(a) A program, known as the volunteer firefighter equipment and training grant program, is created to annually provide grants to select volunteer fire departments to be used for the purchase of firefighting equipment or to meet local match requirements of federal grants for the purchase of firefighting equipment and training.
Terms Used In Tennessee Code 68-102-154
Appropriation: The provision of funds, through an annual appropriations act or a permanent law, for federal agencies to make payments out of the Treasury for specified purposes. The formal federal spending process consists of two sequential steps: authorization
Fiscal year: The fiscal year is the accounting period for the government. For the federal government, this begins on October 1 and ends on September 30. The fiscal year is designated by the calendar year in which it ends; for example, fiscal year 2006 begins on October 1, 2005 and ends on September 30, 2006.
(b) It is the legislative intent to fund the program by providing a sum-sufficient appropriation in each fiscal year‘s annual appropriation bill.(c) The commissioner of commerce and insurance shall promulgate rules in accordance with the Uniform Administrative Procedures Act, compiled in title 4, chapter 5, to establish guidelines for evaluating grant requests and determining which volunteer fire departments will receive grants.(d) The commissioner of commerce and insurance shall decide which grants to award and disburse the grants to the selected volunteer fire departments. The total amount of grants awarded each year must be equally divided among the three (3) grand divisions of the state. The commissioner shall endeavor to expend all funds appropriated to the program each year, and any funds remaining will not revert to the general fund but remain available for expenditure in subsequent fiscal years.(e) As used in this section:
(1) “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; and(2) “Volunteer fire department” means a fire department recognized by the state fire marshal’s office, pursuant to § 68-102-304, and classified by the Tennessee Fire Incident Reporting System (TFIRS) as a volunteer fire department.
