BILL ANALYSIS �
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 398|
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CONSENT
Bill No: AB 398
Author: Morrell (R), et al.
Amended: 7/12/11 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE GOVERNMENTAL ORG. COMMITTEE : 13-0, 6/28/11
AYES: Wright, Anderson, Berryhill, Calderon, Cannella,
Corbett, De Le�n, Evans, Hernandez, Padilla, Strickland,
Wyland, Yee
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 75-0, 5/12/11 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : State Fire Marshal: certification
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill authorizes the State Fire Marshal
(SFM) to accept certification by the United States
Department of Defense (DOD) as a firefighter, as an
alternative to the basic SFM training and certification
standards for the position of Firefighter I of the
California Fire Service Training and Education Program, (1)
if the DOD certification is accompanied by a national
certification or accreditation that has been approved by
the SFM and that is based on the International Fire Service
Accreditation Congress, Pro Board, or other accepted
third-party certification standard, and (2) if the DOD
certification is not accompanied by a national
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certification approved by the SFM, as described in
subdivision (b), the SFM shall follow the verification
process adopted pursuant to the authority provided in
Sections 13157 and 13159.
ANALYSIS :
Existing law:
1. Requires the SFM to establish recommended minimum
standards for fire protection personnel at all career
levels.
2. Under existing law, the Training Regulations of the SFM
establish minimum standards for statewide training and
certification systems for the California fire service.
3. Allows a state agency or an agency of a political
subdivision within the state to elect to be subject to
those standards or to petition for an alternative to
those training and certification standards.
4. Provides the SFM shall jointly, with the California
Professional Firefighters, promote participation in,
sponsor, and administer the California Fire Fighter
Joint Apprenticeship Program (CFFJAP) as the
pre-employment recruitment, selection, and training
system to be utilized for entry level firefighters.
5. Requires the SFM to contract with the CFFJAP for the
development of curriculum criteria based on
recommendations made by the Emergency Response Training
Advisory Committee, including training firefighters in
their responsibilities as first responders to terrorist
incidents. This is contingent upon the receipt of
federal funds.
This bill authorizes the State Fire Marshal (SFM) to accept
certification by the DOD as a firefighter, as an
alternative to the basic SFM training and certification
standards for the position of Firefighter I of the
California Fire Service Training and Education Program, (1)
if the DOD certification is accompanied by a national
certification or accreditation that has been approved by
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the SFM and that is based on the International Fire Service
Accreditation Congress (IFSAC), Pro Board, or other
accepted third-party certification standard, and (2) if the
DOD certification is not accompanied by a national
certification approved by the SFM, as described in
subdivision (b), the SFM shall follow the verification
process adopted pursuant to the authority provided in
Sections 13157 and 13159.
Comments
Purpose of this bill . According to the author, "military
service members who have served the armed forces in the
area of fire protection have received extensive training
from the DOD under the Fire and Emergency Services
Certification Program. These service men and women are
excellent candidates to serve as California fire protection
personnel. It is our intention to ease some of the burden
to those service members in their search for employment."
California Fire Service Training and Education Program .
The California Fire Service and Training Education Program
(CFSTEP), is designed to provide both volunteer and career
fire fighters with hands-on training in firefighting,
extrication, rescue, emergency vehicle operations, pump
operations, and the Incident Command System. CFSTEP was
created to establish coordination among the various
elements that contribute to the development, delivery, and
administration of training for the California fire service,
as a whole. The objective of CFSTEP is to provide a single
statewide focus for fire service training in California.
The 650-hour course is delivered through registered
instructors and may be custom tailored by the instructor to
meet a department's specific needs. Upon successful
completion of a course, the instructor will issue a
California SFM's certificate of completion to the student.
Military Training . All military bases maintain their own
fire protective services unit. In the military, the
firefighter training course is generally 13 weeks of
specialized training. During the specialized training,
recruits spend time in both the classroom and the field,
learning to put out fires. They learn the different types
of fires, what equipment to employ and how to use it.
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Firefighters are taught first aid and rescue procedures.
Military firefighters share reciprocity with IFSAC. Navy
firefighters are responsible for firefighting, equipment
repair, onboard damage control, emergency medicine and
first aid, and preventive care.
Texas Reciprocity . Individuals who have received
out-of-state or military training may be eligible to have
their training deemed equivalent in order to complete the
commission-designated skill evaluation process and
challenge the commission's examination for the applicable
certification discipline. There are two paths to
qualification: (1) For those who do not hold IFSAC
certification they may submit their training to be reviewed
by the Texas Commission on Fire Protection staff; (2) for
persons transferring from a non-IFSAC jurisdiction, the
commission conducts a record review for the purpose of
determining equivalency to the appropriate commission
certification training program or to establish eligibility
to complete the evaluation process.
Prior/Related Legislation
SB 156 (Soto), Chapter 803, Statutes of 2006, requires SFM
to contract with a program that is co-sponsored by the SFM
and the California Professional Firefighters union to
develop curriculum content criteria for fire service
related first responder training for terrorism incidents.
SB 1629 (Soto), Chapter 1050, Statutes of 2002, authorizes
the Director of Finance to transfer moneys in the Federal
Trust Fund to the Department of Health Services, if the
federal government makes them available for the allocation
of grants to state and local agencies to defray the cost of
providing paramedic training for fire service personnel.
The bill also provides for the allocation of funds to the
CFFJAP for various costs, including paramedic training
course development and instructional training expenses.
SB 1350 (McPherson), Chapter 612, Statutes of 2002,
establishes an emergency response training advisory
committee comprised of representatives from the public
safety community to develop terrorism-training standards
for law enforcement personnel, fire service personnel and
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emergency medical services personnel.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 7/12/11)
AMVETS - Department of California
California Professional Firefighters
County Veterans Service Officers
Regional Council of Rural Counties
Vietnam Veterans of America, California State Council
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : Writing in support of this bill,
the California Professional Firefighters (CPF), states this
bill will aid in creating a pathway for our nation's
veterans to continue in their chosen firefighting career
when they are no longer active military. California
currently does not recognize out-of-state or DOD-issued
firefighter certifications as equivalent to SFM standards,
which are required for obtaining Firefighter I
certification in California. As such, CPF believe the
state SFM should be allowed to pursue a reciprocal
accreditation process through an appropriate national fire
service accreditation program that does in fact recognize
the DOD firefighter certification.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 75-0, 5/12/11
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Beall,
Bill Berryhill, Block, Blumenfield, Bonilla, Bradford,
Brownley, Buchanan, Butler, Charles Calderon, Campos,
Carter, Chesbro, Conway, Cook, Davis, Dickinson,
Donnelly, Eng, Feuer, Fletcher, Fong, Fuentes, Furutani,
Beth Gaines, Galgiani, Gatto, Gordon, Grove, Hagman,
Halderman, Hall, Harkey, Hayashi, Roger Hern�ndez, Hill,
Huber, Hueso, Huffman, Jeffries, Jones, Knight, Lara,
Logue, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Mansoor, Mendoza, Miller,
Mitchell, Monning, Morrell, Nestande, Nielsen, Norby,
Olsen, Pan, Perea, V. Manuel P�rez, Silva, Skinner,
Smyth, Solorio, Swanson, Valadao, Wagner, Wieckowski,
Williams, Yamada, John A. P�rez
NO VOTE RECORDED: Cedillo, Garrick, Gorell, Portantino,
Torres
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PQ:kc 7/12/11 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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