(1) There is hereby created in the division the Colorado firefighting air corps, also referred to in this section as the "C-FAC".
(2) (a) The division may:
Purchase, acquire, lease, or contract for the provision of firefighting aircraft, facilities, equipment, and supplies for aerial firefighting; and
Retrofit, maintain, staff, operate, and support the firefighting aircraft or contract forthe provision of those services.
(b) (I) The director may enter into agreements with federal agencies or other states for the provision of the C-FAC's firefighting aircraft when the aircraft are not being utilized for fires or other emergencies in Colorado.
(II) The director shall establish reimbursement rates for the direct and indirect costs of providing aircraft from the C-FAC that are requested through the interagency dispatch system or pursuant to an agreement described in subparagraph (I) of this paragraph (b). All reimbursements shall be credited to the Colorado firefighting air corps fund created in subsection (3) of this section.
(c) The director may fulfill any of the duties contained in paragraph (a) of this subsection (2) through the use of public-private partnerships with one or more private or public entities.
(2.5) (a) Within eighteen months after May 12, 2014, the division shall operate a center of excellence for advanced technology aerial firefighting, also referred to in this section as the "center of excellence", based on the innovations proposed, analyzed, reviewed, evaluated, or implemented by the C-FAC in the technology, tactics, and economics of aerial resources, particularly in connection with the activities described in subparagraphs (I) and (II) of paragraph (a) of subsection (2) of this section. The executive director shall include in his or her annual report required under section 2-7-203, C.R.S., an update regarding the center of excellence, including the center's activities, findings, and needs.
(b) The center of excellence shall perform, but is not limited to, the following functions:
Serve as an integrated repository for science-based evaluation of the three fundamental contributing factors to successful aerial firefighting: Effectiveness, efficiency, and sustainability;
Review current regular research and assessment projects to evaluate:
New and existing technologies for integration into tactical fire scenarios in a varietyof settings, such as initial attack, night operations, and operations in wildland urban interface areas; and
Sustainable contracting and value propositions to determine which technologies andcontract vehicles are most advantageous and cost-effective to entities performing or providing aerial firefighting;
Review current data and documentation on science and technology relevant to aerialfirefighting and make the results of the center of excellence's research and assessment projects available to persons interested in aerial firefighting effectiveness, efficiency, and sustainability, including fire managers, policy decision-makers, scientists, students, and any other requesting persons; and
Establish and support a Colorado wildland fire prediction and decision support system in accordance with section 24-33.5-1232.
(c) (I) In addition to performing the functions described in subsection (2.5)(b) of this section, upon receiving sufficient money in the form of gifts, grants, and donations, the center of excellence shall conduct a study concerning the integration of unmanned aircraft systems within state and local government operations that relate to certain public-safety functions. At a minimum, the study must:
Identify the most feasible and readily available ways to integrate unmanned aircraftsystems technology within local and state government functions relating to firefighting, search and rescue, accident reconstruction, crime scene documentation, emergency management, and emergencies involving significant property loss or potential for injury or death; and
For each application of unmanned aircraft systems that the center of excellence identifies pursuant to subsection (2.5)(c)(I)(A) of this section, include consideration of privacy concerns, costs, and timeliness of deployment.
(II) Not later than one month after completing the study described in subsection (2.5)(c)(I) of this section, the center of excellence shall submit a report describing the results of its study to the wildfire matters review committee created in section 2-3-1602 and the house agriculture, livestock, and natural resources committee and the senate agriculture, natural resources, and energy committee, or any successor committees. The report must address each item described in subsection (2.5)(c)(I) of this section, as well as the results of the unmanned aircraft system pilot program described in subsection (2.5)(d) of this section.
(d) (I) As part of the study described in subsection (2.5)(c)(I) of this section, upon receiving sufficient money in the form of gifts, grants, and donations, on and after June 5, 2017, the center of excellence shall operate an unmanned aircraft system pilot program, referred to within this section as the "pilot program", to integrate unmanned aircraft systems within state and local government operations that relate to certain public-safety functions.
As part of the pilot program, the department of public safety shall deploy at least oneteam of unmanned aircraft system operators to a region within the state that has been designated by the division as a fire hazard. The pilot program must train the unmanned aircraft system operators to operate unmanned aircraft systems in various contexts relating to firefighting, search and rescue, accident reconstruction, crime scene documentation, emergency management, and emergencies involving significant property loss or potential for injury or death. Unmanned aircraft system operators may be compensated by the center during their training.
In operating the pilot program, the center of excellence shall not interfere with anyactive wildfire suppression effort unless the center is granted permission to assist in such effort by a supervising agency with the authority to grant such permission.
(e) Subject to available appropriations, the center of excellence shall study and, if feasible, implement a system to patrol the airspace above a wildland fire. The patrol system must be capable of determining whether the airspace above wildland fires is clear of obstacles, including private unmanned aircraft systems, that may interfere with aerial firefighting.
(3) (a) The division shall administer the Colorado firefighting air corps fund, which fund is hereby created in the state treasury. The division may seek and accept gifts, grants, reimbursements, investments, bond revenues, sales proceeds, commissions for services, sponsorships, advertising fees, licensing fees, profits, or donations from private or public sources for the purposes of this section. The fund consists of all money that may be appropriated to the fund by the general assembly, and all private and public funds received through gifts, grants, reimbursements, investments, bond revenues, sales proceeds, commissions for services, sponsorships, advertising fees, licensing fees, profits, or donations that are transmitted to the state treasurer and credited to the fund. All interest earned from the investment of money in the fund is credited to the fund. The money in the fund is continuously appropriated for the purposes indicated in subsection (3)(c) of this section. Any money not expended at the end of the fiscal year remains in the fund.
The general assembly finds that the implementation of this section does not relyentirely on the receipt of adequate funding through gifts, grants, or donations. Therefore, the division is not subject to the notice requirements specified in section 24-75-1303 (3).
The division shall use the money in the Colorado firefighting air corps fund for thepurposes of subsection (2.5) of this section and for paying the direct and indirect costs of maintaining the Colorado firefighting air corps, including expenses associated with acquisition, retrofitting, labor, equipment, supply, transportation, air, mobilization, repair, maintenance, and demobilization.
The Colorado firefighting air corps fund is exempt from the limitations set forth insection 24-75-402.
The director shall include, in his or her annual report to the wildfire matters reviewcommittee required under section 24-33.5-1203.5 (3), an update regarding the division's activities under this section, including the number and type of aerial firefighting resources acquired or contracted for during the fire season in which the committee meets, an assessment of the effectiveness of the aerial firefighting program, an estimate of anticipated budget and other resource needs to sustain or improve the C-FAC's operations, and other information related to aerial firefighting that the director deems pertinent.
(a) As soon as practicable after May 12, 2014, the division shall acquire or contract for firefighting aircraft for use during the 2014 fire season. In making such acquisitions or contracts, the division shall adhere, as nearly as feasible and appropriate and within available appropriations, to the recommendations made in the division's "special report: Colorado firefighting air corps, report to the governor and general assembly on strategies to enhance the state's aerial firefighting capabilities", dated March 28, 2014; except that nothing in this subsection (5):
Requires the director to contract for exclusive use of any aircraft; or
Limits the director's ability to determine the actual number, kind, type, and locationof aviation assets based on preparedness levels, wildfire risk and activity, weather, location of other aerial assets, available appropriations, and other appropriate criteria.
Nothing in this subsection (5) abrogates, reduces, or otherwise affects the division'spowers under subsection (2) of this section with regard to subsequent fire seasons, including the authority to obtain or arrange for suitable aircraft and associated resources.
In addition to the acquisitions or contracts made pursuant to paragraph (a) of thissubsection (5), the division may use any appropriations for the Colorado firefighting air corps for the center of excellence described in subsection (2) of this section.
The division shall seek to maximize its aerial firefighting capacity consistent with therecommendations of the director and within the division's available budget.
The director may establish general statements of policy or promulgate rules as he orshe deems necessary or convenient to implement this section, including specifying additional functions to be performed by, or methods of operation of, the center of excellence created in subsection (2) of this section. Rules shall be adopted in accordance with article 4 of this title.
Source: L. 2013: Entire section added, (SB 13-245), ch. 412, p. 2446, § 2, effective June 5. L. 2014: (2.5), (5), (6), and (7) added and (3)(a) and (4) amended, (SB 14-164), ch. 176, p. 645, § 2, effective May 12. L. 2015: (2.5)(b)(II)(B) and (2.5)(b)(III) amended and (2.5)(b)(IV) added, (HB 15-1129), ch. 206, p. 745, § 3, effective May 20. L. 2017: (2.5)(c) and (2.5)(d) added and (3) amended, (HB 17-1070), ch. 326, p. 1751, § 2, effective June 5. L. 2018: (3)(d) added, (SB 18-202), ch. 174, p. 1206, § 1, effective April 30. L. 2019: (2.5)(e) added, (SB 19020), ch. 428, p. 3729, § 1, effective August 2.
Editor's note: Section 2 of House Bill 17-1070 incorrectly states that it adds subsection (2)(d) when the actual provision it adds is subsection (2.5)(d).
Cross references: (1) For the legislative declaration in HB 15-1129, see section 1 of chapter 206, Session Laws of Colorado 2015.
(2) For the legislative declaration in HB 17-1070, see section 1 of chapter 326, Session Laws of Colorado 2017.