HB 113-ALASKA FIRE STANDARDS COUNCIL  8:20:07 AM CHAIR LYNN announced that the next order of business was HOUSE BILL NO. 113, "An Act relating to the membership of the Alaska Fire Standards Council." 8:20:22 AM MICHAEL PASCHALL, Staff, Representative Eric Feige, Alaska State Legislature, presented HB 113 on behalf of Representative Feige, sponsor. He disclosed that he is an assistant chief of a fire department and Representative Feige is a chief of a fire department; therefore, either of them could have some interaction with the Alaska Fire Standards Council. He read the mission statement of the Alaska Fire Standards Council, as follows: To establish professional standards for fire service personnel, and curriculum requirements for the certification of training programs. MR. PASCHALL said the council consists of two chief administrative officers from fire departments of local government; four representatives of fire fighters, including one from the Alaska [State] Fire Fighters Association; two volunteer fire fighters - one from a large community and one from a small community; two members of the public - one from a large community and one from a small community; and one representative of the Alaska State Fire Marshall's Office. The proposed legislation would specify that one of the four fire fighters will be a representative of the Alaska Professional Fire Fighters' Association (APFA), which represents approximately 500 career fire fighters in Alaska and is associated with the International Association of Firefighters. Further, HB 113 would add an additional member of the council who would represent the Alaska Fire Chiefs Association; a membership organization representing fire chiefs in Alaska. MR. PASCHALL stated the purposed of the proposed bill is to ensure the three statewide organizations, which represent the majority of fire fighters in Alaska, will have an opportunity to be represented in their official capacity on the council. Currently, one of the organizations is represented, but the other two are not. He noted that he had provided information about the council in the committee packet, including the current membership and a list of some of certification programs. He relayed that a council member is available via teleconference to answer questions. 8:23:01 AM MR. PASCHALL continued: There was a slight change in the wording, beginning in Section 1, ... page 1, line 5: Because the current standards call for the two fire chiefs and, thus, the addition of the third fire chief to be from a municipal fire department, ... we felt like that ... excluded certain fire chiefs, because in some cases - for example, in many of our boroughs - the fire chief is actually a representative of a private, non-profit organization under contract with the borough. CHAIR LYNN offered his understanding that essentially the same bill was offered last year. MR. PASCHALL stated that the bill offered last year, by Representative Craig Johnson, did not include that provision. He revealed that he had "caught in the process," and he said the council, as well as the other organizations all agreed that that was an appropriate change to make. 8:23:59 AM MR. PASCHALL continued: ... The membership composition is ... slightly altered for the [Alaska State] Firefighters Association, because the original wording said "firefighter administrative officer" from that organization. The organization would like to be able to recommend to the governor an appointment of any of their membership that they choose to represent them at the [Alaska] Fire Standards Council. And ... also, it adds a member, as already stated, of the Alaska Professional Firefighters Association, and then finally, on page 2, it adds a member of the Alaska Fire Chiefs Association. MR. PASCHALL stated that Section 2 of the bill would add a new subsection defining how members are appointed; the governor would appoint them from a list of three individuals submitted by each of the organizations. He said, "So, the governor is still making the appointment, but the membership organizations are making a recommendation to the governor on who to appoint out of their membership." Mr. Paschall explained the significance of members being appointed via this recommendation system is that it would give a broader depth of representation on the committee. 8:26:11 AM JEFF TUCKER, Fire Chief, Northstar Volunteer Fire Department (NVFD), testified on behalf of the Alaska Fire Chiefs Association in support of HB 113. He said the proposed bill would include representation of all three of the major fire service organizations in Alaska. He echoed Mr. Paschall's statement that the proposed legislation would give a voice to those associations that represent membership across the state, and he said this is important to the association's 100 members. 8:27:09 AM REPRESENTATIVE ISAACSON asked if the additional representation on the council would cost the state or be absorbed by the association. MR. TUCKER offered his understanding that a previous bill addressing this issue included a fiscal note, which was just a few hundred dollars. He said, "That is something that can be absorbed through the [Alaska] Fire Standards Council['s] current funding." 8:28:23 AM BUDDY LANE, Chair, Alaska Fire Standards Council (AFSC), testified that the council is in support of HB 113. He stated, "We've worked with these organizations in the past, and we feel that they bring something to the table for us, and we look forward to having them on the council." He deferred comment regarding the fiscal note to Gordon Descutner, the executive director of the council. 8:29:28 AM ROBERT DENNARD, Alaska State Firefighters Association (ASFA); Member, Alaska Fire Standards Council (AFSC), testified on behalf of ASFA in support of HB 113. He related that ASFA represents approximately 1,500 fire fighters throughout Alaska and supports "the change to this bill, as well." 8:30:00 AM GORDON DESCUTNER, Executive Director, Alaska Fire Standards Council (AFSC), in response to a previous question, said the fiscal note would address the additional cost of having the extra seats added to the council under HB 113. He related that at this point in time, the council has seen a significant increase in the cost of travel. He said the total of the fiscal note identified is approximately $2,300. 8:30:53 AM MR. DESCUTER, in response to Representative Isaacson, said it would not be appropriate to hold one entity accountable for its travel costs to council meetings when the council is responsible for all other council members; therefore, the council is requesting funding for the additional $2,300. 8:31:47 AM TOM WESCOTT, President, Alaska Professional Fire Fighters Association (AKPFFA), stated that [the association] has worked with the council and the fire chiefs to gain their unanimous support of HB 113, with the overall goal of enhancing the council. 8:32:26 AM CHAIR LYNN, after ascertaining that there was no one else who wished to testify, closed public testimony. 8:32:48 AM REPRESENTATIVE KELLER moved to report HB 113 out of committee with individual recommendations and the accompanying fiscal notes. There being no objection, HB 113 was reported out of the House State Affairs Standing Committee.