Bill > H2698

This bill establishes a public safety employee retention program specifically designed to support gateway municipalities, which are defined as cities with populations between 35,000 and 250,000, with median household incomes and educational attainment levels below the state's average. The program will offer grants to public safety departments (such as fire, law enforcement, and emergency medical services) that provide retention incentives to their employees. These incentives include competitive wages, cost-of-living adjustments, retention bonuses, lateral hiring incentives, optional training opportunities, and other secretary-approved retention strategies. The amount of grant money awarded will be proportional to the number of qualifying retention incentives implemented by the department. Grant funds can be used either to hire additional public safety employees or for other purposes approved by the secretary of public safety. The goal of this legislation is to help gateway municipalities attract and retain qualified public safety personnel by providing financial support for employee retention efforts.

Budget and Finance, Justice

https://malegislature.gov/Bills/194/H2698