There is hereby created and established a State Forestry Commission, hereinafter referred to as commission, which commission shall be composed of seven members to be appointed by the Governor with the advice and consent of the Senate. Two members shall be appointed for a period of one year, two for a period of two years, two for a period of four years and the remaining member for a period of five years. Upon the expiration of said terms, appointments thereafter shall be for a period of five years and until their respective successors in office have been appointed and qualified. At all times at least two of such members shall be licensed and registered foresters under the laws of Alabama. At all times at least three of such members shall be owners of timberland in Alabama.

(a) There is hereby established an Emergency Forest Fire, Insect and Disease Fund into which there is automatically appropriated $180,000.00 annually at the beginning of each state fiscal year. The state Comptroller shall transfer said moneys from the General Fund to such emergency fund annually at the beginning of each state fiscal year. Said emergency fund shall not exceed a total accumulated amount of $1,000,000.00. The moneys in said fund may be expended from time to time to meet emergency forest fire, insect and disease needs as deemed necessary by the State Forester and Governor. The moneys expended from said fund for such emergency needs shall be automatically replenished and are hereby appropriated from the General Fund annually to the extent of $180,000.00 per year at the beginning of each state fiscal year until the said $1,000,000.00 ceiling is reached. The state Comptroller shall make the transfer to replenish the funds within a period of one week following the commencement of each state fiscal year.

(b) The moneys appropriated herein may be expended for salaries, capital expenditures or any other category of expenditures deemed necessary by the State Forester for emergency forest fire, insect and disease suppression and control. This money shall be conditional upon approval of the Governor.

There is hereby created a fund in the State Treasury to be known as the Alabama Forestry Commission Fund. All money derived by the commission shall be deposited to the credit of said fund.

The State Forester is hereby authorized and required to create a steering committee to represent rural community fire departments.

Said steering committee shall be composed of 13 members; one from each of the 10 administrative districts of the Alabama Forestry Commission, one member from the Alabama Association of Volunteer Fire Departments, one member from the Alabama Association of Fire Chiefs and one member from the Alabama Firemen's Association. The President of the Alabama Association of Fire Chiefs shall appoint one member of his association to serve on the committee, the President of the Alabama Association of Volunteer Fire Departments shall appoint one member of his association to serve on the committee, and the President of the Alabama Firemen's Association shall appoint a member of his association to serve on the committee. The State Forester shall appoint the remaining committee members from each administrative district of the Alabama Forestry Commission, with each such member being a volunteer fireman. All members shall serve at the pleasure of their appointing authority. Vacancies on the committee shall be filled by the same appointing authority who appointed the vacating member.

The steering committee shall make recommendations to the State Forester regarding how to improve the rural community fire program and how to solve immediate problems including parts exchange, training and financial assistance through federal grants.

The committee shall meet semiannually, with the members of the committee setting the date. The State Forester shall have the authority to call special meetings. A majority of members shall constitute a quorum.

Members of the committee shall not be compensated for their services, but each shall be entitled to reimbursement for travel expenses in the same manner and amount that state employees are reimbursed. Such expenses shall be paid out of forestry commission funds.

The State Forester is further authorized to establish a committee and call meetings of such committee to advise him on general forestry matters in Alabama. It shall consist of not more than 15 members. Section 9-3-15 shall apply in its entirety to this committee.

(a) The term 'volunteer fire department' shall apply to and be used to define an organized group of area residents who meet the following requirements for personnel, training and equipment:

(1) The group shall be organized and incorporated under the laws of the State of Alabama as a nonprofit organization or as an authority of a legal subdivision. All persons who are members of said group shall be known as 'volunteer fire fighters,' and shall have been qualified as such by participating in organized fire protection and suppression training programs. All fire fighters must attend regularly scheduled meetings, drill, and training classes within the department and same shall be documented and kept on file at the department location for one year.

(2) A 'volunteer fire department' shall have no less than 80 percent unsalaried membership.

(3) Each volunteer fire department shall have as a minimum of fire fighting apparatus the following:

a. One tanker truck capable of carrying and pumping no less than 500 gallons of water with adequate nozzle pressure to suppress wildfire, structural fire and other fires.

b. Motorized apparatus shall be equipped with the following minimum required equipment:

1. One booster reel with 150 feet of 3/4 or one inch rubber hose with suitable nozzle attached; or

2. 150 feet of pre-connected 1 1/2 inch fire hose with suitable fog/stream nozzle attached.

c. In areas where a sufficient number of fire hydrants are provided, the tanker shall also carry 200 feet of 2 1/2 inch fire hose together with a 2 1/2 to 1 1/2 inch wye connector for use with smaller hose and other equipment.

d. One 24 foot extension ladder with a 12 foot roof ladder.

e. Hand tools - spanner wrenches, axes, pike pole, bolt cutter, flashlights, a first aid kit and one each pressure water and a chemical fire extinguisher.

(4) An alerting system must be set up and maintained, which will be capable of alerting the greatest number of fire fighters in the shortest possible time.

(5) Communications between the tanker and other units, including the base station are to be installed at the earliest possible time; however, the use of citizen band radio equipment is not recommended.

(6) Housing for motorized equipment shall be provided at the department location of such type and size as to provide virtually freezeproof conditions for vehicles. A training room should also be provided at the earliest possible time.

(b) All of the aforementioned items shall consummately define a 'volunteer fire department,' for purposes of legal recognition, but are not to be construed as standards set for any insurance classification by insurance services office or any other local, state or other agency.

(c) The Alabama Forestry Commission may assist any fire department needing additional equipment to meet the standards for certification.

(d) The Alabama Forestry Commission shall be the state agency delegated as certifying authority under this section and shall certify all departments which are cooperators with that commission.

(e) All noncooperating departments which request certification shall be reviewed by the Alabama Association of Volunteer Fire Departments and a recommendation for certification shall be made by the association to the Alabama Forestry Commission.

(f) The provisions of this section shall supersede and take precedence over any local law or municipal ordinance in conflict herewith. All laws or parts of laws in conflict herewith are hereby repealed.

(a) It is the intent of the Legislature that this section provides assistance to organized volunteer fire departments and organized rescue squads including South Alabama Air Rescue, Incorporated, and other nonprofit organizations which provide air rescue services to the public. The Legislature deems these organizations public in nature, as they protect the health, safety, and welfare of the public.

(b) The state, any county, any municipality, any fire, water, sewer, garbage, or school district, or any other public governmental entity or political subdivision may donate money, property, equipment, or other thing of value to those organizations deemed public in nature as specified in subsection (a). If disposed of, it will return to the agency where it was obtained.

(a) As used in this section, the term 'fire control or fire rescue equipment' includes, but is not limited to, a motor vehicle, fire fighting tools, protective gear, breathing equipment, and other vehicles, supplies, and tools used in fire fighting or fire rescue.

(b) Any person, corporation, partnership, association, or governmental entity may donate or give away used or obsolete fire control or fire rescue equipment to the Alabama Forestry Commission for its use or for distribution to certified volunteer fire departments. Any person, corporation, partnership, association, or governmental entity that donates fire control or fire rescue equipment shall not be liable for civil damages for personal injury, property damage, or death resulting from a defect in the equipment, if the property was donated in good faith and the defect was unknown to the person making the donation. The Alabama Forestry Commission and its Commissioners and other officers and employees shall not be liable for civil damages for personal injury, property damage, or death resulting from a defect in equipment sold, loaned, donated, or otherwise made available in good faith by the commission to certified volunteer fire departments pursuant to this section. A breathing apparatus that is donated to the commission shall be recertified to the manufacturer's specifications by a technician certified by the manufacturer before it is made available to a volunteer fire department. Any cost incurred by the commission in recertifying a breathing apparatus shall be reimbursed to the commission by the volunteer fire department which received the breathing apparatus.

The commission shall, upon its first meeting, which shall be called by the Governor within 60 days after appointment of the membership, elect from its membership a chairman and vice-chairman who shall serve for a period of one year. The vice-chairman shall act in the place of the chairman in his absence or disability. The commission shall meet at such times as designated by the commission or the chairman at the State Capitol or at other places as it deems necessary or convenient, but the chairman of the commission must call a meeting two times each year, one meeting in the month of January and one meeting in the month of July. The chairman of the commission may also call a special meeting at any time he deems it advisable or necessary. A quorum shall be four members present, and all matters coming before the commission shall be voted on by the commission. The commission will keep or cause to be kept a record of all transactions discussed or voted on at its meeting. Commission members shall be entitled to a salary of $25.00 per day when in attendance at a meeting or on official business of the commission, together with their expenses, as provided by Article 2 of Chapter 7 of Title 36. Such compensation and expenses shall be paid from funds of the commission.

If any member of the commission fails to attend three successive meetings of the commission without good and valid cause or excuse or without a leave of absence from the chairman, his office shall be declared vacant by the commission, and the chairman shall notify the Governor of the vacancy, who will then fill the vacancy as provided by Section 9-3-1.

The functions and duties of the commission shall be as follows:

(1) To protect, conserve and increase the timber and forest resources of this state and to administer all laws relating to timber and forestry and the protection, conservation and increase of such resources;

(2) To make exploration, surveys, studies and reports concerning the timber and forest resources and to publish such thereof as will be of general interest;

(3) To maintain, supervise, operate and control all state forests;

(4) To cooperate with and enter into cooperative agreements and stipulations with the Secretary of Agriculture of the United States or any other federal officer or department, board, bureau, commission, agency or office thereunto authorized with respect to the protection of timbered and forest-producing land from fire, insects and disease, the acquisition of forest lands to be developed, administered and managed as state forests, the production, procurement and distribution of forest trees and shrub planting stock, the carrying on of an educational program in connection therewith, the assistance of the owners of farms in establishing, improving and renewing wood lots, shelter belts, windbreaks and other valuable forest growths, the growing and renewing of useful timber crops and the collection and publication of data with respect to the timber and forest resources or any other matters committed to the commission by this title;

(5) To make and enforce all regulations and restrictions required for such cooperation, agreements or stipulations;

(6) To carry on a program of education and public enlightenment with respect to the timber and forest and other natural resources of Alabama;

(7) To make an annual report to the Governor concerning the activities and accomplishments of the commission for the preceding fiscal year;

(8) To recommend to the Legislature such legislation as may be needed further to protect, conserve, increase or to make available or useful the timber and forests and other natural resources of Alabama; and

(9) To supervise, direct and manage all activities of the Forestry Commission and its staff and employees.

It shall be the duty of the Alabama forestry commission to appoint with the advice and consent of the governor a state forester who shall serve as the executive secretary and administrative officer for the commission. The person so appointed as the state forester must have earned a minimum of a bachelor of science degree in forestry and must be licensed and registered under the forestry laws of Alabama with considerable experience in the forestry field. The state forester shall receive a salary as fixed by the commission and shall serve at the pleasure of the commission and shall receive actual expenses when traveling on official business of the commission. Until otherwise provided for by the commission, the present state forester of the division of forestry of the department of conservation and natural resources shall continue to serve as the state forester under the commission. The state forester shall devote his full time to the duties of his office. He shall be required to take the oath of office and give bond in the sum of $50,000.00.

The commission shall also appoint, with the advice and consent of the Governor, an Assistant State Forester, who shall hold at least a bachelor degree in forestry with considerable forestry experience. The Assistant State Forester shall serve as the chief assistant to the State Forester. The Assistant State Forester's salary shall be set by the commission, and he shall be paid his actual expenses when traveling on official business of the commission.

The commission shall have its main offices in the City of Montgomery; provided, that it may establish other district or subdistrict offices throughout the state in such places as it may deem advisable or necessary.

No member of the commission, during the tenure of his office or within two years thereafter, shall be eligible for appointment as State Forester or for any employment under the commission.

The commission shall have the power to adopt and promulgate rules and regulations pertaining to all phases of forestry within this state, which rules and regulations when adopted shall have the force and effect of law. All rules and regulations of the Division of Forestry of the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources heretofore promulgated shall continue in effect until repealed or amended by the commission.