The bill requires the Division of Fire Prevention and Control (division) in the Department of Public Safety (department) to establish public-private agreements with private partners to develop and operate wildfire detection components, allowing the state to allocate responsibility or risk to private partners.
The bill creates the Front Line Innovation and Response Efficiency Cash Fund (FIRE fund):
The FIRE fund is in the state treasury and is annually appropriated to the department for use by the division for wildfire detection purposes.
The bill requires the General Assembly to transfer funds from the Unused State-Owned Real Property Fund to the FIRE fund as follows:
Up to $1,000,000 for the 2025-26 state fiscal year
$2,000,000 for the 2026-27 state fiscal year
$3,000,000 for the 2027-28 state fiscal year
The department must:
Include information on the division’s wildfire detection activities in its annual report to legislative subject matter committees.
Summary
The bill requires the division of fire prevention and control
(division) in the department of public safety (department) to establish public-private agreements with one or more private partners, by which agreements the state may allocate responsibility or risk to one or more private partners to develop and operate wildfire detection components. The bill also creates the front line innovation and response efficiency cash fund (FIRE fund) in the state treasury. The money in the FIRE fund is annually appropriated to the department to be expended by the division for the purposes of the bill.
In current law, money in the unused state-owned real property fund
is continuously appropriated to the department of personnel for several purposes, including paying for public-private agreements and associated costs. Of the money that is appropriated for this purpose, the bill requires the general assembly to transfer the following amounts to the FIRE fund:
•
For the 2025-26 state fiscal year, up to $1,000,000;
•
For the 2026-27 state fiscal year, $2,000,000; and
•
For the 2027-28 state fiscal year, $3,000,000.
The department is required to include information concerning the
division's activities under the bill in the department's annual report to the legislative subject matter committees.
