Opinion No. (2002)

BILL LOCKYER Attorney General GREGORY L. GONOT Deputy Attorney General THE HONORABLE ROBERT A. RYAN, JR., COUNTY COUNSEL, COUNTY OF SACRAMENTO, has requested an opinion on the following question: May a volunteer firefighter serve on the board of directors of a fire protection district if he receives $8 for each response to a fire call and an allowance of up to $200 from the district for the purchase of boots? CONCLUSION A volunteer firefighter may serve on the board of directors of a fire protection district even though he receives $8 for each response to a fire call and an allowance of up to $200 from the district for the purchase of boots. ANALYSIS A fire protection district established under the Fire Protection District Law (Health Saf. Code, §§ 13800 - 13970 ) pays its volunteer firefighters $8 for each response to a fire call and grants them an allowance of up to $200 for the purchase of boots. Under these circumstances, may a volunteer firefighter serve on the board of directors of the district? We conclude that a firefighter would be eligible to serve on the board. The statute governing our analysis is Government Code section 53227 1 . It provides: "(a) An…