible Internet website.
(Nov. 3, 2022, P.L.1674, No.104, eff. imd.)
2022 Amendment.
Act 104 added section 7385.1.