Pennsylvania Senate Bill SB138

Pennsylvania 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 1/22/25
• Refer: 1/22/25

Caption

An Act amending Title 35 (Health and Safety) of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes, in incentives for municipal volunteers of fire companies and nonprofit emergency medical services agencies, furt . . .her providing for definitions, for volunteer service credit program, for service record, for certification and for duties of State Fire Commissioner.

Summary

SB138 would amend Pennsylvania’s Title 35 provisions governing incentives for municipal volunteers serving fire companies and nonprofit emergency medical services agencies. Based on the bill caption, it appears to expand and refine the state’s volunteer service credit framework by adding or revising definitions, creating or updating a volunteer service credit program, establishing requirements for service records and certification, and assigning additional duties to the State Fire Commissioner. The bill is aimed at strengthening recruitment and retention of volunteer firefighters and EMS volunteers by improving how service is documented and credited. While the full statutory language was not available in the provided text, the caption indicates the measure would make operational changes to the existing incentive structure for municipal volunteers and likely affect how local agencies, volunteers, and the State Fire Commissioner administer and verify service credits.

Impact

SB138 would amend Title 35 of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes, specifically the chapter on incentives for municipal volunteers of fire companies and nonprofit emergency medical services agencies. It would likely affect volunteer fire companies, nonprofit EMS agencies, municipal volunteer programs, and the State Fire Commissioner by changing definitions, recordkeeping, certification, and administration of the volunteer service credit program. The bill would not appear to create a new program from scratch, but rather to modify and formalize existing incentive and verification procedures.

Sentiment

The available voting history suggests broad support for SB138 at the committee stage. The Senate Veterans Affairs and Emergency Preparedness Committee reported the bill as committed by an 11-0 vote, indicating unanimous committee approval. No committee transcript was provided, and the bill was later laid on the table in the Senate, so there is no recorded floor debate here to indicate opposition or controversy.

Contention

No specific points of contention are documented in the provided materials. The only visible procedural issue is that the bill was laid on the table in the Senate after committee approval, which may indicate scheduling, strategic, or procedural delays rather than substantive disagreement. If there were concerns, they are not reflected in the available vote record or transcripts. The likely stakeholders are volunteer fire companies, nonprofit EMS agencies, municipal governments, and the State Fire Commissioner, but no group is identified in the record as opposing the measure.