Firefighter/Law Enforcement Bills Sponsored by Meredith Passes Senate; Heading to Governor’s Desk

Bills To Help Both Volunteer Fire Depts. and Law Enforcement

FRANKFORT, Ky. (March 22, 2017) – This week, the Senate passed two bills sponsored and co-sponsored by Rep. Michael Meredith of Brownsville, sending them to the Governor’s desk to be signed into law.
 
HB 122 exempts volunteer fire departments from being required to file yearly reports with the Department for Local Government (DLG), and from incurring thousands of dollars in auditing fees from outside accounting firms. While still being required to file annual reports and still subject to audits, those matters would be handled by the Fire Commission, a process far less burdensome on the local fire departments.
 
Meredith is the primary sponsor of House Bill 122, and has long been an advocate for supporting volunteer fire departments across the Commonwealth, through both funding and regulatory relief.
 
“Our volunteer firefighters are selfless public servants who are invaluable to our communities, and it is critical that we let them focus more on their work and less on complying with burdensome regulations,” said Meredith. “I am grateful to the Senate for passing this vital measure, and look forward to seeing it signed into law.”
 
Meanwhile, House Bill 140 would increase the annual stipend given to participants in the Kentucky Law Enforcement Foundation Program Fund (KLEPF) from $3,100 to $4,000. The measure would also increase allocations to certain qualifying volunteer fire departments to $11,000 annually, in addition to increasing the annual supplement paid to firefighters.
 
“I was proud to co-sponsor this measure, which looks out for the heroes in our society: law enforcement and first responders,” Meredith added.
 
Both pieces of legislation passed with broad, bipartisan support, without a single dissenting vote in either chamber.