Brief⁽¹⁾

S.B. 72 would authorize the construction of a memorial in honor of Kansas firefighters. The memorial would be located on the Capitol grounds. Each year the State Fire Marshal would identify the names of firefighters who have lost their lives in the line of duty, so that their names could be inscribed on the memorial. The Secretary of Administration would be authorized to receive grants, gifts, contributions, or bequests for the purpose of financing the construction and upkeep of the memorial. The bill would create the Kansas Firefighters Memorial Fund in the state treasury to receive such gifts or donations. Any expenditures would have to be authorized by the Advisory Committee created by the bill.

The bill would create a nine-member Kansas Firefighters Memorial Advisory Committee composed of representatives of the following groups:

1. Kansas State Firefighters Association;

2. Kansas State Association of Fire Chiefs;

3. Kansas Professional Fire Chiefs Association;

4. Kansas Council of Firefighters;

5. Fire Education Association of Kansas;

6. Kansas Chapter of the International Association of Arson Investigators;

7. Fire Marshal's Association of Kansas;

8. the State Fire Marshal, or a designee; and

9. the Executive Director of the State Historical Society, or a designee.

The representatives of the various fire associations would be appointed by the Governor. The Committee would be advisory to the Director of Architectural Services and the Secretary of Administration with regard to matters concerning the memorial.

Background

S.B. 72 was introduced by Senator Hensley at the request of a number of firefighter associations in Kansas. Representatives of the following groups testified in support of the bill: Kansas State Firefighters Association; the Kansas State Association of Fire Chiefs; the Kansas Professional Fire Chiefs Association; the Fire Service Alliance; and the Parsons and Mission fire departments. There were no opponents.

The Senate Committee amended the bill to include the Executive Director of the State Historical Society as a member of the Advisory Committee.

The House Committee amended the bill to delete the language which required that the memorial be located on the northeast corner of the Statehouse grounds.

The fiscal note prepared by the Division of the Budget estimates that $1,000 to $2,000 per year would be needed for maintenance and landscaping of the memorial.

1. *Supplemental notes are prepared by the Legislative Research Department and do not express legislative intent. The supplemental note and fiscal note for this bill may be accessed on the Internet at http://www.ink.org/public/legislative/bill_search.html.