Fire protection grant council; duties.

A. The "fire protection grant council" is created. The council consists of: (1) a representative of the New Mexico municipal league; (2) a representative of the New Mexico association of counties; (3) two members appointed by the fire services council, who shall serve at the pleasure of the council; (4) three members, one from each congressional district, appointed by the governor who shall serve at the pleasure of the governor; and (5) the marshal, who shall serve as a nonvoting advisory member. The council shall elect a chair and vice chair from its membership. B. The public members are entitled to receive per diem and mileage as provided in the Per Diem and Mileage Act [10-8-1 through 10-8-8 NMSA 1978] and shall receive no other compensation, perquisite or allowance. C. The council shall develop criteria for assessing the critical needs of municipal fire departments and county fire districts for: (1) fire apparatus and equipment; (2) communications equipment; (3) equipment for wildfires; (4) fire station construction or expansion; (5) equipment for hazardous material response; (6) stipends for volunteer firefighters; and (7) recruiting and retention programs for volunteer firefighters. D. Applications for grant assistance from the fire protection grant fund shall be made by fire districts to the council in accordance with the requirements of the council. Using criteria developed by the council, the council shall evaluate applications and prioritize those applications most in need of grant assistance from the fund. To the extent that money in the fund is available, the council shall award grant assistance for those prioritized applications. E. In awarding grant assistance, the council may require conditions and procedures necessary to ensure that the money is expended in the most prudent manner. F. When considering applications for grant assistance to pay stipends to volunteer firefighters, the council shall: (1) ensure the proposed stipends will comply with the federal Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 and United States department of labor requirements for maintaining volunteer status; (2) require a basic level of training before a volunteer may receive a stipend; (3) consider whether the fire district requires a service commitment from its volunteer firefighters in exchange for stipends; and (4) weight the applications against other criteria or requirements determined by the council.