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Wisconsin Legislature: SB186: Bill Text
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SB186: Bill Text
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2025 - 2026 LEGISLATURE
LRB-2625/1
MIM:cdc
2025 SENATE BILL 186
April 14, 2025 - Introduced by Senators
Jacque
,
Tomczyk
and
Spreitzer
, cosponsored by Representatives
Sortwell
,
Behnke
,
Brill
,
Donovan
,
Goodwin
,
Goeben
,
B. Jacobson
,
Knodl
,
Kreibich
,
Maxey
,
Mursau
,
Penterman
,
Wichgers
and
Kaufert
. Referred to Committee on Transportation and Local Government.
SB186,1,4
1
An Act
to amend
16.25 (2), 16.25 (3) (a), 16.25 (3) (b), 16.25 (3) (c), 16.25 (3) (d),
2
16.25 (3) (e), 16.25 (3) (f), 16.25 (3) (j), 16.25 (3) (k) and 16.25 (4) (b);
to create
3
16.25 (1) (ag) and 16.25 (3) (L) of the statutes;
relating to:
training
4
completion awards for volunteer firefighters.
Analysis by the Legislative Reference Bureau
Under current law, the Department of Administration administers a service award program to provide length-of-service awards to volunteer firefighters, volunteer emergency medical responders, and volunteer emergency medical services practitioners.
This bill expands the program to provide grants to volunteer fire departments and volunteer fire companies to make training completion awards to volunteer firefighters. Under the bill, in order to receive a grant, the municipality in which a department or company is organized must have a municipal ordinance that provides a 100 percent match. The completion award for a volunteer firefighter who completes 60 hours of training is $500. The bill also requires that any money a volunteer fire department or fire company receives beyond what it expends on awards each calendar year must be returned to DOA for deposit in the general fund. Finally, under the bill, DOA is required to provide a report to the legislature in the sixth, seventh, and eighth years after the start of the program that includes the number of people who received the grant through the preceding year and the number of those people who are still firefighters in Wisconsin.
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:
SB186,1
1
Section
1
.
16.25 (1) (ag) of the statutes is created to read:
SB186,2,3
2
16.25
(1)
(ag) “Completion service award” means an award described in sub.
3
(3) (L).
SB186,2
4
Section
2
.
16.25 (2) of the statutes is amended to read:
SB186,2,17
5
16.25
(2)
The department shall administer a program to provide
grants for
6
completion service awards to volunteer firefighters, as described in sub. (3) (L), and
7
to provide
length-of-service awards, described in
26 USC 457
(e) (11), to volunteer
8
fire fighters
firefighters
in municipalities that operate volunteer fire departments
9
or that contract with volunteer fire companies organized under ch. 181 or 213, to
10
emergency medical responders in any municipality that authorizes emergency
11
medical responders to provide emergency medical responder services, and to
12
volunteer emergency medical services practitioners in any municipality that
13
authorizes volunteer emergency medical services practitioners to provide
14
emergency medical technical services in the municipality. To the extent permitted
15
by federal law, the department shall administer the program so as to treat the
16
length-of-service awards as a tax-deferred benefit under the Internal Revenue
17
Code.
SB186,3
18
Section
3
.
16.25 (3) (a) of the statutes is amended to read:
SB186,3,6
19
16.25
(3)
(a) All municipalities that operate volunteer fire departments or
1
that contract with a volunteer fire company organized under ch. 181 or 213, all
2
municipalities that authorize emergency medical responders to provide emergency
3
medical responder services, and all municipalities that authorize volunteer
4
emergency medical services practitioners to provide emergency medical technical
5
services are eligible to participate in the program
with respect to length-of-service
6
awards
.
SB186,4
7
Section
4
.
16.25 (3) (b) of the statutes is amended to read:
SB186,3,11
8
16.25
(3)
(b) Annual contributions
for length-of-service awards
in an amount
9
determined by the municipality shall be paid by each municipality for each
10
volunteer
fire fighter
firefighter
, emergency medical responder, and emergency
11
medical services practitioner who provides services for the municipality.
SB186,5
12
Section
5
.
16.25 (3) (c) of the statutes is amended to read:
SB186,3,19
13
16.25
(3)
(c) The municipality may select from among the plans offered by
14
individuals or organizations under contract with the department under sub. (4) for
15
length-of-service awards for
the volunteer
fire fighters
firefighters
, emergency
16
medical responders, and emergency medical services practitioners who perform
17
services for the municipality. The municipality shall pay the annual contributions
18
directly to the individual or organization offering the plan selected by the
19
municipality.
SB186,6
20
Section
6
.
16.25 (3) (d) of the statutes is amended to read:
SB186,4,10
21
16.25
(3)
(d) The department shall provide
the grants under par. (L) for
22
completion service awards, and the department shall provide
a match equal to
23
twice the amount of all annual municipal contributions paid for
length-of-service
1
awards for
volunteer
fire fighters
firefighters
, emergency medical responders, and
2
emergency medical services practitioners up to a state match of $390 per fiscal year,
3
other than contributions paid for the purchase of additional years of service under
4
par. (e), to be paid from the appropriation account under s. 20.505 (4) (er).
This
The
5
amount
for matches for length-of-service awards
shall be adjusted annually on July
6
1 to reflect any changes in the U.S. consumer price index for all urban consumers,
7
U.S. city average, as determined by the U.S. department of labor, for the 12-month
8
period ending on the preceding December 31. The department shall pay all
9
amounts that are matched under this paragraph
for length-of-service awards
to the
10
individuals and organizations offering the plans selected by the municipalities.
SB186,7
11
Section
7
.
16.25 (3) (e) of the statutes is amended to read:
SB186,4,19
12
16.25
(3)
(e) A municipality may purchase additional years of service for
13
volunteer
fire fighters
firefighters
, emergency medical responders, and emergency
14
medical services practitioners
to be used for length-of-service awards
. The number
15
of additional years of service that may be purchased under this paragraph may not
16
exceed the number of years of volunteer fire fighting, emergency medical responder
17
service, or emergency medical technical service performed by the volunteer
fire
18
fighter
firefighter
, emergency medical responder, or emergency medical services
19
practitioner for the municipality.
SB186,8
20
Section
8
.
16.25 (3) (f) of the statutes is amended to read:
SB186,5,6
21
16.25
(3)
(f) Except in the case of a volunteer
fire fighter
firefighter
,
22
emergency medical responder, or emergency medical services practitioner or the
23
beneficiary of a volunteer
fire fighter
firefighter
, emergency medical responder, or
1
emergency medical services practitioner eligible for a lump sum under par. (i), a
2
vesting period of 10 years of volunteer fire fighting, emergency medical responder
3
service, or emergency medical technical service for a municipality shall be required
4
before a volunteer
fire fighter
firefighter
, emergency medical responder, or
5
emergency medical services practitioner may receive any benefits under the
6
program
with respect to length-of-service awards
.
SB186,9
7
Section
9
.
16.25 (3) (j) of the statutes is amended to read:
SB186,5,15
8
16.25
(3)
(j) The account of any volunteer
fire fighter
firefighter
, emergency
9
medical responder, or emergency medical services practitioner who has not met all
10
of the vesting requirements under the program
for a length-of-service award
, who
11
has not provided volunteer fire fighting, emergency medical responder, or
12
emergency medical technical services for a municipality for a period of 12 months or
13
more, who does not meet any other program requirement
for a length-of-service
14
award
established by the municipality, and who has not been granted a leave of
15
absence by his or her supervisor shall be closed.
SB186,10
16
Section
10
.
16.25 (3) (k) of the statutes is amended to read:
SB186,5,21
17
16.25
(3)
(k) The department shall equitably allocate all moneys in
length-of-
18
service award
accounts of volunteer
fire fighters
firefighters
, emergency medical
19
responders, and emergency medical services practitioners that have been closed to
20
the accounts of volunteer
fire fighters
firefighters
, emergency medical responders,
21
and emergency medical services practitioners that have not been forfeited or closed.
SB186,11
22
Section
11
.
16.25 (3) (L) of the statutes is created to read:
SB186,6,2
1
16.25
(3)
(L) The department shall provide grants for completion service
2
awards. All of the following apply to the grants awarded under this paragraph:
SB186,6,5
3
1. A grant awarded under this paragraph shall be used by volunteer fire
4
departments and fire companies to make awards to volunteer firefighters of a
5
onetime payment of $250 after completion of 60 hours of training.
SB186,6,9
6
2. For a volunteer fire department or volunteer fire company to be eligible for
7
a grant under this paragraph, the municipality in which the department or
8
company is organized must, by ordinance, provide payments that match the
9
payments under subd. 1.
SB186,6,13
10
3. If a volunteer fire department or volunteer fire company receives a grant
11
that exceeds the amount of the awards it makes to volunteer firefighters under
12
subd. 1. in a calendar year, the department or company shall repay the excess
13
money to the department of administration for deposit in the general fund.
SB186,6,19
14
4. Six years after the effective date of this paragraph .... [LRB inserts date],
15
and for 2 years thereafter, on or before December 31, the department shall submit a
16
report to the chief clerk of each house of the legislature under s. 13.172 (2) that
17
includes the number of individuals who received a grant under this paragraph
18
through the date of the report and the number of those individuals who are still
19
firefighters in this state as of the date of the report.
SB186,12
20
Section
12
.
16.25 (4) (b) of the statutes is amended to read:
SB186,7,3
21
16.25
(4)
(b) The department may contract with any individual or
22
organization in the private sector that seeks to provide administrative services and
23
investment plans required for the program
for length-of-service awards
, other than
1
services funded from the appropriation under s. 20.505 (4) (ec), if the individual or
2
organization fulfills the requirements and has the qualifications established by the
3
department under par. (a). Section 16.72 (2) (b) does not apply to any such contract.
SB186,7,4
4
(end)
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