HCS HB 300 -- FIRE PROTECTION

SPONSOR:  Bruns

COMMITTEE ACTION:  Voted "do pass" by the Special Committee on
General Laws by a vote of 8 to 0.

This substitute establishes the Volunteer Firefighter Job
Protection Act which prohibits public and private employers from
terminating an employee who becomes a volunteer firefighter or
who is absent from or late to work due to his or her service as a
volunteer firefighter.  If an employee is absent from or late to
work due to his or her service as a volunteer firefighter, the
employee may lose pay and may be required to provide a written
verification from the firefighter supervisor as to the time and
date of the emergency.  The volunteer firefighter must make a
reasonable effort to notify his or her employer that he or she
may be absent from or late to work due to an emergency.

Currently, all fire protection districts, fire departments, and
volunteer fire protection associations must file the name and
address of the district, department, or association with the
State Fire Marshal by October 13 of each year.  Beginning
January 1, 2008, the substitute requires the district,
department, or association to complete and file the fire
department registration form provided by the State Fire Marshal
by March 1 of each year.  The State Fire Marshal may conduct
periodic reviews of the information provided on the registration
forms.

Currently, a volunteer fire protection association may identify
its boundaries and file this information with its county's
administrative body.  The substitute requires that all
associations file this information and prohibits an association's
boundaries from encroaching upon or including any portion of
another fire department's legally established boundaries.

FISCAL NOTE:  No impact on state funds in FY 2008, FY 2009, and
FY 2010.

PROPONENTS:  Supporters say that the bill will allow assignation
of identification numbers for registered fire departments.  The
identification numbers will allow fire departments to more easily
apply for federal and state grants and alleviate the problem of
private fire departments establishing services in other fire
districts.  The bill also protects the jobs of volunteer
firefighters who may be tardy to their full-time employment due
to emergency response duties.

Testifying for the bill were Representative Bruns; Division of
Fire Safety, Department of Public Safety; and Missouri Fire
Service Alliance.

OPPONENTS:  There was no opposition voiced to the committee.

Missouri House of Representatives
94th General Assembly, 1st Regular Session
Last Updated July 25, 2007 at 11:18 am