Colorado § 24-33.5-1238 - Fire investigation fund - created - rules.

§ 24-33.5-1238. Fire investigation fund - created - rules.

(1) The fire investigation fund, referred to in this section as the "fund", is hereby created in the state treasury. The fund consists of any money that may be appropriated to the fund by the general assembly, all private and public money received through gifts, grants, or donations that are transmitted to the state treasurer and credited to the fund, and money transferred to the fund pursuant to subsection (4) of this section. The state treasurer shall credit all interest and income derived from the deposit and investment of money in the fund to the fund.

(2) (a) Subject to annual appropriation by the general assembly, the division may expend money from the fund to investigate the causes and origins of fires in the state and to:

(I) Fund state costs associated with providing support to local fire departments in investigating the cause and origin of fires;

(II) Reimburse fire investigators who are not employed by the division but are acting under the direction and coordination of the division at an established rate for assisting in fire cause and origin investigations outside of jurisdiction;

(III) Ensure fire origin and cause data is accurately collected, analyzed, and disseminated; and

(IV) Utilize the data collected as set forth in this section to more effectively prevent or mitigate future fires.

(b) The division shall prioritize the use of money from the fund for fire investigations including but not limited to wildland, structural, vehicle, and other fires, subject to the availability of additional resources and money for such use; except that investigation of all wildland fires must be first prioritized for use of the money expended from the fund.

(3) The director may adopt rules as necessary to implement this section.

(4) The general assembly shall annually appropriate sufficient funds, as determined by the general assembly in the annual general appropriations act, from the general fund to the fund for use by the division to defray the costs to the division in implementing the provisions set forth in subsection (2) of this section.

Source: L. 2023: Entire section added, (SB 23-013), ch. 173, p. 851, § 2, effective May 12.