Conferees debate placement and selection process for state fire marshal in HB1064; community risk fund also on the table

Conference conferees on House Bill 1064 spent the meeting identifying three central policy questions: where to place the Office of the State Fire Marshal, how the state fire marshal should be selected, and whether to create a community risk special reduction fund.

House conferees said the three issues are: placement of the Office of the State Fire Marshal either in the Department of Law Enforcement or within the Governor’s Office; whether to create a State Fire Marshal Selection Commission whose members would be selected in part by the Senate with advice and consent, or to retain an advisory board as the House prefers; and whether to create a community risk special reduction fund.

House conferees told the committee, “there really are 3 major, policy questions that we're trying to answer,” and asked for time to consult with committee members and prepare a corrected comparison sheet. The House presenter apologized for mistakes in an earlier comparison and said a corrected comparison sheet would be provided to members; a hard copy was offered in addition to posting to committee computer systems.

Senate chair Senator Elefante and House conferees agreed to reconvene at 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday, April 23, to allow the House time to consult with members and circulate a corrected comparison sheet and a draft language.

No formal action was taken on HB1064 during the April 22 session; conferees did not adopt final placement or selection language and did not decide on the fund. The next conference meeting was scheduled to continue negotiation.