Committee advances bill lowering deputy fire marshal experience requirement but rejects amendment extending city jurisdiction over schools and state buildings

At its March 11, 2025 meeting, the House Committee on Government voted 4-3 to give Senate Bill 1348 a due-pass recommendation. Senator Gowen sponsored the bill, which reduces hiring requirements for deputy fire marshals and alters permitting timelines to allow smaller cities to use local staff to process certain building permits.

Committee staff summarized the measure as reducing hiring requirements and altering permitting timelines. Senator Gowen said the bill was intended to help rural Arizona communities (those with populations of 30,000 or fewer) move projects forward when state review created delays. Gowen said the bill removes a five-year experience requirement so jurisdictions can hire qualified staff who can be trained on the job.

Dante Mitchell of the Department of Forestry and Fire Management, which houses the state fire marshal's office, testified in opposition to a provision identified as paragraph g in Representative Marquez's amendment. Mitchell said paragraph g “is our primary concern” because it would alter current jurisdictional standards by potentially extending municipal authority to public schools, county buildings and state buildings without the intergovernmental agreement (IGA) process that currently governs such arrangements. Mitchell said the department's preference was to remove paragraph g, and he offered alternative language that would preserve a single state fire code while allowing local participation.

Representative Marquez moved an amendment (dated 03/11/2025 10:47 p.m.) intended to clarify paragraph g; after debate, the committee voted 3-4 and failed to adopt the Marquez amendment. Committee members who spoke raised concerns about local control, the potential for inconsistent jurisdictional standards, and whether cities under 30,000 would be able to verify that a designated person is sufficiently qualified to enforce the state fire code.

After further discussion, the committee recorded a 4-3 vote giving SB1348 a due-pass recommendation. Committee members who pressed for stronger language asked the sponsor to work with the state fire marshal's office on a clarified draft before floor consideration.

The department asked for data on how many intergovernmental agreements currently exist and offered alternative drafting to ensure the state fire code remains the controlling standard. The sponsor agreed to continue negotiations with the department.

The committee’s action advances the bill but leaves unresolved jurisdictional language that the Department of Forestry and Fire Management identified as raising concerns.