Bill > A5283

Introduced Session

This bill would amend the "Emergency Services Volunteer Length of Service Award Program Act," P.L.1997, c.388 (C.40A:14-183 et al.), to allow a local government unit to encourage people to provide volunteer service to more than one emergency service organization. Current law allows a local unit to provide a person more than one length of service award program (LOSAP) award if the person satisfies program requirements for service provided to more than one emergency service organization, however, current law limits the amount a local unit can contribute for each active volunteer member to $1,150 per year of active emergency service. Under the bill, if a person serves as a volunteer firefighter for a fire organization providing service within a municipality and also serves as an emergency medical service volunteer for a first aid organization providing service within the same municipality, the municipality would be able to contribute the maximum amount annually for each type of volunteer service the person provides to the municipality. In some municipalities, emergency service organizations have difficulty recruiting and retaining a sufficient number of volunteers to provide adequate emergency services. The bill recognizes that some people may be willing to volunteer and serve more than one emergency service organization, and encourages those people to do so by allowing local units to provide a maximum contribution to a LOSAP award for each year of eligible service a person provides to an emergency service organization.

AI Summary

Committee Categories

Bob Auth (R)*, 

Introduced, Referred to Assembly State and Local Government Committee (on 01/27/2021)