Establishing length of service award programs for volunteer fire fighters, volunteer emergency medical care providers, and reserve peace officers, making appropriations, and including effective date provisions

This bill authorizes a municipality, defined as a city, county, township, benefited fire district, or agency authorized by law to provide emergency response services, to establish a length of service award program as described in section 457(e)(11) of the Internal Revenue Code for volunteer fire fighters, volunteer emergency medical care providers, and reserve peace officers. The bill provides that the governing body of a municipality that establishes a program shall, in consultation with the chief or other person in command of the fire department and police department serving the municipality, as applicable, adopt guidelines providing for eligibility requirements for participation by volunteer fire fighters, volunteer emergency medical care providers, and reserve peace officers, minimum vesting requirements, distribution requirements, and such other guidelines as deemed necessary to operate the program. The bill also establishes a length of service award program grant fund under the control of the department of revenue (department). For the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2025, $2 million in lottery revenues is transferred to the length of service award program grant fund prior to deposit of the lottery revenues in the general fund of the state. This amount shall increase by $500,000 each time the length of service award program grant fund is depleted for two consecutive years, but moneys in the length of service award program fund shall not exceed $5 million. Moneys in the fund are appropriated to the department for grants to municipalities that have established a length of service award program to provide contributions to the program on behalf of participants. The bill requires the department to adopt rules establishing a grant application process that shall provide for up to a dollar-for-dollar funding match from a municipality that has established a length of service award program, in an amount not to exceed $500 per award recipient. If the moneys in the fund are insufficient to pay all eligible grants in a fiscal year, the director of revenue must prorate the moneys to each municipality. The bill also requires the grant process to allow a municipality to use moneys received from any source for purposes of providing the funding match required by the bill. The bill takes effect January 1, 2026.