The Fire Protection District Law of 1987 provides for the formation and administration of fire protection districts. Under that law, district employees include volunteer firefighters.

Other existing law provides for the organization of fire companies in unincorporated towns by filing a certificate with the Fire and Rescue Operational Area Coordinator in the same county, or other county agency as designated by ordinance of the county board of supervisors. Under existing law, a fire company is staffed by officers and volunteer firefighters. Existing law authorizes counties and cities to regulate the formation and continued existence of fire companies within their jurisdiction.

This bill would amend those provisions to require authorize the chief of a fire protection district or a fire company to conduct background checks on applicants for volunteer firefighter status with the district or fire company, as prescribed, and and, if such a background check is conducted, would require the chief to identify an applicant who is determined by such a background check to be a registered sex offender or to have committed or been convicted of specific offenses. By imposing new duties on local officials, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

The Fire Protection District Law of 1987 provides for the formation and administration of fire protection districts. Under that law, district employees include volunteer firefighters.

Other existing law provides for the organization of fire companies in unincorporated towns by filing a certificate with the Fire and Rescue Operational Area Coordinator in the same county, or other county agency as designated by ordinance of the county board of supervisors. Under existing law, a fire company is staffed by officers and volunteer firefighters. Existing law authorizes counties and cities to regulate the formation and continued existence of fire companies within their jurisdiction.

This bill would amend those provisions to require a county in which a district or fire company provides services the chief of a fire protection district or a fire company to conduct background checks on applicants for volunteer firefighters of firefighter status with the district or fire company, as prescribed, and would prohibit a district or fire company from allowing a volunteer firefighter require the chief to identify an applicant who is determined to be a violent sex offender by such a background check. check to be a registered sex offender or to have committed or been convicted of specific offenses. By imposing new duties on counties, local officials, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.

The Fire Protection District Law of 1987 provides for the formation and administration of fire protection districts. Under that law, district employees include volunteer firefighters.

Other existing law provides for the organization of fire companies in unincorporated towns by filing a certificate with the Fire and Rescue Operational Area Coordinator in the same county, or other county agency as designated by ordinance of the county board of supervisors. Under existing law, a fire company is staffed by officers and volunteer firefighters. Existing law authorizes counties and cities to regulate the formation and continued existence of fire companies within their jurisdiction.

This bill would amend those provisions to require a county in which a district or fire company provides services to conduct background checks on volunteer firefighters of the district or fire company, and would prohibit a district or fire company from allowing a volunteer firefighter who is determined to be a violent sex offender by such a background check. By imposing new duties on counties, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.

Date of Hearing: May 9, 2018

ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS

Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher, Chair

ABPCA Bill Id:AB 2089

Author:(Mathis) – As Amended Ver:April 26, 2018

Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: No Reimbursable: No

SUMMARY:

This bill allows the chief of a fire protection district of a fire company to conduct a background check on each volunteer firefighter applicant. This bill requires the Department of Justice (DOJ) to process the background check and requires DOJ to charge a fee sufficient to recover its costs.

FISCAL EFFECT:

Significant costs (Fingerprint Fees Account), potentially in the low hundreds of thousands of dollars, for DOJ to process background checks and fingerprints for volunteer firefighters. Specifically, DOJ estimates costs of $214,000 in 2018-19, $ 277,000 in 2019-20 and $89,000 in 2020-21 and ongoing. DOJ costs will be recovered through fees charged for the background checks.

COMMENTS:

Background and purpose. According to a 2017 report by the National Fire Protection Association, there are approximately 814,850 volunteer firefighters in the United States, comprising more than 70% of the country’s total firefighting force. According to the author:

Volunteer firefighters provide a vital service in the preservation of public safety. These individuals put their lives on the line in order to mitigate disasters and save lives. On occasion, volunteer firefighters will be utilized as first points of contact with families during evacuations. However, there are currently no requirements for fire chiefs to identify previous convictions of prospective applicants, such as registered sex offenders. While the need for additional volunteer firefighters throughout the state is recognized, fire chiefs should be cognizant of the potential compromising situations which may occur in the field should individuals with particular convictions be present in the service.

Analysis Prepared by: Jessica Peters / APPR. / (916) 319-2081

Date of Hearing:

Counsel: Matthew Fleming

ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY

Reginald Byron Jones-Sawyer, Sr., Chair

ABPCA Bill Id:AB 2089

Author:(Mathis) – As Amended Ver:February 26, 2018

SUMMARY:

Requires the chiefs of fire protection districts and fire companies to run a background check on all applicants seeking to be volunteer firefighters. Specifically, this bill:

1. Requires the chief of the fire protection district or fire company to identify any applicant who is required to register as a sex offender, who has committed a felony, or who has been convicted of murder or arson.
   
2. Requires that prior to hiring an applicant as a volunteer firefighter, the fire chiefs submit fingerprints and related information to the Department of Justice (DOJ) for the purposes of obtaining conviction records, state and federal arrest records, and information which establishes that the person is on bail or free on his or her own recognizance pending a criminal proceeding.
   
3. Requires the DOJ to forward the information received from the fire chiefs to the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) to receive federal summary criminal history information.
   
4. Requires the DOJ to review the information received from the FBI and formulate an electronic response to the fire chiefs.
   
5. Requires the fire chiefs to request subsequent arrest information from DOJ.
   
6. Requires the DOJ to charge a fee to cover its costs of processing the information request.

EXISTING LAW:

1. Defines a firefighter as a member of a fire department of cities, counties, cities and counties, districts or other public or municipal corporations or political subdivisions, whether the members are volunteer, partly paid, or fully paid. (Gov. Code, § 50925.)
   
2. Defines a department as a regularly organized fire department of a city, county, city and county, or district having official recognition of the government of the city, county, city and county, or district in which the department is located, or as a regularly organized fire department of an unincorporated town. (Gov. Code, § 50952, subds. (k)(1) – (2).)
   
3. Precludes an employer from asking applicants to disclose information concerning an arrest or detention that did not result in conviction or that has been dismissed or ordered sealed, and precludes an employer from seeking or utilizing such information as a factor in determining any condition of employment. (Lab. Code, § 432.7, subd. (a)(1).)
   
4. Precludes an employer from asking an applicant for employment to disclose information concerning or related to an arrest, detention, processing, diversion, supervision, adjudication, or court disposition that occurred while the person was in juvenile court, and precludes an employer from seeking or utilizing, as a factor in determining any condition of employment, any such information. (Lab. Code, § 432.7, subd. (a)(2).)
   
5. Allows employers to ask an employee or applicant for employment about an arrest for which the employee or applicant is out on bail or on his or her own recognizance pending trial. (Lab. Code, § 432.7, subd. (a)(1).)
   
6. Requires DOJ to maintain state summary criminal history information. (Pen. Code, § 11105, subd. (a).)
   
7. Requires DOJ to furnish state summary criminal history information to specified entities, if needed in the course of their duties, provided that when information is furnished to assist an agency, officer, or official of state or local government, a public utility, or any other entity in fulfilling employment, certification, or licensing duties, specified restrictions listed in the Labor Code are followed. (Pen. Code, § 11105, subd. (b).)
   
8. Allows the DOJ to release criminal history information to an official of a city, county, or district if expressly authorized by statute, ordinance or regulation. (Pen. Code, § 11105, subds. (b)(10) - (11).)
   
9. Requires applicants for, and holders of, an Emergency Medical Technicians (EMT) certificate to get a DOJ background check. (Health & Saf. Code, § 1797.117, subd. (c).)

FISCAL EFFECT:

Unknown

COMMENTS:

1. Author's Statement: According to the author, “Volunteer firefighters provide a vital service in the preservation of public safety. These individuals put their lives on the line in order to mitigate disasters and save lives. On occasion, volunteer firefighters will be utilized as first points of contact with families during evacuations. However, there are currently no requirements for fire chiefs to identify previous convictions of prospective applicants, such as registered sex offenders. While the need for additional volunteer firefighters throughout the state is recognized, fire chiefs should be cognizant of the potential compromising situations which may occur in the field should individuals with particular convictions be present in the service.”
   
2. Volunteer Firefighters: The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) identifies itself as a leader in information pertaining to fire hazards. In April, 2017, the NFPA published a report regarding statistics on firefighters across the United States. (https://www.nfpa.org/-/media/Files/News-and-Research/Fire-statistics/Fire-service/osfdprofile.pdf.) According to that report, there were approximately 814,850 volunteer firefighters in the United States, comprising more than 70% of the Country’s total firefighting force. (Id.) Nearly 40% of those volunteers have served for at least ten years. (Id.)
   

The National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC) is an organization that represents the interests of volunteer fire services. (https://www.nvfc.org/about/.) The NVFC serves as the voice of the volunteer in the national arena and provides invaluable resources, programs, education, and advocacy for first responders across the nation and strives to provide a unified voice for volunteer fire organizations. (Id.)

The NVFC published a volunteer fire service fact sheet in order to provide an overall picture of today’s volunteer fire and emergency services. (https://www.nvfc.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/NVFC-Fact-Sheet-2017.pdf.) According to the fact sheet, “[o]f the total 29,727 fire departments in the country, 19,762 are all volunteer; 5,421 are mostly volunteer; 1,893 are mostly career; and 2,651 are all career.” (Id.) In addition, many local volunteer fire departments are having a hard time filling their staffing needs:

“The number of volunteer firefighters in the U.S. reached a low in 2011. While there has been a slow increase since then, the growth isn’t enough to meet the steady increase in call volume, which has tripled in the last 30 years due in large part to the increase in emergency medical calls. Major factors contributing to recruitment challenges include increased time demands, more rigorous training requirements, and the proliferation of two-income families whose members do not have time to volunteer. Fire departments today are also expected to provide a wide range of services and multi-hazard response, creating further challenges for resource-constrained departments.” (Id.)

The NVFC fact sheet identifies difficulty with recruitment and retention of volunteer firefighters as two key issues in the staffing problems that volunteer fire departments are facing. (Id.) The NVFC is implementing programs in an attempt to assist local departments to recruit and retain volunteers. (Id.) Those include online information and a nationwide searchable database for finding a volunteer fire department. (Id.) In addition, the NVFC established the Junior Firefighter program in 2007, in order to address the problem of older volunteers aging out of departments. (Id.)

The NVFC fact sheet also notes that small and mid-sized communities are heavily reliant on volunteer firefighters. (Id.) Communities with a population of less than 10,000 are usually served by an all-volunteer fire department, and communities with populations of 10,000 – 100,000 typically use a combination of career and volunteer firefighters. (Id.) The fact sheet notes that there are several fire departments in the United States that operate without any volunteers, but those typically exist in highly urbanized areas. (Id.)

1. Background Checks for Career Firefighters: There is no current state law that explicitly requires DOJ background checks for career firefighters. While most, if not all career fire fighters are in fact subjected to a background check, this appears to occur either because of the discretion of the individual fire department or company or because firefighters must be certified as EMTs. (Health & Saf. § 1797.117, subd. (a).)
   

AB 163 (Jeffries), of the 2011-2012 Legislative Session, would have required applicants for a position with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection to undergo a background check. That measure failed. Given the lack law requiring background checks for career firefighters, and an apparent need for volunteers, this bill may be unnecessary.

1. Prior Legislation:
   
   1. AB 163 (Jeffries), of the 2011-2012 Legislative Session, would have required DOJ background checks for persons applying for positions with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. AB 163 failed passage in the Assembly Natural Resources Committee.
      
   2. AB 2917 (Torrico), Chapter 274, Statutes of 2008, required DOJ background checks for emergency medical technicians.
      
   3. SB 1207 (Romero) Chapter 807 Statutes of 2001, extended California Occupational Safety and Health (Cal-OSHA) safety standards for volunteer firefighters.
      

REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:

Support

None

Opposition

None

Analysis Prepared by:

Matthew Fleming / PUB. S. / (916) 319-3744