Wisconsin Legislation

State Level Legislation | Federal Legislation

STATE LEVEL

Posted: 4/16/08 -National Volunteer Fire Council

The Homeland Security Committee passed a resolution that the NVFC should collect information regarding problems that fire departments are having with the AFG application process. As many of you, AFT is scheduled to be reauthorized next year and it will be useful for us to have as much input on potential issues to be addressed as possible. Many of you have expressed concerns about the difficulties that extremely small fire departments are having getting grants and the more evidence of this that we are able to collect the better. Please let your respective state association members know that if they have concerns regarding the AFG program that we would like to hear from them. Let me know if you have any questions.

Dave Finger, Director of Government Relations
National Volunteer Fire Council
7852 Walker Drive, Suite 450
Greenbelt, MD 20770
202 887-5700 ext. 12
202 887-5291 Fax
1-888-ASK-NVFC (275-6832)
www.nvfc.org

Posted: 2/15/08 - Co-sponsorship of LRB 3928/1
RE: A requirement that an employer permit an employee who is a volunteer firefighter, emergency medical technician (EMT), first responder, or ambulance driver to be late for or absent from work if the lateness or absence is due to the employee responding to an emergency that begins before the employee is required to report to work.
Click here for more details on the bill.

Posted: 1/14/08 - Fire-safe Cigarettes - Video Link

Posted: 10/15/07 - Job Protection Legislation

The Wisconsin Fire & EMS Legislative Leadership Coalition is attempting to get a state job protection bill introduced to protect you if late for work due to being on an emergency call, but we desperately need your assistance in this matter. If you have ever been disciplined for being late or have had a problem in this area, we need a letter from you stating the problems you have had. No names or department names will be used. This information will be very important when a hearing is called. Also, we will need officers and firefighters to attend a hearing to show their support for this type of legislation.

If you have any type of problems in this area, please send a short letter of the problems you have had to: Wisconsin State Firefighters Association, PO Box 126, Durand, WI 54736

We are also presently seeking major sponsors to back this bill but we need everyone’s assistance to make it happen! Please do your part; your Association officers will be doing theirs! We need this type of legislation to protect you.

Click here for details on Job Protection Legistation at the Federal Level.

Posted: 10/15/07 - Designated License Plates for Emergency Personnel

Firefighters and emergency personnel’s license plates used to be red but the State is now issuing these plates white in color. We find that this is causing a problem as they are no longer easily recognizable and cause problems in emergencies.

We ask that you would please take the time to call your state representative’s and inform them that emergency personnel would like to have them changed back to red in color to make them easily recognized when responding to an emergency.

Click here... IBC/Proposed sprinkler threshold on 3 units or more in multi-family buildings.

Assembly Bill 321 School/Tornado Drills Need Your Assistance

Current Legislation by Larry Plumer

Two Bills recently signed by Governor Doyle are the Sprinkler Systems Bill and Litigation Expenses. (See list below)

Other bills listed are presently pending and have the support of the Legislative Coalition and the Wisconsin State Firefighters Association and have had hearings or hearings:

AB835 – An ACT to amend 36.27 (3m) (b) 1. and 2. and 38.24 (5) (b) 1. and 2. of the statutes; relating to: fee remission for children and surviving spouses of ambulance drivers, correction officers, emergency medical services technicians, fire fighters, and law enforcement officers.

Analysis by the Legislative Reference Bureau

Current law grants a full remission of fees to a resident undergraduate student registered at the University of Wisconsin System or at a technical college who is the child or surviving spouse of an ambulance driver, correctional officer, emergency medical services technician, fire fighter, or law enforcement offer who was killed in the line of duty in Wisconsin. Current law also grants “duty” disability benefits to a participant in the Wisconsin Retirement System, the Employees’ Retirement System of the city of Milwaukee, or the Milwaukee County Employee’s Retirement System who develops a permanent work-related disability (qualifying disability) that forces the employee to retire or to reduce his work assignments.

This bill extends this fee remission to the child or surviving spouse of an ambulance driver, correctional officer, emergency medical services technician, fire fighter, or law enforcement officer who was a participant in one of the three retirement systems, qualified for duty disability benefits, and later died from the qualifying disability.

For further information see the state and local fiscal estimate, which will be printed as an appendix to this bill.

SB432 – An Act to amend 16.25 (2), 16.25 (3) (a), 16.25 (3) (b), 16.25 (3) (c), 16.25 (3) (d) 1., 1625 (3) (e), 16.25 (3) f), 16.25 (3) (g), 16.25 (3) (h), 16.25 (3) i) 2. and a6.25 (3) (j) of the statutes; relating to: authorization for counties to provide length-of-service awards for emergency technicians who perform services for the county.

Analysis by the Legislative Reference Bureau

Under current law, any county may, acting by itself or jointly with municipality or hospital, operate an emergency medical services program. Current law also establishes a program under which a municipality that provides emergency medical services may provide length-of-service awards to qualifying emergency medical technicians who perform emergency medical services for the municipality. Annual contributions to the awards program by each municipality are matched by the state, subject to certain conditions and limitations.

This bill permits a county that operates an emergency medical services program to provide length-of-service awards to qualifying emergency medical technicians who performs services for the county. Under the bill, the awards may qualify for state matching contributions subject to the same conditions and limitations that currently apply.

For further information see the state and local fiscal estimate, which will be printed as an appendix to this bill.

AB 385 – The Emergency Health Care Volunteer Bill.

On January 4, Governor Jim Doyle signed this bill into law. The signing of the bill created Act 96 of the current Wisconsin legislative session.

Current law designates the Department of Health and Family Services (DHFS) as the public health authority if a state of emergency is declared. Act 96 now makes it possible for DHFS to include specified licensed and/or certified health care and behavioral health professional volunteers as “agents of the state” during a state of emergency. The “agent” designation will make it possible to provide liability and workers compensation for those who volunteer to provide health care.

Another important aspect of Act 96 is the inclusion of health care providers who have held a valid license or certification in the last ten years when acting as an unpaid volunteer. Those who had their license revoked, suspended or denied renewal would not be covered.

You can read the details of Wisconsin Act 96 by going to the DHFS WEAVR Web page at http://dhfs.wisconsin-gov/preparedness/WEAVR/. Click on the box labeled “Commonly Asked Questions.” The second question on the list “What insurance liability do I have as a volunteer” will direct you to ACT 96.

FEDERAL LEVEL

Posted: 10/15/07 - Job Protection Legislation

Rob Andrews (D-NJ) is looking to introduce legislation that would provide up to 14 days per of job protection to volunteer first responders who respond in an official capacity to a nationally declared or state declared disaster. He is hoping to have a hearing on this and has asked us to provide two witnesses – one who would testify broadly on the issue, and a second who has been personally affected by a lack of job protection. This could be someone who was fired, but could also be someone who either didn’t respond or responded for a shorter period of time than they would have for fear of being fired or demoted or someone who had to take vacation time in order to respond. The Committee will consider anyone who has personal story to tell. This person would not be asked to address broad policy issues.

The Wisconsin Fire & EMS Legislative Leadership Coalition strongly backs this legislation, but would like input on feelings or problems if you volunteered to assist somewhere, send information to: WI State Firefighters Association, PO Box 126, Durand, WI 54736.