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F I S C A L I M P A C T R E P O R T
SPONSOR Wallace
ORIGINAL DATE
LAST UPDATED
2/12/07
HB 622
SHORT TITLE PRC Fire Marshal Division
SB
ANALYST Earnest
APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)
Appropriation
Recurring
or Non-Rec
Fund
Affected
FY07
FY08
NFI
NFI
(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)
SOURCES OF INFORMATION
LFC Files
Responses Received From
Department of Finance and Administration (DFA)
SUMMARY
Synopsis of Bill
House Bill 622 elevates the fire marshal’s bureau within the Insurance Division to a division
under the Public Regulation Commission (PRC). The bill also eliminates the requirement that
the State Fire Marshal and Deputy State Fire Marshals be experienced in fire prevention and fire
fighting and have completed training at a fire-training school.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS
None identified.
SIGNIFICANT ISSUES
The State Fire Marshal’s Office (SFMO) and State Firefighting Academy (SFFA) are funded
through insurance premiums transferred from the insurance suspense fund to the fire protection
fund. The Legislature appropriates the budget of SFMO and SFFA under the Public Safety
Program of the PRC. This bill better aligns statute to the operating structure of the PRC.
pg_0002
House Bill 622 – Page
2
DFA notes that the State Fire Marshal position is currently classified as a bureau chief and would
be elevated to a division director if HB 622 is adopted. The State Fire Marshal is an exempt
employee now and would stay an exempt employee now. The Deputy State Fire Marshal is
currently a classified employee and would remain a classified employee. All other duties and
responsibilities of the Insurance Division would remain the same.
The bill removes a statutory requirement that the Fire Marshal and Deputy Fire Marshals be
experienced fire fighters.
ADMINISTRATIVE IMPLICATIONS
Under this bill, the State Fire Marshal would report directly to the Chief of Staff and PRC.
WHAT WILL BE THE CONSEQUENCES OF NOT ENACTING THIS BILL
The State Fire Marshal’s Office will remain a bureau of the Insurance Division and the State Fire
Marshal will be still required to be an experienced fire fighter.
BE/mt