CHAPTER 142
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CHAPTER 142
( HB 323 )
AN ACT relating to cancer detection in firefighters, and making an appropriation therefor.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Kentucky:
ď˘Section 1. KRS 95A.262 is amended to read as follows:
(1) The Kentucky Fire Commission shall, in cooperation with the Cabinet for Health and Family Services,
develop and implement a continuing program to inoculate every paid and volunteer firefighter in Kentucky
against hepatitis A and B. The program shall be funded from revenues allocated to the Firefighters Foundation
Program fund pursuant to KRS 136.392 and 42.190, not to exceed five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000)
per fiscal year.
(2) (a) Except as provided in subsection (3) of this section, the Kentucky Fire Commission shall allot on an
annual basis a share of the funds accruing to and appropriated for volunteer fire department aid to
volunteer fire departments in cities of all classes, fire protection districts organized pursuant to KRS
Chapter 75, county districts established under authority of KRS 67.083, and volunteer fire departments
created as nonprofit corporations pursuant to KRS Chapter 273.
(b) The commission shall allot eleven thousand dollars ($11,000) annually to each qualifying department.
(c) Any qualifying department which fails to participate satisfactorily in the Kentucky fire incident
reporting system as described in KRS 304.13-380 shall forfeit annually five hundred dollars ($500) of
its allotment.
(d) If two (2) or more qualified volunteer fire departments, as defined in KRS 95A.500 to 95A.560, merge
after January 1, 2000, then the allotment shall be in accordance with the provisions of KRS 95A.500 to
95A.560.
(e) Administrative regulations for determining qualifications shall be based on the number of both paid
firefighters and volunteer firemen within a volunteer fire department, the amount of equipment, housing
facilities available, and any other matters or standards that will best effect the purposes of the volunteer
fire department aid law. A qualifying department shall:
1. Include at least twelve (12) firefighters;
2. Have a chief;
3. Have at least one (1) operational fire apparatus or one (1) on order; and
4. Have at least fifty percent (50%) of its firefighters who have completed at least one-half (1/2) of
one hundred fifty (150) training hours, or as otherwise established by the commission under KRS
95A.240(6), toward certification within the first six (6) months of the first year of the
department's application for certification, and there shall be a plan to complete the one hundred
fifty (150) training hours, or as otherwise established by the commission by KRS 95A.240(6),
within the second year.
These personnel, equipment, and training requirements shall not be made more stringent by the
promulgation of administrative regulations.
(f) No allotment shall exceed the total value of the funds, equipment, lands, and buildings made available
to the local fire units from any source whatever for the year in which the allotment is made.
(g) A portion of the funds provided for above may be used to purchase group or blanket health insurance
and shall be used to purchase workers' compensation insurance, and the remaining funds shall be
distributed as provided in this section.
(3) There shall be allotted two hundred thousand dollars ($200,000) of the insurance premium surcharge proceeds
accruing to the Firefighters Foundation Program fund that shall be allocated each fiscal year of the biennium to
the firefighters training center fund, which is hereby created and established, for the purposes of constructing
new or upgrading existing training centers for firefighters. If any moneys in the training center fund remain
uncommitted, unobligated, or unexpended at the close of the first fiscal year of the biennium, then such ACTS OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY 2
moneys shall be carried forward to the second fiscal year of the biennium, and shall be reallocated to and for
the use of the training center fund, in addition to the second fiscal year's allocation of two hundred thousand
dollars ($200,000). Prior to funding any project pursuant to this subsection, a proposed project shall be
approved by the Kentucky Fire Commission as provided in subsection (4) of this section and shall comply
with state laws applicable to capital construction projects.
(4) Applications for funding low-interest loans and firefighters' training centers shall be submitted to the Kentucky
Fire Commission for their recommendation, approval, disapproval, or modification. The commission shall
review applications periodically, and shall, subject to funds available, recommend which applications shall be
funded and at what levels, together with any terms and conditions the commission deems necessary.
(5) Any department or entity eligible for and receiving funding pursuant to this section shall have a minimum of
fifty percent (50%) of its personnel certified as recognized by the Kentucky Fire Commission.
(6) Upon the written request of any department, the Kentucky Fire Commission shall make available a certified
training program in a county of which such department is located.
(7) The amount of reimbursement for any given year for costs incurred by the Kentucky Community and
Technical College System for administering these funds, including but not limited to the expenses and costs of
commission operations, shall be determined by the commission and shall not exceed five percent (5%) of the
total amount of moneys accruing to the Firefighters Foundation Program fund which are allotted for the
purposes specified in this section during any fiscal year.
(8) The commission shall withhold from the general distribution of funds under subsection (2) of this section an
amount which it deems sufficient to reimburse volunteer fire departments for equipment lost or damaged
beyond repair due to hazardous material incidents.
(9) Moneys withheld pursuant to subsection (8) of this section shall be distributed only under the following terms
and conditions:
(a) A volunteer fire department has lost or damaged beyond repair items of personal protective clothing or
equipment due to that equipment having been lost or damaged as a result of an incident in which a
hazardous material (as defined in any state or federal statute or regulation) was the causative agent of
the loss;
(b) The volunteer fire department has made application in writing to the commission for reimbursement in
a manner approved by the commission and the loss and the circumstances thereof have been verified by
the commission;
(c) The loss of or damage to the equipment has not been reimbursed by the person responsible for the
hazardous materials incident or by any other person;
(d) The commission has determined that the volunteer fire department does not have the fiscal resources to
replace the equipment;
(e) The commission has determined that the equipment sought to be replaced is immediately necessary to
protect the lives of the volunteer firefighters of the fire department;
(f) The fire department has agreed in writing to subrogate all claims for and rights to reimbursement for the
lost or damaged equipment to the Commonwealth to the extent that the Commonwealth provides
reimbursement to the department; and
(g) The department has shown to the satisfaction of the commission that it has made reasonable attempts to
secure reimbursement for its losses from the person responsible for the hazardous materials incident and
has been unsuccessful in the effort.
(10) If a volunteer fire department has met all of the requirements of subsection (9) of this section, the commission
may authorize a reimbursement of equipment losses not exceeding ten thousand dollars ($10,000) or the actual
amount of the loss, whichever is less.
(11) Moneys which have been withheld during any fiscal year which remain unexpended at the end of the fiscal
year shall be distributed in the normal manner required by subsection (2) of this section during the following
fiscal year.
(12) No volunteer fire department may receive funding for equipment losses more than once during any fiscal year. CHAPTER 142
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(13) The commission shall make reasonable efforts to secure reimbursement from the responsible party for any
moneys awarded to a fire department pursuant to this section.
(14) The commission, in accordance with the procedures in subsection (4) of this section, may make low-interest
loans, and the interest thereon shall not exceed three percent (3%) annually or the amount needed to sustain
operating expenses of the loan fund, whichever is less, to volunteer fire departments for the purposes of major
equipment purchases and facility construction. Loans shall be made to departments which achieve the training
standards necessary to qualify for volunteer fire department aid allotted pursuant to subsection (2) of this
section, and which do not have other sources of funds at rates which are favorable given their financial
resources. The proceeds of loan payments shall be returned to the loan fund for the purpose of providing future
loans. If a department does not make scheduled loan payments, the commission may withhold any grants
payable to the department pursuant to subsection (2) of this section until the department is current on its
payments. Money in the low-interest loan fund shall be used only for the purposes specified in this subsection.
Any funds remaining in the fund at the end of a fiscal year shall be carried forward to the next fiscal year for
the purposes of the fund.
(15) Each fiscal year there shall be allotted one million dollars ($1,000,000) from the fund established in KRS
95A.220 to be used by the commission to conduct training-related activities.
(16) If funding is available from the fund established in KRS 95A.220, the Kentucky Fire Commission may
implement the following:
(a) A program to prepare emergency service personnel for handling potential man-made and non-man-
made threats. The commission shall work in conjunction with the state fire marshal and other
appropriate agencies and associations to identify and make maps of gas transmission and hazardous
liquids pipelines in the state;
(b) A program to provide and maintain a mobile test facility in each training region established by the
Kentucky Fire Commission with equipment to administer Comprehensive Physical Aptitude Tests
(CPAT) to ascertain a firefighter's ability to perform the physical requirements necessary to be an
effective and safe firefighter;
(c) A program to provide defensive driving training tactics to firefighters. The commission shall purchase,
instruct in the use of, and maintain mobile equipment in each of the training regions, and fund expenses
related to equipment replacement;
(d) A program to annually evaluate equipment adequacy and to provide for annual physical examinations
for instructors, adequate protective clothing and personal equipment to meet NFPA guidelines, and to
establish procedures for replacing this equipment as needed;
(e) A program to establish a rotational expansion and replacement program for mobile fleet equipment
currently used for training and recertification of fire departments;
(f) A program to expand and update current emergency medical services, emergency medical responder,
emergency medical technician, advanced emergency medical technician, and paramedic training and
certification instruction; [and]
(g) A program to purchase thermal vision devices to comply with the provisions of KRS 95A.400 to
95A.440; and
(h) A program to reimburse firefighters for out-of-pocket expenses for cancer screenings. The
commission may promulgate administrative regulations pursuant to KRS Chapter 13A to:
1. Establish a periodic cap and maximum on the reimbursement to the firefighter seeking
reimbursement;
2. Establish which cancer screening tests are eligible for reimbursement, provided that only
cancer screening tests approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration for
cancer detection in humans may be reimbursed;
3. Determine eligibility requirements for participants, which in the discretion of the commission
may also include retired firefighters; and
4. Establish any other policy to effect the purposes of this program.
Signed by Governor April 9, 2024. ACTS OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY 4