Department of State Division of Publications 312 Rosa L. Parks Ave., 8th Floor, Snodgrass/TN Tower Nashville, TN 37243

For Department of State Use Only

Sequence Number:

Phone: 615-741-2650 Rule ID(s): Email: publicaUons.informalion@ln.gov File Date:

Effective Date:

Rulemaking Hearing Rule(s) Filing Form Rulemaking Hearing Rules are rules filed after and as a result of a rulemaking hearing (Tenn. Code Ann. § 4-~205).

Pursuant to Tenn. Code Ann. § 4-~229, any new fee or fee increase promulgated by state agency rule shall take effect on July 1, following the expiration of the ninety (90) day period as provided in § 4-~207. This section shall not apply to rules that implement new fees or fee increases that are promulgated as emergency rules pursuant to § 4-~208(a) and to subsequent rules that make permanent such emergency rules , as amended during the rulemaking process. In addition, this section shall not apply to state agencies that did not, during the preceding two (2) fiscal years, collect fees in an amount sufficient to pay the cost of operating the board, commission or entity in accordance with § 4-29-121 (b) .

Agency/Board/Commission: Division:

Contact Person: Address:

Zip: Phone: Email :

Department of Commerce and Insurance Division of Fire Prevention Leigh Ferguson 500 James Robertson Parkway 37243 615-360-4435 Leigh.j.ferguson@tn.gov

Revision Type {check all that apply): X Amendment

New __ Repeal

Rule(s) (ALL chapters and rules contained in filing must be listed here. If needed, copy and paste additional tables to accommodate multiple chapters. Please make sure that ALL new rule and repealed rule numbers are listed in the chart below. Please enter only ONE Rule Number/Rule Title per row.)

Chaoter Number Chapter Title 0780-02-24 Volunteer Firefiahter Eauipment and Trainina Grant Program Rule Number Rule Title 0780-02-24-.01 Definitions 0780-02-24-.02 Aoolications and Technical Requirements 0780-02-24-.03 Eligibility 0780-02-24-.04 Award Selections

SS-7039 (March 2020) 1 RDA 1693

06-25-209367

6/23/20209/21/2020

Place substance of rules and other info here. Please be sure to include a detailed explanation of the changes being made to the listed rule(s). Statutory authority must be given for each rule change. For information on formatting rules go to https://sos.tn.gov/products/division-publications/rulemaking-guidelines.

The Department has drafted the rule below, as required by T.C.A. § 68-102-154, to determine which grants to award as part of the Volunteer Firefighter Equipment and Training Grant Program for the purchase of firefighting equipment or to meet the local match requirement for federal grants to purchase firefighting equipment and training.

0780-02-24-.01 0780-02-24-.02 0780-02-24-.03 0780-02-24-.04

NEW RULES OF

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE AND INSURANCE DIVISION OF FIRE PREVENTION

CHAPTER 0780-02-24

VOLUNTEER FIREFIGHTER EQUIPMENT AND TRAINING GRANT PROGRAM

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Definitions Applications and Technical Requirements Eligibility Award Selections

0780-02-24-.01 Definitions

(1) "Career Fire Department" means a fire department recognized by the State Fire Marshal's Office, pursuant to T.C.A. § 68-102-304, comprised of fifty-one percent (51 %) or more firefighters employed on a full-time basis.

(2) "Department" means the Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance.

(3) "Federal grants" means any federal discretionary grant program that awards financial assistance to be used for the purpose of the purchase of firefighting equipment and training including, but not limited to, the Federal Emergency Management Agency Assistance to Firefighters Grants (AFG).

(4) "Firefighting equipment" means the equipment used by a firefighter to contain or extinguish fires and to protect the life of the firefighter, other than fire trucks or vehicles.

(5) "Grantee" means an individual or organization that has been awarded financial assistance under one of the federal discretionary grant programs including, but not limited to, AFG, or under the volunteer firefighter equipment and training grant program from the State Fire Marshal's Office.

(6) "Matching funds" means the amount of a project that a grantee agreed to provide in return for being awarded a federal grant.

(7) "Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)" means items compliant with the most current Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) or National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) standards to enhance the operational safety of the firefighter.

(8) "State Fire Marshal" means the Commissioner of the Department of Commerce and Insurance, or designee.

(9) "State Fire Marshal's Office" means the Division of Fire Prevention at the Department of Commerce and Insurance.

SS-7039 (March 2020) 2 RDA 1693

(10) "Volunteer fire department" means a fire department recognized by the State Fire Marshal's Office, pursuant to T.C.A. § 68-102-304, and classified by the Tennessee Fire Incident Reporting System (TFIRS) as a volunteer fire department.

(11) "Volunteer firefighter" means a duly appointed member of a fire department on either a non-pay or part-pay basis who is neither employed in a full-time capacity with the department nor eligible to receive the educational incentive pay issued pursuant to T.C.A. § 4-24-202 as a member of the department. Volunteer firefighters may receive life insurance, health insurance, workmen's compensation insurance, length of service awards, pay per-call or per-hour, or similar compensation.

Authority: T.C.A. § 68-102-154.

0780-02-24-.02 Applications and Technical Requirements

(1) Fire department shall complete applications on forms provided by the State Fire Marshal's Office. The State Fire Marshal's Office will develop a form for the federal matching fund and a form for the firefighter equipment and training grant program. The application for the firefighter equipment and training grant program will include technical requirements established by the State Fire Marshal's Office to be used to determine grant recipients.

(2) In addition to other technical requirements established by the State Fire Marshal's Office and published with the application, preference will also be given to the volunteer fire departments which:

(a) Comply with the fire reporting requirements pursuant to T.C.A. § 68-102-111;

(b) File an annual financial report with the Comptroller of the Treasury pursuant to T.C.A. § 68-102-309; and

(c) Meet the minimum training requirements established in T.C.A § 4-24-112(a)-(e).

(3) Application deadlines will be established annually by the State Fire Marshal's Office based on available funding and will be published on the Department's website.

(4) The applications shall be reviewed in accordance with state law and contracting rules and procedures established by the Central Procurement Office at the Department of General Services.

(5) Applications for matching funds to meet local match requirements for federal grants shall include a copy of the award letter of the federal grant for firefighting equipment.

Authority: T.C.A. §§ 68-102-154, 68-102-304, and 68-102-309.

0780-02-24-.03 Eligibility

(1) To be eligible to receive an award for the volunteer firefighter equipment and training grant program or for the federal matching funds, a volunteer fire department shall:

(a) Be recognized by the State Fire Marshal's Office, pursuant to T.C.A. § 68-102-304; and

(b) Be classified as a volunteer fire department by the Tennessee Fire Incident Reporting System (TFIRS).

Authority: T.C.A. § 68-102-154.

0780-02-24-.04 Award Selections

(1) The grant award selection committee shall be comprised of seven (7) members: three (3) representatives from the Tennessee Fire Chief's Association, three (3) representatives from the Tennessee Firemen's Association, and the Assistant Commissioner of Fire Prevention. The representatives from the Associations shall be from the three (3) grand divisions of the state and shall serve for staggered terms not to exceed three (3) years.

SS-7039 (March 2020) 3 RDA 1693

(2) The total amount of grants awarded annually must be divided equally among the three (3) grand divisions of the state.

(3) The committee will prioritize awarding grants for matching funds.

(4) The Commissioner shall endeavor to award all funds appropriated to the program each year, and any funds remaining will not revert to the general fund but will remain available for expenditure in subsequent fiscal years pursuant to T.C.A. § 68-102-154(d).

Authority: T.C.A. § 68-102-154.

SS-7039 (March 2020) 4 RDA 1693

* If a roll-call vote was necessary, the vote by the Agency on these rulemaking hearing rules was as follows:

Board Member Aye No Abstain Absent Signature (if reauired)

I certify that this is an accurate and complete copy of rulemaking hearing rules, lawfully promulgated and adopted by the Commissioner (board/commission/other authority) on May 13, 2020(mm/dd/yyyy), and is in compliance with the provisions of T.C.A. § 4-5-222.

I further certify the following:

Notice of Rulemaking Hearing filed with the Department of State on: December 30, 2019

Rulemaking Hearing(s) Conducted on: (add more dates). February 28, 2020

Date: _ J~u_n_4_,_2_0_2_0 _______________ _

Signature: _H_1Mri:~i•_nM_ ._,,d_•(~Ju_r>4~,2_02_01.2!2_ ·_7_CD~'l) ____________ _

Name of Officer: Hodgen Mainda -~------- ------------Title of Officer: Commissioner - --- ---------- ----- --

Agency/Board/Commission: Department of Commerce and Insurance-Division of Fire Prevention

Rule Chapter Number(s): 0780-02-24

All rulemaking hearing rules provided for herein have been examined by the Attorney General and Reporter of the State of Tennessee and are approved as to legality pursuant to the provisions of the Administrative Procedures Act, Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 4, Chapter 5.

Department of State Use Only

Herbert H. lat Attorney General and Reporter

,/u/U>'lA> r T Date

Filed with the Department of State on: ______________ _

Effective on:

SS-7039 (March 2020) 5

---------------

Tre Hargett Secretary of State

RDA 1693

6/23/2020

9/21/2020

Public Hearing Comments

One copy of a document that satisfies T.C.A. § 4-5-222 must accompany the filing.

Deputy Chief David Windrow from Brentwood Fire and Rescue appeared on behalf of the Volunteer Chief Officers Association to support the rules. The Association includes the Fire Chiefs' Association, the TN Fire Safety Inspectors Association, the TN Electrical Service Association the sprinklers' associations and the TN Chapter of the IAAI.

The TN Fireman's Association submitted a letter of support for the rules and expressed gratitude to the General Assembly for acknowledging the needs of the volunteer fire service across the state.

The TN Fire Chiefs' Association submitted a letter of support for the rules thanking Senator Bell and Representative Hill for introducing the legislation to assist volunteer fire departments in serving their communities.

The Department thanks Deputy Chief Windrow and the Associations for the support for the rules.

SS-7039 (March 2020) 6 RDA 1693

Regulatory Flexibility Addendum

Pursuant to T.C.A. §§ 4-5-401 through 4-5-404, prior to initiating the rule making process, all agencies shall conduct a review of whether a proposed rule or rule affects small business.

(Insert statement here)

The rule will not impact small businesses.

SS-7039 (March 2020) 7 RDA 1693

Impact on Local Governments

Pursuant to T.C.A. §§ 4-5-220 and 4-5-228 "any rule proposed to be promulgated shall state in a simple declarative sentence, without additional comments on the merits of the policy of the rules or regulation, whether the rule or regulation may have a projected impact on local governments." (See Public Chapter Number 1070 (http://publications.tnsosfiles.com/acts/106/pub/pc1070.pdf) of the 2010 Session of the General Assembly.)

(Insert statement here)

The rule will impact local governments if the volunteer departments in their jurisdictions receive grant awards.

SS-7039 (March 2020) 8 RDA 1693

Additional Information Required by Joint Government Operations Committee

All agencies, upon filing a rule, must also submit the following pursuant to T.C.A. § 4-5-226(i)(1).

(A) A brief summary of the rule and a description of all relevant changes in previous regulations effectuated by such rule;

The rule establishes guidelines for evaluating grant requests and determine which volunteer fire departments will receive grants pursuant to T.C.A. 68-102-154. This is a new rule after Public Chapter 497 (2019) created the volunteer firefighter equipment and training grant program. The rule explains the application process for the match portion of the grant and the equipment grant directly from the State Fire Marshal's Office. Further, the rules establish a grant award selection committee requiring representation from each grand division.

(B) A citation to and brief description of any federal law or regulation or any state law or regulation mandating promulgation of such rule or establishing guidelines relevant thereto;

T.C.A. 68-102-154 (2019) requires the Commissioner of Commerce and Insurance to promulgate rules to establish guidelines for evaluating grant requests and determine which volunteer fire departments will receive grants.

(C) Identification of persons, organizations, corporations or governmental entities most directly affected by this rule, and whether those persons, organizations, corporations or governmental entities urge adoption or rejection of this rule;

Volunteer fire departments and the communities in Tennessee those departments serve. No volunteer fire de artment has ex ressed ob·ection or ur ed re·ection of this rule.

(D) Identification of any opinions of the attorney general and reporter or any judicial ruling that directly relates to the rule or the necessity to promulgate the rule;

NIA

(E) An estimate of the probable increase or decrease in state and local government revenues and expenditures, if any, resulting from the promulgation of this rule, and assumptions and reasoning upon which the estimate is based. An agency shall not state that the fiscal impact is minimal if the fiscal impact is more than two percent (2%) of the agency's annual budget or five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000), whichever is less;

The fiscal impact is minimal, but if a volunteer fire department does receive a grant award through this program, it ma decrease local ex enditures if mone had been allocated for the volunteer fire de artment.

(F) Identification of the appropriate agency representative or representatives , possessing substantial knowledge and understanding of the rule;

Gary Farley, Assistant Commissioner for Fire Prevention Mary Beth Gribble, Director of Programs and Policy Development Greg Adams, Director of Education and Outreach

(G) Identification of the appropriate agency representative or representatives who will explain the rule at a scheduled meeting of the committees;

Gary Farley, Assistant Commissioner for Fire Prevention Mary Beth Gribble, Director of Programs and Policy Development Greg Adams, Director of Education and Outreach Leigh Ferguson, Chief Counsel for Fire Prevention and Law Enforcement

(H) Office address, telephone number, and email address of the agency representative or representatives who will explain the rule at a scheduled meeting of the committees; and

500 James Robertson Parkway, Nashville, TN 37243 Gary Farley, Assistant Commissioner for Fire Prevention; 615-532-6391; gary.farley@tn.gov Ma Beth Gribble, Director of Pro rams and Polic Develo ment; 615-532-3272· ma beth . ribble SS-7039 (March 2020) 9

Greg Adams, Director of Education and Outreach; 615-532-5844; greg.adams@tn.gov Leigh Ferguson, Chief Counsel for Fire Prevention and Law Enforcement; 615-360-4435; leigh.j.ferguson@tn.gov

(I) Any additional information relevant to the rule proposed for continuation that the committee requests.

In 2020, the Department received 178 applications from volunteer fire department across Tennessee requesting approximately $3.7 million in funding. The initial appropriation from the General Assembly was $500,000 in non­recurring funding to be awarded equally across the grand divisions. On April 9, 2020, the Selection Committee met and selected 41 applications to receive funding, ensuring that the grant distribution funding was equal across the grand divisions. All applications requesting a local match for a federal grant award were approved for funding. After those applications were selected, the Committee reviewed the remaining applications to award the balance of the funding. Applications from volunteer fire departments in distressed counties were given preference with 21 of the 41 awards beinq selected from distressed counties oer Executive Order 1.

SS-7039 (March 2020) 10 RDA 1693

SS-7039 (March 2020) 1 RDA 1693

Department of State Division of Publications 312 Rosa L. Parks Ave., 8th Floor, Snodgrass/TN Tower Nashville, TN 37243 Phone: 615-741-2650 Email: publications.information@tn.gov

For Department of State Use Only

Sequence Number: Rule ID(s): File Date:

Effective Date:

Rulemaking Hearing Rule(s) Filing Form- REDLINE Rulemaking Hearing Rules are rules filed after and as a result of a rulemaking hearing (Tenn. Code Ann. § 4-5-205). Pursuant to Tenn. Code Ann. § 4-5-229, any new fee or fee increase promulgated by state agency rule shall take effect on July 1, following the expiration of the ninety (90) day period as provided in § 4-5-207. This section shall not apply to rules that implement new fees or fee increases that are promulgated as emergency rules pursuant to § 4-5-208(a) and to subsequent rules that make permanent such emergency rules, as amended during the rulemaking process. In addition, this section shall not apply to state agencies that did not, during the preceding two (2) fiscal years, collect fees in an amount sufficient to pay the cost of operating the board, commission or entity in accordance with § 4-29-121(b). Agency/Board/Commission: Department of Commerce and Insurance

Division: Division of Fire Prevention Contact Person: Leigh Ferguson

Address: 500 James Robertson Parkway Zip: 37243

Phone: 615-360-4435 Email: Leigh.j.ferguson@tn.gov

Revision Type (check all that apply): X Amendment New Repeal

Rule(s) (ALL chapters and rules contained in filing must be listed here. If needed, copy and paste additional tables to accommodate multiple chapters. Please make sure that ALL new rule and repealed rule numbers are listed in the chart below. Please enter only ONE Rule Number/Rule Title per row.) Chapter Number Chapter Title 0780-02-24 Volunteer Firefighter Equipment and Training Grant Program Rule Number Rule Title 0780-02-24-.01 Definitions 0780-02-24-.02 Applications and Technical Requirements 0780-02-24-.03 Eligibility 0780-02-24-.04 Award Selections

SS-7039 (March 2020) 2 RDA 1693

Place substance of rules and other info here. Please be sure to include a detailed explanation of the changes being made to the listed rule(s). Statutory authority must be given for each rule change. For information on formatting rules go to https://sos.tn.gov/products/division-publications/rulemaking-guidelines. The Department has drafted the rule below, as required by T.C.A. § 68-102-154, to determine which grants to award as part of the Volunteer Firefighter Equipment and Training Grant Program for the purchase of firefighting equipment or to meet the local match requirement for federal grants to purchase firefighting equipment and training.

NEW RULES OF

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE AND INSURANCE DIVISION OF FIRE PREVENTION

CHAPTER 0780-02-24

VOLUNTEER FIREFIGHTER EQUIPMENT AND TRAINING GRANT PROGRAM

TABLE OF CONTENTS 0780-02-24-.01 Definitions 0780-02-24-.02 Applications and Technical Requirements 0780-02-24-.03 Eligibility 0780-02-24-.04 Award Selections 0780-02-24-.01 Definitions

(1) “Career Fire Department” means a fire department recognized by the State Fire Marshal’s Office,

pursuant to T.C.A. § 68-102-304, comprised of fifty-one percent (51%) or more firefighters employed on a full-time basis.

(2) “Department” means the Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance.

(3) “Federal grants” means any federal discretionary grant program that awards financial assistance to be used for the purpose of the purchase of firefighting equipment and training including, but not limited to, the Federal Emergency Management Agency Assistance to Firefighters Grants (AFG).

(4) “Firefighting equipment” means the equipment used by a firefighter to contain or extinguish fires and to protect the life of the firefighter, other than fire trucks or vehicles.

(5) “Grantee” means an individual or organization that has been awarded financial assistance under one of the federal discretionary grant programs including, but not limited to, AFG, or under the volunteer firefighter equipment and training grant program from the State Fire Marshal’s Office.

(6) “Matching funds” means the amount of a project that a grantee agreed to provide in return for being awarded a federal grant.

(7) “Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)” means items compliant with the most current Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) or National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) standards to enhance the operational safety of the firefighter.

(8) “State Fire Marshal” means the Commissioner of the Department of Commerce and Insurance, or designee.

(9) “State Fire Marshal’s Office” means the Division of Fire Prevention at the Department of

Commerce and Insurance.

SS-7039 (March 2020) 3 RDA 1693

(10) "Volunteer fire department" means a fire department recognized by the State Fire Marshal's Office, pursuant to T.C.A. § 68-102-304, and classified by the Tennessee Fire Incident Reporting System (TFIRS) as a volunteer fire department.

(11) "Volunteer firefighter" means a duly appointed member of a fire department on either a non-pay or part-pay basis who is neither employed in a full-time capacity with the department nor eligible to receive the educational incentive pay issued pursuant to T.C.A. § 4-24-202 as a member of the department. Volunteer firefighters may receive life insurance, health insurance, workmen's compensation insurance, length of service awards, pay per-call or per-hour, or similar compensation.

Authority: T.C.A. § 68-102-154. 0780-02-24-.02 Applications and Technical Requirements

(1) Fire department shall complete applications on forms provided by the State Fire Marshal’s Office. The State Fire Marshal’s Office will develop a form for the federal matching fund and a form for the firefighter equipment and training grant program. The application for the firefighter equipment and training grant program will include technical requirements established by the State Fire Marshal’s Office to be used to determine grant recipients.

(2) In addition to other technical requirements established by the State Fire Marshal’s Office and published with the application, preference will also be given to the volunteer fire departments which: (a) Comply with the fire reporting requirements pursuant to T.C.A. § 68-102-111; (b) File an annual financial report with the Comptroller of the Treasury pursuant to T.C.A. § 68-102- 309; and (c) Meet the minimum training requirements established in T.C.A § 4-24-112(a)-(e).

(3) Application deadlines will be established annually by the State Fire Marshal’s Office based on

available funding and will be published on the Department’s website.

(4) The applications shall be reviewed in accordance with state law and contracting rules and procedures established by the Central Procurement Office at the Department of General Services.

(5) Applications for matching funds to meet local match requirements for federal grants shall include a copy of the award letter of the federal grant for firefighting equipment.

Authority: T.C.A. §§ 68-102-154, 68-102-304, and 68-102-309. 0780-02-24-.03 Eligibility

(1) To be eligible to receive an award for the volunteer firefighter equipment and training grant program or for the federal matching funds, a volunteer fire department shall: (a) Be recognized by the State Fire Marshal's Office, pursuant to T.C.A. § 68-102-304; and (b) Be classified as a volunteer fire department by the Tennessee Fire Incident Reporting System (TFIRS).

Authority: T.C.A. § 68-102-154. 0780-02-24-.04 Award Selections

(1) The grant award selection committee shall be comprised of seven (7) members: three (3) representatives from the Tennessee Fire Chief’s Association, three (3) representatives from the Tennessee Firemen’s Association, and the Assistant Commissioner of Fire Prevention. The representatives from the Associations shall be from the three (3) grand divisions of the state and shall serve for staggered terms not to exceed three (3) years.

SS-7039 (March 2020) 4 RDA 1693

(2) The total amount of grants awarded annually must be divided equally among the three (3) grand

divisions of the state.

(3) The committee will prioritize awarding grants for matching funds.

(4) The Commissioner shall endeavor to award all funds appropriated to the program each year, and any funds remaining will not revert to the general fund but will remain available for expenditure in subsequent fiscal years pursuant to T.C.A. § 68-102-154(d). Authority: T.C.A. § 68-102-154.

SS-7039 (March 2020) 5 RDA 1693

* If a roll-call vote was necessary, the vote by the Agency on these rulemaking hearing rules was as follows: Board Member Aye No Abstain Absent Signature

(if required) I certify that this is an accurate and complete copy of rulemaking hearing rules, lawfully promulgated and adopted by the Commissioner (board/commission/other authority) on May 13, 2020(mm/dd/yyyy), and is in compliance with the provisions of T.C.A. § 4-5-222. I further certify the following: Notice of Rulemaking Hearing filed with the Department of State on: December 30, 2019

Rulemaking Hearing(s) Conducted on: (add more dates). February 28, 2020

Date:

Signature:

Name of Officer: Hodgen Mainda

Title of Officer: Commissioner Agency/Board/Commission: Rule Chapter Number(s): All rulemaking hearing rules provided for herein have been examined by the Attorney General and Reporter of the State of Tennessee and are approved as to legality pursuant to the provisions of the Administrative Procedures Act, Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 4, Chapter 5.

______________________________

Herbert H. Slatery III Attorney General and Reporter

______________________________ Date

Department of State Use Only

Filed with the Department of State on:

Effective on:

_________________________________ Tre Hargett

Secretary of State

SS-7039 (March 2020) 6 RDA 1693

Public Hearing Comments One copy of a document that satisfies T.C.A. § 4-5-222 must accompany the filing. Deputy Chief David Windrow from Brentwood Fire and Rescue appeared on behalf of the Volunteer Chief Officers Association to support the rules. The Association includes the Fire Chiefs’ Association, the TN Fire Safety Inspectors Association, the TN Electrical Service Association the sprinklers’ associations and the TN Chapter of the IAAI. The TN Fireman’s Association submitted a letter of support for the rules and expressed gratitude to the General Assembly for acknowledging the needs of the volunteer fire service across the state. The TN Fire Chiefs’ Association submitted a letter of support for the rules thanking Senator Bell and Representative Hill for introducing the legislation to assist volunteer fire departments in serving their communities. The Department thanks Deputy Chief Windrow and the Associations for the support for the rules.

SS-7039 (March 2020) 7 RDA 1693

Regulatory Flexibility Addendum Pursuant to T.C.A. §§ 4-5-401 through 4-5-404, prior to initiating the rule making process, all agencies shall conduct a review of whether a proposed rule or rule affects small business. (Insert statement here) The rule will not impact small businesses.

SS-7039 (March 2020) 8 RDA 1693

Impact on Local Governments Pursuant to T.C.A. §§ 4-5-220 and 4-5-228 “any rule proposed to be promulgated shall state in a simple declarative sentence, without additional comments on the merits of the policy of the rules or regulation, whether the rule or regulation may have a projected impact on local governments.” (See Public Chapter Number 1070 (http://publications.tnsosfiles.com/acts/106/pub/pc1070.pdf) of the 2010 Session of the General Assembly.) (Insert statement here) The rule will impact local governments if the volunteer departments in their jurisdictions receive grant awards.

SS-7039 (March 2020) 9 RDA 1693

Additional Information Required by Joint Government Operations Committee All agencies, upon filing a rule, must also submit the following pursuant to T.C.A. § 4-5-226(i)(1). (A) A brief summary of the rule and a description of all relevant changes in previous regulations effectuated by

such rule;

The rule establishes guidelines for evaluating grant requests and determine which volunteer fire departments will receive grants pursuant to T.C.A. 68-102-154. This is a new rule after Public Chapter 497 (2019) created the volunteer firefighter equipment and training grant program. The rule explains the application process for the match portion of the grant and the equipment grant directly from the State Fire Marshal’s Office. Further, the rules establish a grant award selection committee requiring representation from each grand division. (B) A citation to and brief description of any federal law or regulation or any state law or regulation mandating

promulgation of such rule or establishing guidelines relevant thereto;

T.C.A. 68-1002-154 (2019) requires the Commissioner of Commerce and Insurance to promulgate rules to establish guidelines for evaluating grant requests and determine which volunteer fire departments will receive grants. (C) Identification of persons, organizations, corporations or governmental entities most directly affected by this

rule, and whether those persons, organizations, corporations or governmental entities urge adoption or rejection of this rule;

Volunteer fire departments and the communities in Tennessee those departments serve. No volunteer fire department has expressed objection or urged rejection of this rule. (D) Identification of any opinions of the attorney general and reporter or any judicial ruling that directly relates to

the rule or the necessity to promulgate the rule; N/A (E) An estimate of the probable increase or decrease in state and local government revenues and expenditures,

if any, resulting from the promulgation of this rule, and assumptions and reasoning upon which the estimate is based. An agency shall not state that the fiscal impact is minimal if the fiscal impact is more than two percent (2%) of the agency's annual budget or five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000), whichever is less;

The fiscal impact is minimal, but if a volunteer fire department does receive a grant award through this program, it may decrease local expenditures if money had been allocated for the volunteer fire department. (F) Identification of the appropriate agency representative or representatives, possessing substantial knowledge

and understanding of the rule; Gary Farley, Assistant Commissioner for Fire Prevention Mary Beth Gribble, Director of Programs and Policy Development Greg Adams, Director of Education and Outreach (G) Identification of the appropriate agency representative or representatives who will explain the rule at a

scheduled meeting of the committees; Gary Farley, Assistant Commissioner for Fire Prevention Mary Beth Gribble, Director of Programs and Policy Development Greg Adams, Director of Education and Outreach Leigh Ferguson, Chief Counsel for Fire Prevention and Law Enforcement (H) Office address, telephone number, and email address of the agency representative or representatives who

will explain the rule at a scheduled meeting of the committees; and 500 James Robertson Parkway, Nashville, TN 37243 Gary Farley, Assistant Commissioner for Fire Prevention; 615-532-6391; gary.farley@tn.gov Mary Beth Gribble, Director of Programs and Policy Development; 615-532-3272; marybeth.gribble@tn.gov

SS-7039 (March 2020) 10 RDA 1693

Greg Adams, Director of Education and Outreach; 615-532-5844; greg.adams@tn.gov Leigh Ferguson, Chief Counsel for Fire Prevention and Law Enforcement; 615-360-4435; leigh.j.ferguson@tn.gov (I) Any additional information relevant to the rule proposed for continuation that the committee requests.

In 2020, the Department received 178 applications from volunteer fire department across Tennessee requesting approximately $3.7 million in funding. The initial appropriation from the General Assembly was $500,000 in non-recurring funding to be awarded equally across the grand divisions. On April 9, 2020, the Selection Committee met and selected 41 applications to receive funding, ensuring that the grant distribution funding was equal across the grand divisions. All applications requesting a local match for a federal grant award were approved for funding. After those applications were selected, the Committee reviewed the remaining applications to award the balance of the funding. Applications from volunteer fire departments in distressed counties were given preference with 21 of the 41 awards being selected from distressed counties per Executive Order 1.