HB 2446

Present law establishes the volunteer firefighter equipment and training grant program to annually provide grants to select volunteer fire departments to be used for the purchase of firefighting equipment or to meet local match requirements of federal gr ants for the purchase of firefighting equipment and training. As used in present law, "firefighting equipment"" does not include fire trucks or vehicles. For grants awarded after June 30, 2026, this bill revises this provision to, instead, include fire t ru cks or vehicles as firefighting equipment. Present law requires the commissioner of commerce and insurance to decide which grants to award and to disburse the grants to the selected volunteer fire departments. The total amount of grants awarded each year must be equally divided among the three g rand divisions of the state. For grants awarded after June 30, 2026, this bill removes the requirement that the total amount of grants awarded each year must be equally divided among the three grand divisions of the state. ON APRIL 21, 2026, THE HOUSE ADOPTED AMENDMENT #2 AND PASSED HOUSE BILL 2446, AS AMENDED. AMENDMENT #2 rewrites the bill to, instead, require the commissioner of commerce and insurance to fulfill the following duties for the volunteer firefighter vehicle grant program, which is established to annually provide grants to select volunteer fire departments to assist with local match requirements for federal grants to purchase vehicles:  Establish the amount the state contributes. However, the grant program must not fund the total local match portion in any year.  Strive to distribute grant program funding proportionally based on the number of recognized volunteer fire departments serving each of the three grand divisions of this state.  Decide which grants to award and to disburse the grants to the selected volunteer fire departments. The commissioner must strive to expend all funds appropriated to the grant program each year, and any funds remaining must remain available for expenditure for the program described above and the volunteer firefighter equipment and training grant program, described in present law. Any funds remaining must not revert to the general fund but remain available for expenditure in subsequent fiscal years for either grant program.  Promulgate rules to establish guidelines for evaluating grant requests and determining which volunteer fire departments receive grants. This amendment provides that it is the legislative intent to fund the volunteer firefighter vehicle grant program by providing an initial appropriation of one million dollars in the appropriation act for fiscal year 2026-2027."