175.021  Legislative declaration.--It is hereby declared by the Legislature that firefighters, as hereinafter defined, perform state and municipal functions; that it is their duty to extinguish fires, to protect life, and to protect property at their own risk and peril; that it is their duty to prevent conflagration and to continuously instruct school personnel, public officials, and private citizens in the prevention of fires and firesafety; that they protect both life and property from local emergencies as defined in ¹s. 252.34(3); and that their activities are vital to the public safety. It is further declared that firefighters employed by special fire control districts serve under the same circumstances and perform the same duties as firefighters employed by municipalities and should therefore be entitled to the benefits available under this chapter. Therefore, the Legislature declares that it is a proper and legitimate state purpose to provide a uniform retirement system for the benefit of firefighters as hereinafter defined and intends, in implementing the provisions of s. 14, Art. X of the State Constitution as they relate to municipal and special district firefighters' pension trust fund systems and plans, that such retirement systems or plans be managed, administered, operated, and funded in such manner as to maximize the protection of the firefighters' pension trust funds. This chapter hereby establishes minimum standards for the operation and funding of municipal and special district firefighters' pension trust fund systems and plans, hereinafter referred to as firefighters' pension trust funds.

History.--s. 1, ch. 63-249; s. 1, ch. 79-380; s. 7, ch. 83-334; s. 1, ch. 86-41; s. 12, ch. 93-193.