CO SB080

Establishes conducting investigations of wildland fires as a duty of the Division of Fire Prevention and Control within the Department of Public Safety

Creates the Fire Origin and Cause Investigation Fund in the state treasury, funded by general assembly appropriations, gifts, grants, donations, and automatic annual transfers of $1,400,000 from the general fund beginning July 1, 2022

Fund money supports state costs for local fire department investigation assistance, reimbursement of non-division fire investigators at established rates, accurate collection and analysis of fire origin and cause data, and use of that data to prevent or mitigate future fires

Appropriates $1,400,000 for fiscal year 2022-23, allocated as $1,293,666 for wildland fire investigations (10.0 FTE) and $106,334 for vehicle services

Requires annual reporting to the wildfire matters review committee on the number of wildland fire investigations conducted and status or results of completed investigations