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General Assembly Substitute Bill No. 7120
January Session, 2025
AN ACT CONCERNING FIREFIGHTER TURNOUT GEAR, A
FIREFIGHTER CANCER SCREENING PILOT PROGRAM AND
GRANTS FOR THE REMOVAL OF PFAS FROM FIRE APPARATUS.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. Section 7-313o of the general statutes is repealed and the 1
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2025): 2
(a) (1) The Joint Council of Connecticut Fire Service Organizations, in 3
consultation with the Connecticut State Firefighters Association, [must 4
come up with] shall develop a joint plan for the maintenance and 5
remediation of toxic substances on turnout gear. Such plan shall be 6
submitted to the Commission on Fire Prevention and Control by July 1, 7
2023. Upon approval of such plan, the commission shall advise fire 8
departments on implementation of the plan. 9
[(b)] (2) Within ninety days of approval by the commission, each fire 10
department shall adopt a plan for the maintenance and remediation of 11
toxic substances on turnout gear. 12
(b) (1) For purposes of this subsection, "firefighter" has the same 13
meaning as provided in section 7-313g, "municipality" has the same 14
meaning as provided in section 7-303 and "PFAS" has the same meaning 15
as provided in section 22a-255h. 16
(2) Each municipality shall provide a set of turnout gear that does not 17 Substitute Bill No. 7120
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contain PFAS, in addition to the standard number of sets of turnout gear 18
provided to each firefighter, to any firefighter who is diagnosed with 19
cancer, has a predisposition to cancer or has an increased risk of 20
developing cancer due to such firefighter's family history or the results 21
of genetic testing. 22
Sec. 2. (Effective from passage) Not later than October 1, 2025, the State 23
Fire Marshal shall establish a one-year pilot program to reimburse 24
firefighters, as defined in section 7-313g of the general statutes, who 25
receive screening for cancers common to firefighters. The State Fire 26
Marshal shall consult with a nonprofit organization with expertise in the 27
field of cancer screening to determine which cancer screenings shall 28
qualify for reimbursement pursuant to the pilot program. The pilot 29
program shall be operated in one municipality with a population that is 30
serviced by a volunteer fire department and one municipality with a 31
population that is serviced by a paid fire department. On and after the 32
effective date of this section, the State Fire Marshal shall accept 33
applications for participation in the pilot program, in a form and 34
manner prescribed by the State Fire Marshal, from municipalities. Not 35
later than January 1, 2027, the State Fire Marshal shall submit a report 36
on the results of the pilot program, including any recommendations for 37
continuation or expansion of the pilot program, to the joint standing 38
committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters 39
relating to public safety and security, in accordance with the provisions 40
of section 11-4a of the general statutes. 41
Sec. 3. Subdivision (10) of subsection (b) of section 41 of public act 23-42
204 is repealed and the following is substitute in lieu thereof (Effective 43
from passage): 44
(10) The sum of $3,000,000 to the Department of Emergency Services 45
and Public Protection, for Other Expenses, for the fiscal year ending 46
June 30, 2024, to provide grants to municipalities, independent fire 47
companies and state agencies to remove PFAS from fire apparatus or to 48
provide reimbursement for the removal of PFAS from fire apparatus 49
that occurred prior to July 1, 2023; 50 Substitute Bill No. 7120
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Sec. 4. (Effective from passage) Any funds remaining under subdivision 51
(10) of subsection (b) of section 41 of public act 23-204, as amended by 52
this act, at the conclusion of the fiscal year ending June 30, 2025, shall 53
not lapse on June 30, 2025, and such funds shall be available to the 54
Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection, for Other 55
Expenses, for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2026, to provide grants to 56
municipalities, independent fire companies and state agencies to 57
remove PFAS from fire apparatus or to provide reimbursement for the 58
removal of PFAS from fire apparatus that occurred prior to July 1, 2023. 59
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 October 1, 2025 7-313o
Sec. 2 from passage New section
Sec. 3 from passage PA 23-204, Sec. 41(b)(10)
Sec. 4 from passage New section
Statement of Legislative Commissioners:
In Section 3(10), "or provide reimbursement" was changed to "or to
provide reimbursement" for internal consistency; and in Section 4, "for
removal of PFAS" was changed to "for the removal of PFAS" for internal
consistency.
PS Joint Favorable Subst.-LCO C/R APP