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A BILL to amend the Code of Virginia by adding in Title 9.1 a chapter numbered 16, consisting of a section numbered
9.1-1600
, relating to Emergency Response Exposure Grant Fund and Program.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. That the Code of Virginia is amended by adding in Title 9.1 a chapter numbered 16, consisting of a section numbered
9.1-1600
, as follows:
CHAPTER
16
.
EMERGENCY RESPONSE EXPOSURE GRANT FUND AND PROGRAM.
§
9.1-1600
.
Emergency Response
Exposure
Grant
Fund
and Program
.
A.
As used in this
chapter
:
"Eligible emergency responder" means
(i)
a
firefighter,
a
law
-
enforcement
officer
,
an
emergency medical service
s
responder,
or
hazardous materials personnel
that is either
employed by a locality or
performing such services as a
bona fide volunteer for a locality
and responds to a qualifying emergency
;
(i
i
) any other local government employee responding to a qualifying emergency
, including public works and animal control personnel
;
and
(iii)
an
employee of the
Virginia State Police, Virginia Department of Emergency Management, Virginia Department of Transportation,
or
Virginia Department of Fire Programs
that respond
s
to a qualifying emergency
.
"Event of unusual risk" means an emergency incident
(i) that significantly impacts the life and safety of responders, the general public, or critical infrastructure
in the Commonwealth
;
(ii)
for which incident site practices are implemented to manage overall risk, including establishing incident exclusion zones
and directives to utilize protective equipment provided by the jurisdictional authority
;
(iii) where tactical operations and needs in the incident exclusion zone
must be identified and
assigned to responders
;
and (
i
v)
that
may involve
situations of
(a) large amounts of toxic materials
requiring emergency planning, such as
an emergency action plan required by the
U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration
(29 C.F.R.
§
1910.38)
or
the planning requirements of the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (40 C
.
F
.
R
.
P
art
355
,
Subpart B)
, (b) certain dangerous materials regulated by the U.S. Department of Transportation
's
Pipeline
and Hazardous Materials
Safety Administration, (c) any
Group 1
materials or chemicals identified by the
International Agency for Research on Cancer as carcinogenic to humans, or (d) any unusual or highly specialized chemicals used in research, high-tech, or military applications that are toxic
.
"
Qualifying
emergency" means an emergency incident where eligible emergency responders are exposed to an event of unusual risk.
B.
There is hereby created
in the state treasury a special nonreverting fund to be known as the
Emergency Response
Exposure
Grant
Fund, referred to in this section as "the Fund." The Fund shall be established on the books of the Comptroller. All funds appropriated for such purpose and any gifts, donations, grants, bequests, and other funds received on its behalf shall be paid into the state treasury and credited to the Fund. Interest earned on moneys in the Fund shall remain in the Fund and be credited to it. Any moneys remaining in the Fund, including interest thereon, at the end of each fiscal year shall not revert to the general fund but shall remain in the Fund. Moneys in the Fund shall be used solely for the purposes
of
(i)
award
ing grants
to localities
for eligible emergency responders
through the Emergency Response E
xposure Grant Program and (ii) implementing and administering such grant program as provided
in subsection
C
. Expenditures and disbursements from the Fund shall be made by the State Treasurer on warrants issued by the Comptroller upon written request signed by
the Executive Director of the Department of Fire Programs.
C
.
1.
The Emergency Response Exposure Grant Program
(the Program)
is hereby established for the purpose of awarding grants from such funds as may be available from the Fund to
localities for providing support to
eligible emergency responders
to
qualifying emergencies
. The
P
rogram shall be administered by the Department
of Fire Programs
. In administering the
P
rogram, the Department
of Fire Programs
shall establish and publish guidelines and criteria for grant awards
subject to appropriation
, including guidelines and criteria
that determine grant
eligibility based on types of qualifying emergencies
and
application requirements for
eligible emergency
responders
.
2.
Grant awards shall, at a minimum,
be used for
annual cancer screenings for eligible
emergency
responders and
to
provide financial support for
health care
expenses
in the event such
responders
develop cancer
from toxic material exposure
in a qualifying emergency
.
Grant awards may be used to provide financial support for out
-
of
-
pocket medical expenses incurred by an eligible emergency responder
due
to a qualifying emergency
after deducting any
workers' compensation, insurance, and any other local, state, or federal
benefits
received by an eligible emergency responder.
The Department
of Fire Programs
shall oversee each grant awarded through the
P
rogram and ensure thorough reporting on each such grant.
2. That for purposes of the Emergency Response Exposure Grant Fund and Program established pursuant to §
9.1-1600
of the Code of Virginia, as created by this act, the 2012 incident in which a United States Navy jet crashed into a Virginia Beach apartment complex shall be a qualifying emergency as defined in §
9.1-1600
of the Code of Virginia, as created by this act, for which grant funding may be available.
3. That for purposes of the Emergency Response Exposure Grant Fund and Program established pursuant to §
9.1-1600
of the Code of Virginia, as created by this act, and except as provided in the second enactment of this act, localities shall have six months from the date applications for such Program are made available by the Virginia Department of Fire Programs to apply for grant funding for a qualifying emergency as defined in §
9.1-1600
of the Code of Virginia, as created by this act, that occurred before July 1, 2026.