An act to amend Sections 13157 and 13159.8 of the Health and Safety Code, relating to fire safety.
Summary
SB 345 revises the funding authority for two fire-safety training programs administered by the State Fire Marshal: the California Fire Service Training and Education Program and the California Fire and Arson Training Act. Under existing law, the State Fire Marshal could establish and collect fees for seminars, conferences, specialized training, and other activities tied to these programs. This bill narrows that authority by allowing fees to be set only when state appropriations and other funding sources are insufficient to cover the necessary costs of the covered activities.
The bill also preserves the State Fire Marshal’s broader responsibilities under these programs, including setting curricula, establishing prerequisites, validating minimum standards for fire protection personnel and instructors, developing promotional examinations, and administering the California Fire Academy System. It specifically continues to prohibit fees for certain training classes provided by the State Fire Marshal to fire protection personnel on state laws and regulations that local fire services are authorized or required to enforce.
Impact
SB 345 amends Sections 13157 and 13159.8 of the Health and Safety Code. Its practical effect is to make fee collection for fire service training and fire-and-arson training a backstop funding mechanism rather than a primary one, tying fee authority to a finding that public funding is inadequate. This affects the State Fire Marshal, the State Board of Fire Services, and users of state fire training programs, including fire protection personnel, agencies, academies, colleges, and other entities that receive or use the training and examinations.
Sentiment
The bill appears to have been broadly supported and noncontroversial. It moved through committee and floor votes unanimously or near-unanimously, including multiple 0-yea committee votes and a 79-0 Senate third reading vote. The absence of recorded opposition or committee transcript objections suggests general agreement with the bill’s funding approach and its limited policy change.
Contention
No major substantive opposition is reflected in the available record. The only likely policy tension is between maintaining fee-based support for specialized fire training and ensuring that fees are imposed only when necessary because public funding is insufficient. That issue would primarily concern the State Fire Marshal and fire service stakeholders who may prefer stable program funding without shifting costs to trainees or agencies, but the bill’s unanimous votes indicate little visible disagreement.
An act to amend Section 51178 of the Government Code, and to amend Section Sections 4202 and 4204 of the Public Resources Code, relating to fire safety.