LRB-4398/1
RAC&JTK:kjf:jf
2005 - 2006 LEGISLATURE
February 7, 2006 - Introduced by Representatives Gunderson, M. Williams,
Ainsworth, Albers, Kerkman, Petrowski, Rhoades, Sherman, Suder, Vos,
Wood and Lehman, cosponsored by Senators Zien, Brown, S. Fitzgerald,
Grothman, Lazich, Miller, Wirch and Erpenbach. Referred to Committee on
Criminal Justice and Homeland Security.
AB992,1,9
1An Act to amend 13.94 (1) (q), 16.25 (title), 16.25 (1) (a), 16.25 (1) (c), 16.25 (1)
2(d), 16.25 (2), 16.25 (3) (a), 16.25 (3) (b), 16.25 (3) (c), 16.25 (3) (d), 16.25 (3) (e),
316.25 (3) (f), 16.25 (3) (g), 16.25 (3) (h), 16.25 (3) (i), 16.25 (3) (j), 16.25 (3) (k),
416.25 (5), 16.705 (1m), 16.71 (5), 20.505 (4) (ec), 20.505 (4) (er) (title) and 108.05
5(3) (a); and
to create 16.25 (1) (am) of the statutes;
relating to: the Volunteer
6Fire Fighter and Emergency Medical Technician Service Award Program and
7the exclusion of wages earned for services performed as a volunteer fire fighter,
8emergency medical technician, or first responder from partial unemployment
9benefit determinations.
Analysis by the Legislative Reference Bureau
Currently, the Volunteer Fire Fighter and Emergency Medical Technician
Service Award Board, attached to the Department of Administration, must establish
by rule a service award program for volunteer fire fighters in municipalities that
operate volunteer fire departments or that contract with volunteer fire companies
and for emergency medical technicians in any municipality that authorizes
volunteer emergency medical technicians to provide emergency medical technical
services in the municipality.
Under the program, any municipality that operates a volunteer fire
department or that contracts with a volunteer fire company and any municipality
that authorizes volunteer emergency medical technicians to provide emergency
medical technical services in the municipality may participate in the service award
program. The program requires that annual contributions be paid by municipalities
for each volunteer fire fighter and emergency medical technician in an amount
determined by the municipalities and that the state match municipal contributions
up to $250 per year. (This amount is to be adjusted annually to reflect changes in the
cost of living and prorated if there are insufficient state funds.)
This bill makes the following changes to the program:
1. Any municipality that authorizes first responders to provide first responder
services in the municipality may participate in the program.
2. Counties are covered under program. Currently, only cities, villages, and
towns participate in the program.
3. The board is renamed the Service Award Board.
4. Eliminates a requirement that fire fighters, first responders, and emergency
medical technicians must have at least five years of service for a municipality before
the municipality can purchase additional years for them under the program.
Finally, under current law, with certain exceptions, if a claimant earns wages
in a given week in employment covered by the unemployment insurance law, the first
$30 of the wages are disregarded and the claimant's weekly benefit rate is reduced
by 67 percent of the remaining amount of wages earned. This bill provides that any
amount that a claimant earns for services performed as a volunteer fire fighter,
volunteer emergency medical technician, or volunteer first responder in any week
does not reduce the claimant's weekly benefit rate for that week. The bill does not
define the term "volunteer."
For further information see the state and local fiscal estimate, which will be
printed as an appendix to this bill.
The people of the state of Wisconsin, represented in senate and assembly, do
enact as follows:
AB992, s. 1
1Section
1. 13.94 (1) (q) of the statutes is amended to read:
AB992,2,52
13.94
(1) (q) No later than February 1, 2006, prepare a performance evaluation
3audit of the
volunteer fire fighter and emergency medical technician service award
4program established under s. 16.25. The legislative audit bureau shall file a copy of
5the audit report under this paragraph with the distributees specified in par. (b).
AB992, s. 2
6Section
2. 16.25 (title) of the statutes is amended to read:
AB992,3,2
116.25 (title)
Volunteer fire fighter and emergency medical technician
2service Service award program.
AB992, s. 3
3Section
3. 16.25 (1) (a) of the statutes is amended to read:
AB992,3,54
16.25
(1) (a) "Board" means the
volunteer fire fighter and emergency medical
5technician service award board.
AB992, s. 4
6Section
4. 16.25 (1) (am) of the statutes is created to read:
AB992,3,87
16.25
(1) (am) "First responder" means an individual certified under s. 146.50
8(8).
AB992, s. 5
9Section
5. 16.25 (1) (c) of the statutes is amended to read:
AB992,3,1010
16.25
(1) (c) "Municipality" means a city,
county, village or town.
AB992, s. 6
11Section
6. 16.25 (1) (d) of the statutes is amended to read:
AB992,3,1312
16.25
(1) (d) "Program" means the
volunteer fire fighter and emergency
13medical technician service award program established under sub. (2).
AB992, s. 7
14Section
7. 16.25 (2) of the statutes is amended to read:
AB992,3,2415
16.25
(2) The board shall establish by rule a program to provide
16length-of-service awards, described in
26 USC 457 (e) (11), to volunteer fire fighters
17in municipalities that operate volunteer fire departments or that contract with
18volunteer fire companies organized under ch. 181 or 213
, to first responders in any
19municipality that authorizes first responders to provide first responder services, and
20to volunteer emergency medical technicians in any municipality that authorizes
21volunteer emergency medical technicians to provide emergency medical technical
22services in the municipality. To the extent permitted by federal law, the board shall
23design the program so as to treat the length-of-service awards as a tax-deferred
24benefit under the Internal Revenue Code.
AB992, s. 8
25Section
8. 16.25 (3) (a) of the statutes is amended to read:
AB992,4,6
116.25
(3) (a) All municipalities that operate volunteer fire departments or that
2contract with a volunteer fire company organized under ch. 181 or 213
, all
3municipalities that authorize first responders to provide first responder services, 4and all municipalities that authorize volunteer emergency medical technicians to
5provide emergency medical technical services are eligible to participate in the
6program.
AB992, s. 9
7Section
9. 16.25 (3) (b) of the statutes is amended to read:
AB992,4,118
16.25
(3) (b) Annual contributions in an amount determined by the
9municipality shall be paid by each municipality for each volunteer fire fighter
, first
10responder, and emergency medical technician who provides services for the
11municipality.
AB992, s. 10
12Section
10. 16.25 (3) (c) of the statutes is amended to read:
AB992,4,1813
16.25
(3) (c) The municipality may select from among the plans offered by
14individuals or organizations under contract with the board under sub. (4) for the
15volunteer fire fighters
, first responders, and emergency medical technicians who
16perform services for the municipality. The municipality shall pay the annual
17contributions directly to the individual or organization offering the plan selected by
18the municipality.
AB992, s. 11
19Section
11. 16.25 (3) (d) of the statutes is amended to read:
AB992,5,420
16.25
(3) (d) 1. Subject to subd. 2., the board shall match all annual municipal
21contributions paid for volunteer fire fighters
, first responders, and emergency
22medical technicians up to $250 per fiscal year, other than contributions paid for the
23purchase of additional years of service under par. (e), to be paid from the
24appropriation account under s. 20.505 (4) (er). This amount shall be adjusted
25annually on July 1 to reflect any changes in the U.S. consumer price index for all
1urban consumers, U.S. city average, as determined by the U.S. department of labor,
2for the 12-month period ending on the preceding December 31. The board shall pay
3all amounts that are matched under this paragraph to the individuals and
4organizations offering the plans selected by the municipalities.
AB992,5,85
2. If the moneys appropriated under s. 20.505 (4) (er) are not sufficient to fully
6fund the contributions required to be paid by the board under subd. 1., the board shall
7prorate the contributions paid for the volunteer fire fighters
, first responders, and
8emergency medical technicians.
AB992, s. 12
9Section
12. 16.25 (3) (e) of the statutes is amended to read:
AB992,5,1710
16.25
(3) (e) A municipality may purchase additional years of service for
11volunteer fire fighters
, first responders, and emergency medical technicians
who
12have at least 5 years of service as a volunteer fire fighter or emergency medical
13technician for the municipality. The number of additional years of service that may
14be purchased under this paragraph may not exceed the number of years of volunteer
15fire fighting
, first responder service, or emergency medical technical service
16performed by the volunteer fire fighter
, first responder, or emergency medical
17technician for the municipality.
AB992, s. 13
18Section
13. 16.25 (3) (f) of the statutes is amended to read:
AB992,5,2519
16.25
(3) (f) Except in the case of a volunteer fire fighter
, first responder, or
20emergency medical technician or the beneficiary of a volunteer fire fighter
, first
21responder, or emergency medical technician eligible for a lump sum under par. (i),
22a vesting period of 10 years of volunteer fire fighting
, first responder service, or
23emergency medical technical service for a municipality shall be required before a
24volunteer fire fighter
, first responder, or emergency medical technician may receive
25any benefits under the program.
AB992, s. 14
1Section
14. 16.25 (3) (g) of the statutes is amended to read:
AB992,6,162
16.25
(3) (g) A volunteer fire fighter
, first responder, or emergency medical
3technician shall be paid a length of service award either in a lump sum or in a manner
4specified by rule, consisting of all municipal and state contributions made on behalf
5of the volunteer fire fighter
, first responder, or emergency medical technician and all
6earnings on the contributions, less any expenses incurred in the investment of the
7contributions and earnings, after the volunteer fire fighter
, first responder, or
8emergency medical technician attains 20 years of service for a municipality and
9reaches the age of 60. If a volunteer fire fighter
, first responder, or emergency
10medical technician has satisfied all vesting requirements under the program but has
11less than 20 years of service for a municipality or has not reached the age of 60, the
12program shall provide for the payment of a length of service award either in a lump
13sum or in a manner specified by rule in an amount to be determined by the board,
14but less than the amount paid to a volunteer fire fighter
, first responder, or
15emergency medical technician who has attained 20 years of service for a municipality
16and has reached the age of 60.
AB992, s. 15
17Section
15. 16.25 (3) (h) of the statutes is amended to read:
AB992,6,2418
16.25
(3) (h)
A The account of a volunteer fire fighter
, first responder, or
19emergency medical technician who has not met all of the vesting requirements under
20the program shall
forfeit his or her accrued years of volunteer fire fighting or
21emergency medical technical service be closed if he or she should cease providing
22volunteer fire fighting
, first responder, or emergency medical technical services for
23a municipality for a period of 6 months or more, unless he or she has been granted
24a leave of absence by his or her supervisor.
AB992, s. 16
25Section
16. 16.25 (3) (i) of the statutes is amended to read:
AB992,7,8
116.25
(3) (i) 1. The beneficiary of a volunteer fire fighter
, first responder, or
2emergency medical technician who is killed in the line of duty
or while actively
3engaged in the rendering of volunteer fire fighting, first responder, or emergency
4medical technical service shall be paid a length of service award either in a lump sum
5or in a manner specified by rule, consisting of all municipal and state contributions
6made on behalf of the volunteer fire fighter
, first responder, or emergency medical
7technician and all earnings on the contributions, less any expenses incurred in the
8investment of the contributions and earnings.
AB992,7,139
2. A volunteer fire fighter
, first responder, or emergency medical technician
10who becomes disabled during his or her service as a volunteer fire fighter
, first
11responder, or emergency medical technician for the municipality shall be paid a
12length of service award either in a lump sum or in a manner specified by rule, in an
13amount to be determined by the board.
AB992, s. 17
14Section
17. 16.25 (3) (j) of the statutes is amended to read:
AB992,7,2115
16.25
(3) (j) The account of any volunteer fire fighter
, first responder, or
16emergency medical technician who has not met all of the vesting requirements under
17the program, who has not provided volunteer fire fighting
, first responder, or
18emergency medical technical services for a municipality for a period of 6 months or
19more
, who does not meet any other program requirement established by the
20municipality, and who has not been granted a leave of absence by his or her
21supervisor shall be closed.
AB992, s. 18
22Section
18. 16.25 (3) (k) of the statutes is amended to read:
AB992,8,223
16.25
(3) (k) The board shall equitably allocate all moneys in accounts of
24volunteer fire fighters
, first responders, and emergency medical technicians that
25have been
forfeited or closed to the accounts of volunteer fire fighters
, first
1responders, and emergency medical technicians that have not been forfeited or
2closed.
AB992, s. 19
3Section
19. 16.25 (5) of the statutes is amended to read:
AB992,8,84
16.25
(5) The board shall establish by rule a process by which a volunteer fire
5fighter
, first provider, or emergency medical technician may appeal to the board any
6decision made by the department or by an individual or organization under contract
7with the board under sub. (4) that affects a substantial interest of the volunteer fire
8fighter
, first responder, or emergency medical technician under the program.
AB992, s. 20
9Section
20. 16.705 (1m) of the statutes is amended to read:
AB992,8,1210
16.705
(1m) Subsection (1) does not apply to contracts entered into by the
11volunteer fire fighter and emergency medical technician service award board under
12s. 16.25 (4) (b).