9-3-454(a).

9-3-454(a).

(o) Retired recipients of the account and their survivors shall receive any benefit increases provided to members of the account.

35-9-622. Death benefits in addition to other benefits.

Death benefits received under this article shall be in addition to, and are payable after the application of, worker's compensation benefits which are payable to volunteer firefighters, volunteer EMTs or volunteer search and rescue persons under the Wyoming Worker's Compensation Act.

35-9-623. Board; established; nomination; appointment; terms and qualification of members; first members.

(a) The volunteer firefighter, EMT and search and rescue pension board is created. The board shall control the account.

(b) The board shall consist of eight (8) members who shall be appointed by the governor to staggered terms of three (3) years. The governor may remove any board member as provided in W.S. 9-1-202. Of these board members:

(i) Six (6) members shall be volunteer firefighters who have a minimum of five (5) years service as a volunteer firefighter in the state. Appointments under this paragraph shall be made from nominees recommended to the governor by the Wyoming state firemen's association;

(ii) One (1) member shall be a volunteer EMT who has a minimum of five (5) years service as a volunteer EMT in the state. Appointments under this paragraph shall be made by the governor; and

(iii) One (1) member shall be a volunteer search and rescue person who has a minimum of five (5) years service as a volunteer search and rescue person in the state. Appointments under this paragraph shall be made by the governor.

(c) The members of the initial board shall be comprised of the volunteer firemen members of the volunteer firemen's pension board created pursuant to W.S. 35-9-610 serving on June 30, 2015 and one (1) member of the volunteer emergency medical technician pension board created pursuant to W.S. 35-29-108 serving on June 30, 2015, as selected by the governor. The volunteer firefighter members and volunteer EMT member of the initial board shall serve for the same term to which they were appointed to the volunteer firemen's pension board or volunteer emergency medical technician pension board, respectively.

35-9-624. Board; chairman; compensation of members; powers and duties.

(a) Members of the board shall serve without compensation, but actual and reasonable expenses incurred by members for attending meetings and representing the board shall be reimbursed from the account.

(b) The board may:

(i) Adjust claims made by participating members under this article and may waive or alter specific requirements relating to benefits under this article, but shall not have authority to make a general increase in benefits;

(ii) Promulgate rules and regulations governing its operation;

(iii) Investigate claim applications, conduct hearings, receive evidence and otherwise act in a quasi-judicial capacity in accordance with the Wyoming Administrative Procedure Act;

(iv) Permit the suspension of payments in certain cases deemed appropriate by the board, with a commensurate reduction in benefits paid under this article.

35-9-625. Board; hearings; appeals.

(a) The board shall provide an opportunity for hearing to any person petitioning the board for a hearing with or without counsel or witnesses. The board shall provide petitioners the power to subpoena witnesses to testify in their behalf. The taking of evidence shall be summary, giving a full opportunity to all parties to develop the facts. The board shall provide a written transcript of all testimony received at any hearing conducted by the board to any requesting party.

(b) The decision of the board upon hearing is a final administrative decision and is subject to judicial review in accordance with the Wyoming Administrative Procedure Act.

35-9-626. Adjustment of benefits in case of impairment of funds.

If at any time the net assets of the account become actuarially impaired, the board may adjust the benefits provided, pro rata, until the impairment is removed.

35-9-627. Purchase of service credit.

Any member who has been a participating member for at least five (5) years may elect to make a one (1) time purchase of up to five (5) years of service credit as authorized and limited by section 415(c) and 415(n) of the Internal Revenue Code and as established in rules promulgated by the board. Any member electing to purchase service credit shall pay into the account a single lump sum amount equal to the actuarial equivalent of the benefits to be derived from the service credit computed on the basis of actuarial assumptions approved by the board, the individual's attained age and the benefit structure at the time of purchase. A member may purchase service credit with personal funds or, subject to rules and regulations established by the board, through rollover contributions. Unless received by the pension account in the form of a direct rollover, rollover contributions shall be paid to the pension account on or before sixty (60) days after the date the rollover contribution was received by the member.

35-9-628. Deposit of tax on fire insurance premiums into account.

(a) As provided in this subsection, the state treasurer shall deposit into the account up to one hundred percent (100%) of the gross tax levied upon fire insurance premiums paid to insurance companies for fire insurance in the state of Wyoming for the preceding calendar quarter, as computed under W.S. 26-4- 102(b)(ii) and provided by W.S. 26-4-103(k). The sum specified shall be calculated by the Wyoming retirement system:  (i) Before giving effect to any premium tax credits which may otherwise be provided by law; and

(ii) To achieve one hundred seven percent (107%) funding of the account, taking into account the benefits and employee contribution specified in W.S. 35-9-621 and actuarial assumptions adopted by the Wyoming retirement board;

(iii) After the account achieves one hundred seven percent (107%) actuarial funding, the board shall recommend a funding amount of not less than sixty percent (60%) of the gross tax levied upon fire insurance premiums. A recommended funding amount under this section in an amount greater than sixty percent (60%) which results in an actuarial funding level greater than one hundred seven percent (107%) requires approval of the legislature.

ARTICLE 7 - VOLUNTEER FIRE SERVICES IMMUNITY FROM LIABILITY

35-9-701. Repealed By Laws 1997, ch. 155, § 2.

ARTICLE 8 - REDUCED CIGARETTE IGNITION

35-9-801. Short title.

This article shall be known and may be cited as the "Wyoming Reduced Cigarette Ignition Propensity Act".

35-9-802. Definitions.

(a) For the purposes of this act unless the context otherwise requires:

(i) "Agent" means any person authorized by the department of revenue to purchase and affix stamps on packages of cigarettes;

(ii) "Cigarette" means:

(A) Any roll of tobacco wrapped in paper or in any substance not containing tobacco. "Cigarette" includes any roll or tube of tobacco, or product derived from tobacco, that is produced by a machine on the premises of a retail dealer or a wholesale dealer; or

(B) Any roll of tobacco wrapped in any substance containing tobacco which, because of its appearance, the type of tobacco used in the filler, or its packaging and labeling, is likely to be offered to or purchased by consumers as a cigarette as described in subparagraph (A) of this paragraph.

(iii) "Manufacturer" means:

(A) Any entity that manufactures cigarettes or causes the manufacture of cigarettes that are intended for sale in this state including cigarettes intended to be sold in the United States through an importer;

(B) Any successor of any entity described in subparagraph (A) of this paragraph.

(iv) "Quality control" and "quality assurance program" means the laboratory procedures implemented to ensure that operator bias, systematic and nonsystematic methodological errors and equipment related problems do not affect the results of testing. A quality control program shall ensure that testing repeatability remains within the required repeatability values stated in W.S. 35-9-803(a)(vi) for all test trials used to certify cigarettes in accordance with this act;

(v) "Repeatability" means the range of values within which the repeat results of test trials from a single laboratory must fall ninety-five percent (95%) of the time;

(vi) "Retail dealer" means any person, other than a manufacturer or wholesale dealer, engaged in selling cigarettes or tobacco products;

(vii) "Sale" means any transfer of title or possession, exchange or barter in any manner, by any means, or by any agreement, including cash and credit sales, giving of cigarettes as samples, prizes or gifts, and the exchange of cigarettes for any consideration other than money;

(viii) "Sell" means to sell, or to offer or agree to do the same;

(ix) "Wholesale dealer" means any person other than a manufacturer who sells cigarettes or tobacco products to retail dealers or others for resale and any person who owns, operates or maintains one (1) or more cigarette or tobacco product vending machines upon premises owned or occupied by any other person;  (x) "This act" means W.S. 35-9-801 through 35-9-811.

35-9-803. Requirements for sale; test method; adoption of other state's testing method, if appropriate; performance standards; exceptions.

(a) Except as provided in this act, cigarettes may not be offered for sale or sold to persons located in this state unless the cigarettes have been tested and have met the required performance standard specified in this section, the manufacturer has filed a written certification with the department of revenue in accordance with W.S. 35-9-804 and the cigarettes have been marked in accordance with W.S. 35-9-805. The following testing requirements shall apply:

(i) Cigarette testing shall be conducted in accordance with the American society of testing and materials ("ASTM") standard E2187-04, "Standard Test Method for Measuring the Ignition Strength of Cigarettes," in effect on February 1, 2010. The state fire marshal may adopt a subsequent ASTM standard upon a written finding that the subsequent method does not result in a change in the percentage of full length burns exhibited by any tested cigarette when compared to the percentage of full length burns the same cigarette would exhibit when tested in accordance with ASTM standard E2187-04 and the performance standard in this section;

(ii) Testing shall be conducted on ten (10) layers of filter paper;

(iii) No more than twenty-five percent (25%) of the cigarettes tested in a test trial in accordance with this section shall exhibit full length burns. Forty (40) replicate tests shall comprise a complete test trial for each cigarette tested;

(iv) The performance standard required by this section shall be applied only to a complete test trial;

(v) Written certifications shall be based upon testing conducted by a laboratory that has been accredited pursuant to standard ISO/IEC 17025 of the International Organization for Standardization ("ISO"), or other comparable accreditation standard required by the state fire marshal;

(vi) Laboratories conducting testing in accordance with this section shall implement a quality control and quality assurance program that includes a procedure that will determine the repeatability of the testing results. The repeatability value shall not be greater than nineteen hundredths (0.19);

(vii) This section does not require additional testing if cigarettes are tested consistent with this act for any other purpose;

(viii) Testing performed or sponsored by the state fire marshal to determine a cigarette's compliance with the performance standard required by this section shall be conducted in accordance with this section.

(b) Each cigarette listed in a certification submitted pursuant to W.S. 35-9-804 that uses lowered permeability bands in the cigarette paper to achieve compliance with the performance standard set forth in this section shall have at least two (2) nominally identical bands on the paper surrounding the tobacco column. At least one (1) complete band shall be located at least fifteen (15) millimeters from the lighting end of the cigarette. Cigarettes on which the bands are positioned by design shall have at least two (2) bands fully located at least fifteen (15) millimeters from the lighting end and at least ten (10) millimeters from the filter end of the tobacco column. For nonfiltered cigarettes the bands shall be at least ten (10) millimeters from the labeled end of the tobacco column.

(c) If the state fire marshal determines that a cigarette cannot be tested in accordance with paragraph (a)(i) of this section, the manufacturer shall propose a test method and performance standard. If the state fire marshal approves the proposed test method and determines that the performance standard proposed by the manufacturer is equivalent to the performance standard prescribed in paragraph (a)(iii) of this section, that test method and performance standard may be used to certify the cigarette pursuant to W.S. 35-9-804.

(d) The state fire marshal shall authorize a manufacturer to employ an alternative test method and performance standard to certify a cigarette for sale in this state if the fire marshal determines that:

(i) Another state has enacted reduced cigarette ignition propensity standards that include the proposed alternative test method and performance standard;  (ii) The other state's testing method and performance standard are the same as those adopted pursuant to paragraph (a)(i) of this section;

(iii) The officials responsible for implementing the other state's requirements have approved the proposed alternative test method and performance standard for a particular cigarette as meeting the fire safety standards of that state's law or regulation under a legal provision comparable to this section; and

(iv) There is no reasonable basis to reject the alternative testing method.

(e) Manufacturers shall maintain copies of reports of all tests conducted on all cigarettes offered for sale for three (3) years and shall make copies available upon written request by the department of revenue or attorney general. Any manufacturer failing to make copies of the requested reports available within sixty (60) days of receipt of the request shall be subject to a civil penalty not to exceed ten thousand dollars ($10,000.00) for each day after the sixtieth day that the manufacturer fails to make copies available.

(f) Repealed by Laws 2015, ch. 55, § 2.

(g) The requirements of subsection (a) of this section shall not prohibit:

(i) Wholesale or retail dealers from selling after the effective date of this act the dealer's inventory of cigarettes existing on the effective date of this act if the wholesale or retail dealer can establish that state tax stamps were affixed to the cigarettes prior to the effective date and the wholesale or retail dealer can establish that the inventory was purchased prior to the effective date of this act in a comparable quantity to the inventory purchase during the same period of the prior year; or

(ii) The sale of cigarettes solely for the purpose of consumer testing using only the quantity of cigarettes that is reasonably necessary for the testing. For purposes of this paragraph the term "consumer testing" means an assessment of cigarettes that is conducted by a manufacturer, or under the control and direction of a manufacturer, for the purpose of evaluating consumer acceptance of the cigarettes.  35-9-804. Certification and product change.

(a) Each manufacturer shall certify in writing to the department of revenue:

(i) Each cigarette listed in the certification has been tested pursuant to W.S. 35-9-803; and

(ii) Each cigarette listed in the certification meets the performance standard set forth in W.S. 35-9-803.

(b) For each cigarette listed in the certification the following information shall be included:

(i) Brand or trade name on the packaging;

(ii) Style;

(iii) Length in millimeters;

(iv) Circumference in millimeters;

(v) Flavor such as menthol if applicable;

(vi) Filter or nonfilter;

(vii) Package description such as soft pack or box;

(viii) Marking pursuant to W.S. 35-9-805;

(ix) Contact information for the laboratory that conducted the testing, including name, address and telephone number; and

(x) The date of testing.

(c) The department of revenue shall make the certifications available to the attorney general and the state fire marshal for purposes consistent with this act.

(d) Cigarettes certified pursuant to this section shall be recertified every three (3) years.

(e) For each cigarette listed in a certification, a manufacturer shall pay a fee of two hundred fifty dollars ($250.00) payable to the department of revenue to be deposited into the general fund.  (f) If a cigarette is certified and is subsequently changed in a manner that is likely to alter its compliance with the reduced cigarette ignition propensity standards required by this act, the cigarette shall not be sold or offered for sale in this state until the manufacturer retests the cigarette in accordance with the testing standards consistent with the provisions of this act and maintains the records of that retesting as required by this act. Any altered cigarette which does not meet the performance standard set forth in this act shall not be sold in this state.

35-9-805. Cigarette packaging.

(a) Cigarettes certified by a manufacturer in accordance with W.S. 35-9-804 shall be marked to indicate compliance with the requirements of W.S. 35-9-803. The marking shall include the letters "FSC" (Fire Standard Compliant), shall not be less than eight (8) point type and shall be permanently printed, stamped, engraved or embossed on the package at or near the UPC Code.

(b) A manufacturer shall use only one (1) marking applied uniformly for all packages including packs, cartons, cases and brands marketed by the manufacturer.

(c) Manufacturers certifying cigarettes in accordance with W.S. 35-9-804 shall submit copies of the certification to all wholesale dealers and agents selling their cigarettes.

35-9-806. Penalties.

(a) A manufacturer, wholesale dealer, agent or any other person or entity who knowingly sells or offers for sale cigarettes, other than through retail sale, in violation of W.S.