Bill Text: NJ AR62 | 2014-2015 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Memorializes U.S. Congress to enact "Protecting Volunteer Firefighters and Emergency Responders Act" to codify exclusion of volunteer firefighters from designation as employees.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 5-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2014-01-27 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly Homeland Security and State Preparedness Committee [AR62 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2014-AR62-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman MARY PAT ANGELINI
District 11 (Monmouth)
Assemblyman SAMUEL L. FIOCCHI
District 1 (Atlantic, Cape May and Cumberland)
Assemblyman DAVID P. RIBLE
District 30 (Monmouth and Ocean)
SYNOPSIS
Memorializes U.S. Congress to enact "Protecting Volunteer Firefighters and Emergency Responders Act" to codify exclusion of volunteer firefighters from designation as employees.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Assembly Resolution memorializing the United States Congress to enact the "Protecting Volunteer Firefighters and Emergency Responders Act," to codify the exclusion of volunteer firefighters from designation as employees under the employer mandate provision of the "Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act."
Whereas, The federal "Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act," Pub.L.111-148, also called "Obamacare," was enacted into law on March 23, 2010, and was amended by the federal "Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010," Pub.L.111-152, enacted into law on March 30, 2010; and
Whereas, The most significant provisions of the law are scheduled to take effect on January 1, 2014, including the mandate that individuals buy health insurance and most employers pay for health insurance for their employees; and
Whereas, The "employer mandate provision" of the law requires employers of 50 or more full-time equivalent employees either to provide health insurance that meets certain minimum standards or pay a penalty; and
Whereas, Since the law does not specifically exempt volunteer firefighters, fire departments where 50 or more people work - either as volunteers or as paid employees - are expected to be subject to the mandate to provide health insurance for all of them; and
Whereas, In municipalities with more than one volunteer fire department or fire station, all personnel may be considered a single workforce for tax purposes, pushing many municipalities above the 50-worker threshold and increasing municipal costs by hundreds of thousands of dollars each year; and
Whereas, The U.S. Fire Administration, an entity within the Federal Emergency Management Agency in the Department of Homeland Security, reports that the National Fire Department Census found 71% of fire departments to be made up entirely of volunteer firefighters, and another 16% to be mostly volunteer; and
Whereas, Of the 743 fire departments in New Jersey, the Division of Fire Safety in the Department of Community Affairs indicates that 585 are volunteer departments, accounting for 79% of the fire departments in the State, and another 112, or 15%, are made up of career and volunteer firefighters; and
Whereas, The "Protecting Volunteer Firefighters and Emergency Responders Act" was introduced on December 10, 2013 by Senator Warner of Virginia and Congressman Barletta of Pennsylvania, as S.1798 and H.R.3685 respectively, with broad support from members of Congress affiliated with different political parties and positions; and
Whereas, The "Protecting Volunteer Firefighters and Emergency Responders Act" would "ensure that emergency services volunteers are not counted as full-time employees under the shared responsibility requirements contained in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act"; and
Whereas, On January 10, 2014, the United States Department of the Treasury announced that the department and the Internal Revenue Service would be issuing final regulations that would not require volunteer hours of bona fide volunteer firefighters and volunteer emergency medical personnel at governmental or tax-exempt organizations to be counted when determining full-time employees, but these final regulations have yet to be adopted and are not codified in law; and
Whereas, Many communities rely exclusively upon volunteer fire departments for fire protection and emergency medical services and prospective volunteers rarely, if ever, enter the volunteer fire service with an expectation of receiving health insurance, since they generally are seeking a way to contribute to their communities much like they would through other community volunteer opportunities; and
Whereas, It is in the best interests of the citizens of the State of New Jersey and this great nation to memorialize the United States Congress to amend the "Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act" to codify the exclusion of volunteer firefighters from being considered employees that subject fire departments to purchasing health insurance under the "shared responsibility provision" of Obamacare; now, therefore,
Be It Resolved by the General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. The United States Congress is respectfully memorialized to enact the "Protecting Volunteer Firefighters and Emergency Responders Act," S.1798 and H.R.3685, to codify the exclusion of volunteer firefighters from designation as employees of fire departments subject to the employer mandate provision of the "Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act," also known as "Obamacare."
2. Copies of this resolution, as filed with the Secretary of State, shall be transmitted by the Clerk of the General Assembly to the President and Vice President of the United States of America, the Secretary of the Treasury, the Commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service, the United States Fire Administrator, the Majority and Minority Leaders of the United States Senate, the Speaker and Minority Leader of the United States House of Representatives, and every member of Congress elected from this State.
STATEMENT
This resolution respectfully memorializes the United States Congress to enact the "Protecting Volunteer Firefighters and Emergency Responders Act," S.1798 and H.R.3685, to codify the exclusion of volunteer firefighters from designation as employees of fire departments subject to the employer mandate provision of the "Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act," also known as "Obamacare."
The "Protecting Volunteer Firefighters and Emergency Responders Act" was introduced on December 10, 2013 as S.1798 and H.R.3685, with broad support from members of Congress affiliated with different political parties and positions, to "ensure that emergency services volunteers are not counted as full-time employees under the shared responsibility requirements contained in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act." The "employer mandate provision" of the "Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act," also known as Obamacare, requires employers of 50 or more full-time equivalent employees either to provide health insurance that meets certain minimum standards or pay a penalty. Since the law does not specifically exempt volunteer firefighters, fire departments where 50 or more people work - either as volunteers or as paid employees - are expected to be subject to the mandate to provide health insurance for all of them. In municipalities with more than one volunteer fire department or fire station, all personnel may be considered a single workforce for tax purposes, pushing many municipalities above the 50-worker threshold and increasing municipal costs by hundreds of thousands of dollars each year. On January 10, 2014, the United States Department of the Treasury announced that the department and the Internal Revenue Service would be issuing final regulations that would not require volunteer hours of bona fide volunteer firefighters and volunteer emergency medical personnel at governmental or tax-exempt organizations to be counted when determining full-time employees, but these final regulations have yet to be adopted and are not codified in law.
The United States Fire Administration, an entity within the Federal Emergency Management Agency in the Department of Homeland Security, reports that the National Fire Department Census found 71% of fire departments to be made up entirely of volunteer firefighters, and another 16% to be mostly volunteer. Of the 743 fire departments in New Jersey, the Division of Fire Safety in the Department of Community Affairs indicates that 585 are volunteer departments, accounting for 79% of the fire departments in the State, and another 112, or 15%, are made up of career and volunteer firefighters. Many communities rely exclusively upon volunteer fire departments for fire protection and emergency medical services and prospective volunteers rarely, if ever, enter the volunteer fire service with an expectation of receiving health insurance, since they generally are seeking a way to contribute to their communities much like they would through other community volunteer opportunities.
