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General Assembly Raised Bill No. 7203
January Session, 2025
LCO No. 5887
Referred to Committee on PUBLIC SAFETY AND SECURITY
Introduced by:
(PS)
AN ACT ESTABLISHING A STATE WILDFIRE COMMISSION AND
PERMITTING A CERTAIN COUNCIL TO SERVE AS A
SUBCOMMITTEE OF THE COMMISSION ON FIRE PREVENTION AND
CONTROL.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. (NEW) (Effective from passage) (a) There is established a State 1
Wildfire Commission, which shall be within the Department of 2
Administrative Services for administrative purposes only. 3
(b) The commission shall consist of the following members: 4
(1) The Commissioner of Emergency Services and Public Protection, 5
or the commissioner's designee; 6
(2) The Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection, or 7
the commissioner's designee; 8
(3) The chairperson of the Commission on Fire Prevention and 9
Control, or the chairperson's designee; 10
(4) The State Fire Administrator, or the administrator's designee; 11
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(5) A representative of the Forestry Division of the Department of 12
Energy and Environmental Protection, who shall be appointed by the 13
Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection; 14
(6) A representative of a council tasked with identifying rural fire 15
issues for the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, who 16
shall be appointed by the Commissioner of Energy and Environmental 17
Protection; 18
(7) Two representatives of local fire departments, who shall be 19
appointed by the Senate chairperson of the joint standing committee of 20
the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to public 21
safety and security; 22
(8) Two representatives of local fire departments, who shall be 23
appointed by the House chairperson of the joint standing committee of 24
the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to public 25
safety and security; 26
(9) A representative of an association of professional firefighters, 27
appointed by the Senate ranking member of the joint standing 28
committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters 29
relating to public safety and security; and 30
(10) A representative of the Joint Council of Connecticut Fire Service 31
Organizations, who shall be appointed by the House ranking member 32
of the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having 33
cognizance of matters relating to public safety and security. 34
(c) All initial appointments to the commission shall be made not later 35
than August 1, 2025, and shall terminate on August 1, 2027, regardless 36
of when the initial appointment was made. 37
(d) The Commissioner of Administrative Services, or the 38
commissioner's designee, shall select the chairperson of the commission 39
from among the members of the commission. Such chairperson shall 40
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schedule the first meeting of the commission, which shall be held not 41
later than September 1, 2025. 42
(e) Appointed members of the commission shall serve for two-year 43
terms which shall commence on the date of appointment, except as 44
provided in subsection (c) of this section. Members shall continue to 45
serve until their successors are appointed. Any vacancy shall be filled 46
by the appointing authority. Any vacancy occurring other than by 47
expiration of term shall be filled for the balance of the unexpired term. 48
(f) A majority of the commission shall constitute a quorum for the 49
transaction of any business. 50
(g) The members of the commission shall serve without 51
compensation, but shall, within the limits of available funds, be 52
reimbursed for expenses necessarily incurred in the performance of 53
their duties. 54
(h) The commission shall have the following powers and duties: (1) 55
To study the state's strategy for preparing for and responding to 56
wildfires, (2) to make recommendations to strengthen the state's ability 57
to prevent and combat wildfires, (3) to evaluate the adequacy of 58
equipment, training and staffing within local fire departments and state 59
agencies responsible for wildfire suppression, (4) to assess the need for 60
equipment and resources to support fire-fighting operations in rural 61
and wildland-urban interface areas, (5) to make recommendations to 62
strengthen mutual aid agreements and cooperation between local, 63
regional and state fire-fighting agencies, (6) to identify and assess best 64
practices in wildfire management and ways to incorporate information 65
obtained from analyzing past fires into such best practices, (7) to review 66
laws related to wildfire suppression and response and identify any 67
necessary adjustments to such laws to ensure that wildfire suppression 68
resources can be rapidly deployed during high-risk fire seasons, (8) to 69
make recommendations on how to bolster public outreach and 70
education on wildfire prevention, mitigation and safety in vulnerable 71
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communities, (9) to advise the state and public on wildfire prevention 72
techniques, (10) to collaborate with the Departments of Energy and 73
Environmental Protection and Emergency Services and Public 74
Protection to ensure that the commission's recommendations align with 75
the state's environmental conservation and land management strategies, 76
(11) to obtain from any executive department, board, commission or 77
other agency of the state such assistance and data as necessary and 78
available to carry out the purposes of this section, (12) to accept any gift, 79
donation or bequest for the purpose of performing the duties described 80
in this section, and (13) to perform such other acts as may be necessary 81
and appropriate to carry out the duties described in this section. 82
(i) The commission shall meet as often as deemed necessary by the 83
chairperson or a majority of the commission. 84
(j) Not later than February 1, 2026, and annually thereafter, the 85
commission shall submit a report, in accordance with the provisions of 86
section 11-4a of the general statutes, to the Governor and the joint 87
standing committees of the General Assembly having cognizance of 88
matters relating to public safety and security and the environment on 89
the activities of the commission during the preceding year, which shall 90
include, but need not be limited to, (1) a plan for making any changes 91
necessary to improve the state's preparedness for and ability to respond 92
to wildfires, including, but not limited to, improvements in training, 93
equipment and infrastructure, (2) any recommendations for enhancing 94
the coordination between local fire departments, state agencies and 95
federal partners with respect to wildfire management, (3) an analysis of 96
the current funding source for wildfire preparedness and the 97
identification of any new funding sources that may be required to 98
address wildfire risk, (4) a proposal for a long-term wildfire risk 99
reduction program that integrates environmental, community and 100
technological solutions, and (5) any recommendations for policy 101
changes and amendments to the general statutes necessary to improve 102
the state's wildfire prevention, response and recovery efforts. 103
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Sec. 2. Section 7-323k of the general statutes is repealed and the 104
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2025): 105
(a) (1) There is established a Commission on Fire Prevention and 106
Control. Until June 30, 2025, the commission shall consist of twelve 107
members appointed by the Governor. The State Fire Marshal or the State 108
Fire Marshal's designee and the chancellor of the Connecticut State 109
Colleges and Universities or the chancellor's designee shall serve as ex-110
officio, voting members of said commission. Of the twelve members 111
appointed by the Governor, two shall represent The Connecticut State 112
Firefighter's Association, two shall represent the Connecticut Fire Chiefs 113
Association, two shall represent the Uniformed Professional Firefighters 114
of the International Association of Firefighters, AFL-CIO, two shall 115
represent the Connecticut Fire Marshals Association, two shall 116
represent the Connecticut Fire Department Instructors Association and 117
two shall represent the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities. The 118
term of any member appointed pursuant to this subdivision shall end 119
on June 30, 2025. 120
(2) On and after July 1, 2025, the commission shall consist of the 121
following members: 122
(A) Two members of The Connecticut State Firefighter's Association, 123
one of whom is the chairperson of the association's education 124
committee, appointed by the Governor; 125
(B) Two members of the Connecticut Fire Chiefs Association, 126
appointed by the Governor; 127
(C) Two members of the Connecticut Career Fire Chiefs' Association, 128
appointed by the Governor; 129
(D) Two members of the Uniformed Professional Firefighters of the 130
International Association of Firefighters, AFL-CIO, appointed by the 131
Governor; 132
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(E) Two members of the Connecticut Fire Marshals Association, 133
appointed by the Governor; 134
(F) Two members of the Connecticut Fire Department Instructors 135
Association, appointed by the Governor; 136
(G) A representative of the Connecticut Council of Small Towns, 137
appointed by the Governor; 138
(H) A representative of the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities, 139
appointed by the Governor; 140
(I) A representative of the Connecticut Council of Small Towns, 141
appointed by the House chairperson of the joint standing committee of 142
the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to public 143
safety and security; 144
(J) A representative of the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities, 145
appointed by the Senate chairperson of the joint standing committee of 146
the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to public 147
safety and security; 148
(K) A member of the Connecticut Fire Equipment Mechanics 149
Association, appointed by the House ranking member of the joint 150
standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of 151
matters relating to public safety and security; 152
(L) A representative of the Emergency Medical Services Advisory 153
Board, appointed by the Senate ranking member of the joint standing 154
committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters 155
relating to public safety and security; 156
(M) The State Fire Marshal, who shall be a nonvoting member; 157
(N) The forest protection supervisor within the Forestry Division of 158
the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, or such 159
supervisor's designee, who shall be a nonvoting member; and 160
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(O) The commanding officer of the Fire and Explosion Investigation 161
Unit of the Division of State Police within the Department of Emergency 162
Services and Public Protection, or such officer's designee, who shall be 163
a nonvoting member. 164
(b) On or before July fifteenth, annually, each organization to be 165
represented on said commission shall submit to the appropriate 166
appointing authority a list of nominees for appointment to said 167
commission, which list the appointing authority may use when making 168
appointments to said commission. Appointing authorities shall appoint 169
members to said commission to serve for three years, or until a successor 170
is appointed. Any vacancy in the membership of the commission shall 171
be filled by the appointing authority for the unexpired portion of the 172
term. Persons appointed to said commission shall be qualified, by 173
experience or education, in the fields of fire protection, fire prevention, 174
fire suppression, fire fighting and related fields. 175
(c) The commission shall meet at such times and at such places as it 176
deems proper. On and before June 30, 2025, the commission shall elect 177
from its membership a chairperson, vice chairperson and secretary who 178
shall serve a one year term commencing on October first of the year in 179
which they are elected, provided such terms shall expire on June 30, 180
2025, and nothing contained herein shall prevent their reelection to such 181
office. On and after July 1, 2025, the Governor shall appoint the 182
chairperson of the commission from the commission's membership, and 183
the commission shall elect from its membership a vice chairperson and 184
secretary, who shall serve one year terms, provided nothing contained 185
herein shall prevent their reelection to such office. No member of said 186
commission shall receive compensation for such member's services. 187
(d) Members of the commission shall not be considered as holding 188
public office solely by virtue of their membership on said commission. 189
(e) On and after July 1, 2025, the members of the education committee 190
of the Connecticut State Firefighters Association, Inc., shall serve as a 191
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subcommittee of the commission on matters relating to fire schools. 192
(f) On and after July 1, 2026, the members of a council tasked with 193
identifying rural fire issues for the Department of Energy and 194
Environmental Protection may serve as a subcommittee of the 195
commission on the following matters: (1) Coordination and integration 196
of the state's wildfire mitigation and response strategies with the state's 197
general fire prevention and control strategies, (2) wildfire risks in rural 198
and wildland-urban interface areas, (3) the resources, training and 199
operational support necessary to rural fire departments to effectively 200
respond to wildfires, and (4) any policy changes, amendments to the 201
general statutes or other changes necessary to reduce the vulnerability 202
of rural areas to wildfires. 203
[(f)] (g) The commission shall be within the Department of 204
Emergency Services and Public Protection. 205
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 from passage New section
Sec. 2 July 1, 2025 7-323k
Statement of Purpose:
To (1) establish a State Wildfire Commission, and (2) permit a council
tasked with identifying rural fire issues to serve as a subcommittee of
the Commission on Fire Prevention and Control.
[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline, except
that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is not
underlined.]