(1) (a) (I) There is hereby created in the state treasury the wildfire preparedness fund. The fund consists of all money that may be appropriated thereto by the general assembly, all private and public money received through gifts, grants, reimbursements, or donations that are transmitted to the state treasurer and credited to the fund, all money transferred to the fund from the healthy forests and vibrant communities fund created in section 23-31-313 (10), money transferred pursuant to section 39-29-109.3 (2)(n)(I)(C), and money transferred pursuant to subsection (1)(a)(II) of this section. All interest earned from the investment of money in the fund shall be credited to the fund. The money in the fund is hereby continuously appropriated for the purposes indicated in this section. Any money not expended at the end of the fiscal year shall remain in the fund and shall not be transferred to or revert to the general fund.
(II) On July 1, 2017, and July 1, 2018, the state treasurer shall transfer eighty-six thousand three hundred sixty-four dollars from the general fund to the wildfire preparedness fund.
By executive order or proclamation, the governor may access and designate moneysin the wildfire preparedness fund for wildfire preparedness activities; except that moneys in the wildfire preparedness fund that have been transferred from the healthy forests and vibrant communities fund created in section 23-31-313 (10), C.R.S., and moneys transferred pursuant to section 39-29-109.3 (2)(n)(I)(C), C.R.S., may be used only for the purposes set forth in subparagraph (II) of paragraph (c) of this subsection (1). The division shall implement the directives set forth in such executive order or proclamation. As soon as practicable after issuing the executive order or proclamation, the governor shall notify the joint budget committee of any moneys so accessed and designated.
(I) Except as provided in subparagraph (II) of this paragraph (c), the division may usethe moneys in the wildfire preparedness fund to provide funding or reimbursement for the purchase of fire shelters by volunteer fire departments in order to comply with applicable federal requirements.
(II) The division shall use moneys in the wildfire preparedness fund transferred from the healthy forests and vibrant communities fund created in section 23-31-313 (10), C.R.S., and moneys transferred pursuant to section 39-29-109.3 (2)(n)(I)(C), C.R.S., to:
Increase upgrades to fire engines acquired through the federal excess personal property program that are on loan to local fire departments;
Increase technical assistance in wildland fire preparedness to counties,
municipalities, and fire protection districts; and
Ensure, in conjunction with the wildfire preparedness plan developed pursuant tosubsection (2) of this section, that state firefighting equipment is fully operational and both available to and coordinated with the equipment capacities of fire protection districts and that county, municipality, and fire protection districts personnel are fully trained in the use of such equipment.
(III) The division may use moneys in the wildfire preparedness fund for the purpose of training, equipping, or supervising one or more hand crews employed by veterans' fire corps programs in Colorado for wildland fire mitigation and suppression.
(d) The general assembly finds that the implementation of this section does not rely on the receipt of adequate funding through gifts, grants, or donations. Therefore, the notice requirements specified in section 24-75-1303 (3) are inapplicable to the wildfire preparedness fund.
(2) (a) To effectively implement section 24-33.5-1226 and to provide recommendations to the governor related to use of the disaster emergency fund pursuant to section 24-33.5-706 and the wildfire preparedness fund created in subsection (1) of this section, the director, a representative of the county sheriffs of Colorado, a representative of the Colorado state fire chiefs' association, the director of the office of emergency management created in part 7 of this article, and the adjutant general or his or her designee shall collaborate to develop a wildfire preparedness plan designed to address the following:
The amount of aerial firefighting resources necessary for the state of Colorado attimes of high and low wildfire risk;
The availability of appropriate aerial firefighting equipment and personnel at timesof high fire risk to respond to a wildfire;
The availability of state wildfire engines and staffing of the engines at differentlevels of wildfire risk;
The availability of wildfire hand crews, including state inmate wildfire hand crews,at different levels of wildfire risk; and
A process for ordering and dispatching aerial firefighting equipment and personnelthat is consistent with, and supportive of, the statewide all-hazards resource mobilization plan prepared pursuant to section 24-33.5-705.4.
The wildfire preparedness plan recommendations developed pursuant to paragraph(a) of this subsection (2) shall be updated each March 15. Notwithstanding section 24-1-136 (11), the director shall submit a written report of the wildfire preparedness plan to the governor and the members of the general assembly no later than each April 1.
The director, the representative of the county sheriffs of Colorado, the representativeof the Colorado state fire chiefs' association, the director of the office of emergency management created in part 7 of this article, and the adjutant general or his or her designee shall not receive additional compensation for the collaboration required by this subsection (2) for the development of the wildfire preparedness plan.
The director may enter into agreements to provide firefighting services, includingpersonnel or firefighting aircraft, engines, or other vehicles to federal, state, or local agencies. Any moneys received pursuant to such agreements shall be credited to the wildland fire cost recovery fund created in section 24-33.5-1220 (4).
Procedures governing the development, adoption, and implementation of communitywildfire protection plans by county governments are specified in section 30-15-401.7, C.R.S. Nothing in this section affects section 30-15-401.7, C.R.S.
Source: L. 2013: Entire section added, (SB 13-270), ch. 250, p. 1315, § 4, effective May
23. L. 2014: (1)(a), (1)(b), and (1)(c) amended, (SB 14-154), ch. 313, p. 1355, § 2, effective May
31. L. 2015: (1)(c)(III) added, (SB 15-205), ch. 184, p. 602, § 4, effective May 12. L. 2017: (1)(a) amended, (SB 17-259), ch. 190, p. 691, § 5, effective May 3. L. 2018: (1)(a)(II) amended, (HB 18-1338), ch. 201, p. 1309, § 5, effective May 4; (1)(a)(I) amended, (HB 18-1375), ch. 274, p. 1709, § 44, effective May 29.
Editor's note: This section is similar to former § 24-33.5-1226 (3), (4), and (5) as it existed prior to 2013.
Cross references: For the short title ("Veterans Fire Corps Act") and the legislative declaration in SB 15-205, see sections 1 and 2 of chapter 184, Session Laws of Colorado 2015.