Connecticut HB 5460: AN ACT CONCERNING HEALTH INSURANCE COVERAGE FOR AMBULANCE SERVICES.

Bill Text

Substitute House Bill No. 5460

Public Act No. 26-144

AN ACT CONCERNING STATE-WIDE FIRE PROTECTION.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:

Section 1. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2026) (a) As used in this section:
(1) "Entity" has the same meaning as provided in section 20-474 of the
general statutes;
(2) "Fire protection" means the prevention and suppression of fires,
the investigation of the origin and cause of fires, the response to
hazardous materials incidents and technical rescues;
(3) "Municipality" has the same meaning as provided in section 7-148
of the general statutes;
(4) "District or subdivision" includes any entity or subdivision of a
municipality with a responsibility for fire protection services pursuant
to statute, charter or ordinance; and
(5) "National Emergency Response Information System" means the
national data system developed or designated by the United States Fire
Administration, or its successor system, for the collection, reporting and
analysis of fire and emergency incident data.

Substitute House Bill No. 5460

Public Act No. 26-144 2 of 19

(b) On or before July 1, 2027, and annually thereafter, each fire
protection entity responsible for providing fire protection services
within one or more of the geographic areas of a municipality shall
register with such municipality. Such registration shall include, but
need not be limited to, the demographic information of the geographic
area served by such entity and the name and contact information of such
entity. Such entity shall file amendments to the registration reporting
any material change to the information contained in such registration
not later than thirty days after the entity knows or should know of such
material change.
(c) Each municipality shall enter such registration and the
demographic and contact information related to such entities in the
National Emergency Response Information System. The municipality
shall maintain and review such demographic and contact information
not less than annually.
(d) On or before July 1, 2027, each municipality shall establish a local
fire protection plan and submit such plan to the chief elected officer,
legislative body and emergency management director of such
municipality. Each municipality may submit such plan to the State Fire
Administrator, unless the Commission on Fire Prevention and Control
requires the submission of such plan to the State Fire Administrator
pursuant to subsection (b) of section 7-323l, in which case such plan shall
be submitted in the form and manner specified by the commission. Such
plan shall include, but need not be limited to:
(1) A general statement of how fire protection services are provided
within the municipality;
(2) A disclosure of the districts or subdivisions responsible for fire
protection services throughout all geographic areas within the
municipality;

Substitute House Bill No. 5460

Public Act No. 26-144 3 of 19

(3) The name of each fire protection entity responsible for providing
fire protection services within one or more of the geographic areas of
such municipality;
(4) A description of any written agreements or contracts between the
municipality and the entities that provide fire protection services to the
municipality;
(5) An identification of the specific geographic boundaries of the
areas within the municipality that are served by each entity that
provides fire protection services to the municipality;
(6) The name of the person, including, but not limited to, the fire chief,
responsible for each fire protection entity that provides fire protection
services to the municipality;
(7) A description of the fire protection performance standards to
which the municipality adheres, including, but not limited to, response
times, minimum fireground staffing levels and apparatus requirements;
(8) A description of the process used for collecting and tracking
personnel and response data, including, but not limited to, any software
used; and
(9) A description of any mutual aid agreements to which the
municipality is a party.
(e) If, pursuant to the provisions of subsection (b) of section 7-323l of
the general statutes, as amended by this act, the Commission on Fire
Prevention and Control establishes a standardized protocol, the State
Fire Administrator shall, not less than once every five years, review and
assign a rating to each local fire protection plan submitted to the State
Fire Administrator pursuant to subsection (c) of this section in
accordance with such standardized protocol. The State Fire
Administrator (1) may require any municipality whose local fire

Substitute House Bill No. 5460

Public Act No. 26-144 4 of 19

protection plan is assigned an unsatisfactory rating to submit a
performance improvement plan not later than ninety days after the
assignment of such unsatisfactory rating, and (2) shall assist such
municipality with the development of such performance improvement
plan.
(f) On and