Bill > S634

This bill allows certain volunteer firefighters and members of first aid or rescue squads to claim a $500 income tax deduction on their state gross income, in addition to other existing exemptions. To qualify, a volunteer must have served for the entire tax year and met specific service requirements, defined as "duty hours" (time committed to respond to alarms, even if none occur) or a percentage of actual alarms and drills. For rescue squad members, this means performing "10% of rescue duty," which involves attending at least 10% of alarms and 60% of drills, or completing 100 duty hours with no more than half for drills, and having passed an approved training program or qualified as an emergency medical technician. For volunteer firefighters, it means performing "60% of fire duty," which involves attending at least 60% of alarms and 60% of drills, or completing 100 duty hours with no more than half for drills, and having achieved Firefighter I certification or an equivalent. Squad and department officials must submit lists of qualifying members to the relevant state departments (Health and Senior Services for rescue squads, Community Affairs for fire departments) by March 31st each year, and officials filing false lists to help someone evade taxes face prosecution. The Director of the Division of Taxation will use these lists to verify deduction claims, and no taxpayer can claim more than $500 in a single tax year. This act takes effect immediately and applies to tax years beginning after December 31, 2002.