Tax credit for volunteer emergency responders proposed

The Revenue Committee heard testimony Feb. 3 on a bill that would create a tax credit for volunteer emergency responders.

LB886, introduced by Sen. Al Davis of Hyannis, would create a $250 refundable tax credit for volunteer emergency responders, rescue squad members and firefighters who meet certain criteria. The bill would establish a point system for volunteer emergency responders, firefighters and rescue squad members to determine annual qualifications for the credit.

The bill is estimated to reduce tax revenue by $2.2 million in fiscal year 2017-2018 and again in FY2018-2019.

Davis said the bill would help recruit and retain volunteer firefighters and emergency responders in rural communities, which are seeing a significant drop in the number of volunteers. Without volunteers, Davis said, those communities would have to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars every year for private emergency services, a cost many counties could not bear without raising property taxes.

“These people put in a tremendous amount of time,” Davis said, adding that volunteers also spend their own money to attend certification and training courses.

Micheal Dwyer, a member of the Arlington volunteer fire and rescue service, testified in support of the bill. He said some rural counties face a critical shortage of volunteers and response times have fallen to dangerous levels in some places.

“We need to send a message to the volunteer fire and [emergency medical service] providers across the state that the state truly cares about what we’re doing,” he said.

No one spoke in opposition to the bill and the committee took no immediate action on it.