Page 20 - InCommand Volume 36

Legislative Update - State
By Chief Steve Agenbroad, Legislative Committee Chair; Michelle Fitzgibbon, Executive Director and Legislative Agent
... the Operating Budget was
the legislatures primary focus, but OFCA was able
to successfully advocate for the passaged of several OFCA priority
bills prior to the legislature heading to summer recess.
State Operating Budget
The state legislature heads home for summer recess following the introduction of 589 bills, successfully passing 47 of those bills. Included among passed legislation are several OFCA priority bills and the State Biennial Operating Budget. As it is every biennium, the Operating Budget process consumed a majority of the legislature’s time as they deliberated state expenditures and wide-ranging policy decisions. Below are some of the provisions that were included in House Bill 110, the state biennial budget bill:
• MARCS Fee Offset – $2,500,000 per year has been allocated for MARCS fee offsets.
• MARCS Grant Funding – $3,500,000 in each fiscal year from DPF Fund 5460 appropriation item 800639, Fire Department Grants, to be used for MARCS grants. Awards may be up to $50,000 annually per recipient.
• ERS Funding – Provides funds in the Emergency Preparedness and Response Fund (Fund 5UA0) for urban search and rescue units around the state and for maintenance of the statewide fire emergency response plan.
• PTSD Provisions – Permits the Board of Trustees of the Ohio Police and Fire Pension Fund to use its actuary or, as under current law, a disinterested third- party actuary to perform an actuarial valuation and report required by continuing law related to the funding requirements of the State Post-Traumatic Stress Fund. Extends the due date for the actuarial study and report from October 1, 2021, to December 15, 2021. This language would modify the PTSD provisions that were part of House Bill 308 from the previous General Assembly.
Newly Introduced Legislation
As new bills are introduced by the Ohio House of Representatives and Ohio Senate, the OFCA Legislative Committee is meeting to review their impact on the fire service and take positions as necessary. The committee has voted to support the following bills:
House Bill 283 – Prohibit driving while using electronic communications device
Sponsored by Representatives Cindy Abrams (R – Harrison) and Brian Lampton (R – Beavercreek)
House Bill 283 would prohibit individuals from holding or physically supporting an electronic wireless communications device (EWCD) with any part of the body allowing an exception for emergency purposes, with a law enforcement agency, hospital or health care provider, fire department or other similar emergency agency or entity. The bill has received two hearings so far in the House Criminal Justice committee.
House Bill 304 – Regards smoke alarms in residential premises
Sponsored by Representative Brian Baldridge (R – Winchester)
A reintroduction of House Bill 271 from the last General Assembly, House Bill 304 requires the State Fire Marshal and Board of Building Standards to adopt rules requiring installation of sealed battery smoke alarms, with a ten-year battery life, in residential buildings when certain events occur. Also, requires the adoption of rules that provide exceptions to the requirement above to allow other specified smoke alarms and detectors to be used in place of the sealed battery smoke alarm. The bill has received one hearing in the House Commerce and Labor Committee.
20 InCommand JULY/AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2021 • www.ohiofirechiefs.org