ASSEMBLY LAW AND PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE

STATEMENT TO

ASSEMBLY, No. 706

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

DATED: MARCH 3, 1997

      The Assembly Law and Public Safety Committee reports favorably Assembly Bill No. 706.

      Assembly Bill No. 706 requires paid or part-paid, full-time members of a fire department or municipal fire district to satisfactorily complete within six months of a promotion to supervisory positions other than chief a training program formulated or approved by the Division of Fire Safety in the Department of Community Affairs. The curriculum is to be based on National Fire Protection Association Standard 1021 and consist of 160 hours of instruction offered in central locations throughout the State over a period of at least four weeks. Any modules of the course that are initially failed must be retaken until passed.

      Within six months of a promotion to battalion chief or deputy chief, a full-time fire officer must also be certified as having completed a nationally recognized hazardous materials on-scene incident command course.

      The bill does not require volunteer firefighters promoted to the relevant supervisory positions to complete these training courses, but the training must be made available to volunteers who wish to participate. Only firefighters who have been promoted after the enactment of this bill are subject to its provisions.

      The State is responsible for covering the expenses associated with this training, including the cost of food and lodging at training facilities and travel expenses that would not have otherwise been incurred in the normal course of employment. The bill appropriates $500,000 from the General Fund to the Division of Fire Safety for this purpose.

      This bill was pre-filed for introduction in the 1996 legislative session pending technical review. As reported, the bill includes the changes required by technical review which has been performed.