ASSEMBLY RESOLUTION No. 62 STATE OF NEW JERSEY. 216th LEGISLATURE INTRODUCED JANUARY 27, 2014

Transcription

1 ASSEMBLY RESOLUTION No. STATE OF NEW JERSEY th LEGISLATURE INTRODUCED JANUARY, 0 Sponsored by: Assemblywoman MARY PAT ANGELINI District (Monmouth) Assemblyman SAMUEL L. FIOCCHI District (Atlantic, Cape May and Cumberland) Assemblyman DAVID P. RIBLE District 0 (Monmouth and Ocean) Co-Sponsored by: Assemblyman Space and Assemblywoman McHose 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. (Sponsorship Updated As Of: //0)

2 AR ANGELINI, FIOCCHI 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.-, also called Obamacare, was enacted into law on March, 00, and was amended by the federal Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 00, Pub.L.-, enacted into law on March 0, 00; and WHEREAS, The most significant provisions of the law are scheduled to take effect on January, 0, 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 0 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 0 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 0-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 % of fire departments to be made up entirely of volunteer firefighters, and another % to be mostly volunteer; and WHEREAS, Of the fire departments in New Jersey, the Division of Fire Safety in the Department of Community Affairs indicates that are volunteer departments, accounting for % of the fire departments in the State, and another, or %, are made up of career and volunteer firefighters; and WHEREAS, The Protecting Volunteer Firefighters and Emergency Responders Act was introduced on December 0, 0 by Senator Warner of Virginia and Congressman Barletta of Pennsylvania, as S. and H.R. 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

3 AR ANGELINI, FIOCCHI responsibility requirements contained in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act ; and WHEREAS, On January 0, 0, 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:. The United States Congress is respectfully memorialized to enact the Protecting Volunteer Firefighters and Emergency Responders Act, S. and H.R., 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.. 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.

4 AR ANGELINI, FIOCCHI STATEMENT This resolution respectfully memorializes the United States Congress to enact the Protecting Volunteer Firefighters and Emergency Responders Act, S. and H.R., 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 0, 0 as S. and H.R., 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 0 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 0 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 0-worker threshold and increasing municipal costs by hundreds of thousands of dollars each year. On January 0, 0, 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 taxexempt 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 % of fire departments to be made up entirely of volunteer firefighters, and another % to be mostly volunteer. Of the fire departments in New Jersey, the Division of Fire Safety in the Department of Community Affairs indicates that are volunteer departments, accounting for % of the fire departments in the State, and another, or %, 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

5 AR ANGELINI, FIOCCHI contribute to their communities much like they would through other community volunteer opportunities.