(b) For purposes of this section, an “all-volunteer fire department” means an organization that meets all of the following requirements:

1. (1) A member shall not be paid a regular salary, but a member may be compensated on an hourly or per incident basis.
2. (2) The purpose of the organization is to protect the lives, property, and environment within a designated geographical area from fires, disasters, and emergency incidents through education, prevention, training, and emergency response.
3. (3) The organization is regularly organized for volunteer fire department purposes and qualifies as an exempt organization, either under Section 23701d or 23701f of this code or under Section 501(c)(3) or 501(c)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code, having official recognition and full or partial support of the government of the county, city, or district in which the volunteer fire department is located, and that has functions having an exclusive connection with the prevention and extinguishing of fires within the area of the county, city, or district extending official recognition for the benefit of the public generally and to lessen the burdens of the entity of government that would otherwise be obligated to furnish that fire protection.

(d) For the purpose of complying with Section 41, with respect to the tax expenditure authorized by this section, the Legislature finds and declares all of the following:

1. (1) The specific purposes of this tax expenditure are all of the following:

   1. (A) To ensure that the entire gross amount of fundraisers continues to stay with all-volunteer fire departments and helps provide critically needed equipment and services.
   2. (B) To help all-volunteer fire departments through this critical time.
   3. (C) To ensure all-volunteer fire departments can afford necessary equipment during fire season.
2. (2) For the purpose of aiding the Legislature in determining whether this section accomplishes the purposes described in paragraph (1), the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration shall annually estimate the revenue loss associated with the tax expenditure created by this section.
3. (3) The California Department of Tax and Fee Administration shall report, pursuant to Section 9795 of the Government Code, the information described in paragraph (2) to the Legislature before each year beginning on or after January 1, 2026.