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| 4 major fire ems legislation bills passed | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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In case you did not already know, 4 bills passed that will benefit WV fire and EMS during this legislative session. This is a tremendous victory for the emergency responders of West Virginia. The main reason we were able to get some new benefits this year was the fact that many of us joined forces, and together we learned the system and fought for what we wanted. We did not get everything, but we did get something. We have proved to ourselves that we can be a force, we can be heard, and the future is now very bright for WV fire and EMS. To sum it all up, "You aint seen nothin yet".
Now that we are joining together, we will go back next year, and we will be even stronger, smarter, and we will get more including the volunteer firefighter retirement. The day will come, and it is very near, that we will be just as strong if not stronger than the surrounding states that we have so often been envious of. The following were all passed this year: HB 2801 - the "West Virginia Fire and EMS Survivor Benefit Act." which provides a $50,000 death benefit to fire and ems personnel killed in the line of duty effective Jan 1, 2007 HB 2709 - Requiring the installation of fire hydrants at intervals of not more than every two thousand feet on all new installation of water mains SB 96 - Authorizing fire department-owned apparatuses use yellow flashing lights HB 2717 - Enacting a retirement system for Emergency Medical Services Personnel In case you missed it on live TV, HB 2709 "the hydrant bill" was in real danger of not passing the senate with just minutes to go, several senators were speaking against this bill. Then our friend Senator John Unger stood up and explained the fact that our apparatus only carries so much hose, and also this bill would certainly lower the insurance for some homeowners with additional hydrants. His words in favor of this action probably saved this bill as it barely passed the senate just under the wire. Some notable bills we did not get this year but will not give up on are as follows: SB 92 - Creating WV Volunteer Firefighter Length of Service Act (the senate and house will do a study on this to make sure our proposed contributions are in fact large enough to support this fund. The elected officials actually support this bill, they just want to make sure it has enough money to function. We will get this in 2008) HB 2711 - Providing that fire officers may use adjacent property to prevent fire from spreading (not sure what happened here, it died in the house judiciary, we must figure out why this did not pass and correct that for next year) HB 2704 - Providing State Treasury Fire Protection Fund revenue to the West Virginia State Fire Chiefs Association and the West Virginia State Fireman's Association ( died in the house finance, again we must figure out why this did not pass and correct that for next year) All in all we did very well this year, as long as Governor Manchin signs all 4 bills. We are told it is not very often that bills complete legislation on the very first year of introduction, this year we had a few that did just that. Thanks to all the members of the House and Senate that stood with the WV fire and EMS and voted to pass these bills, and thanks to Beth Vorhees of WV Public Broadcasting. Thanks to the WVSFA and lobbyist Same Love, and a very special thanks to Senator John Unger for sponsoring several bills, arranging a meeting with the governors legislative director, and for holding workshops in different areas of the state to teach us how to get legislation passed. Your department named on the list of support below that was faxed to the governor, your phone calls, and your letters are why these bills passed. You should be proud of your efforts, and just in case nobody else ever bothers to thank you for what you did, WVfirefighers.com would like to officially thank everyone who worked to make these new benefits possible.
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