North Carolina 2025-2026 Regular Session

North Carolina House Bill H669 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New		Differences
1	1		GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
2	2		SESSION 2025
3		-	H 1
4		-	HOUSE BILL 669
	3	+	H D
	4	+	HOUSE BILL DRH30309-NBa-116
	5	+
5	6
6	7
7	8		Short Title: Volunteer Firefighter Reimbursement Program. (Public)
8	9		Sponsors: Representative F. Jackson.
9		-	For a complete list of sponsors, refer to the North Carolina General Assembly web site.
10		-	Referred to: Appropriations, if favorable, Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House
11		-	April 3, 2025
12		-	H669 -v-1
	10	+	Referred to:
	11	+
	12	+	DRH30309 -NBa-116
13	13		A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1
14	14		AN ACT TO ALLOW FOR VOLUNTEER FIREFIGHTERS TO BE REIMBURSED FOR 2
15	15		CERTAIN EXPENSES IN THE COURSE OF EMERGENCY RESPONSE. 3
16	16		The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts: 4
17	17		SECTION 1.(a) Program. – There is established the Reimbursement for Volunteer 5
18	18		Firefighters Pilot Program (Program). The Program shall be operated statewide by the 6
19	19		Department of Public Safety, Division of Emergency Management. Firefighters employed by or 7
20	20		a member of a volunteer organization in this State shall be eligible for reimbursement for mileage 8
21	21		from their duty station to the scene of an emergency, accident, or other event necessitating a 9
22	22		firefighter response in their service area. 10
23	23		SECTION 1.(b) Reimbursement. – The rate of reimbursement for mileage shall be 11
24	24		equal to the current standard business mileage rate issued annually by the Internal Revenue 12
25	25		Service. Firefighters eligible for reimbursement shall also be eligible for reimbursement for use 13
26	26		of their personal equipment used at the scene of the accident. This reimbursement shall be for 14
27	27		any personal equipment used to secure the scene or treat individuals involved in the emergency, 15
28	28		accident, or other event necessitating a firefighter response. The Division shall be responsible for 16
29	29		overseeing the reimbursement program for volunteer firefighters under this section. The 17
30	30		commanding officer or highest-ranking officer at each volunteer firefighter organization shall be 18
31	31		responsible for collecting the reimbursement requests from each volunteer firefighter. Each 19
32	32		reimbursement request shall be submitted within 60 days of the reimbursable event. The Program 20
33	33		shall terminate on June 30, 2026. 21
34	34		SECTION 1.(c) Report. – The Division shall report to the Joint Legislative 22
35	35		Emergency Management Oversight Committee by June 30, 2026, on the effectiveness of the 23
36	36		Program. The report shall contain, at a minimum, all of the following information: 24
37	37		(1) The number of reimbursement requests and amounts of each request. 25
38	38		(2) Data on which volunteer firefighter organizations submitted reimbursement 26
39	39		requests and any trends or patterns in the requests. 27
40	40		(3) Whether the Division recommends expansion of the Program purposes or 28
41	41		making it permanent, or any modification on eligible reimbursement or the 29
42	42		manner thereof. 30
43	43		SECTION 2. Appropriation. – There is appropriated from the General Fund to the 31
44	44		Department of Public Safety, Division of Emergency Management, the nonrecurring sum of one 32
45	45		million dollars ($1,000,000) for the 2025-2026 fiscal year for the operation of the volunteer 33
46		-	firefighter reimbursement program, as enacted in Section 1 of this act. 34 General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
47		-	Page 2 House Bill 669-First Edition
48		-	SECTION 3. Implementation. – The Division shall seek to implement the Program 1
49		-	in accordance with Section 1 of this act by January 1, 2026, and shall advertise the Program on 2
50		-	their publicly accessible Division website. The Division shall consult with volunteer firefighter 3
51		-	organizations on the implementation of this Program. 4
52		-	SECTION 4. Effective Date. – This act becomes effective July 1, 2025. 5
	46	+	firefighter reimbursement program, as enacted in Section 1 of this act. 34
	47	+	SECTION 3. Implementation. – The Division shall seek to implement the Program 35
	48	+	in accordance with Section 1 of this act by January 1, 2026, and shall advertise the Program on 36
	49	+	H.B. 669
	50	+	Apr 1, 2025
	51	+	HOUSE PRINCIPAL CLERK General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
	52	+	Page 2 DRH30309-NBa-116
	53	+	their publicly accessible Division website. The Division shall consult with volunteer firefighter 1
	54	+	organizations on the implementation of this Program. 2
	55	+	SECTION 4. Effective Date. – This act becomes effective July 1, 2025. 3