(a) Notwithstanding Section 4142, the director may, with the approval of the Department of General Services, enter into a cooperative agreement, for the purpose of preventing and suppressing fires, with a city, county, special district, or other political subdivision of the state or person, firm, association, or corporation that requests an agreement, under those terms and conditions that the director deems wise.

(b) The director shall not enter into or renew a cooperative agreement pursuant to this section under any of the following circumstances:

(1) With any county that has assumed responsibility pursuant to Section 4129.

(2) If the land to be protected is not in proximity to, nor within lands classified by the board pursuant to Section 4125 as, a state responsibility area. For the purposes of this paragraph, “proximity” means within a distance from an existing facility that results in a response time established by the board that is not longer than that used by the department in meeting its state wild land fire protection mission.

(3) The director determines that the agreement would significantly reduce existing fire prevention and suppression service levels.

(4) The director determines, pursuant to the policy and standards adopted by the board under Section 4143, that the agreement would replicate services provided under an agreement made pursuant to Section 4142.

(5) The director determines that the service area of a particular station under the agreement is more appropriately served under an agreement made pursuant to Section 4142.

(c) The cooperative agreement shall provide all of the following:

(1) The department shall ensure that a staffing level, mutually agreeable to the parties to the agreement, is maintained on all fire prevention and suppression vehicles.

(2) The personnel, equipment, and buildings utilized shall be limited to those used to protect state responsibility areas. Whenever the cooperative agreement provides for the employment of personnel during the nonfire season who would be in addition to the personnel required for the necessary operation and maintenance of equipment and buildings under the jurisdiction of the director, the full salaries and all benefits of the additional personnel shall be apportioned, as costs to the city, county, special district, or other political subdivision of the state, or person, firm, association, or corporation that contracts with the department pursuant to the cooperative agreement for fire protection.

(3) A cost apportionment between the state and the city, county, special district, or other political subdivision of the state, or person, firm, association, or corporation that contracts with the state for fire protection that reasonably reflects cost apportionments made pursuant to Section 4141 or 4142, except that the contracting city, county, special district, other political subdivision of the state, or contracting person, firm, association, or corporation shall be apportioned the additional cost for extended staff availability for 24-hour emergency response, for state personnel assigned to staff fire engines at a rate determined annually by the director, plus staff benefit costs attributable to the apportionment, and total unplanned overtime pay. The department shall recover its actual additional costs.

(Amended by Stats. 2006, Ch. 538, Sec. 562. Effective January 1, 2007.)