PRINTER'S NO. 804
No. 713 Session of 2005
INTRODUCED BY MANN, BEBKO-JONES, BROWNE, CALTAGIRONE, CURRY, GEIST, GEORGE, GOODMAN, McGEEHAN, PHILLIPS, READSHAW, RUBLEY, SAINATO, SOLOBAY, WOJNAROSKI, GRUCELA, MELIO, PISTELLA, ROONEY, RUFFING, SATHER, THOMAS AND YOUNGBLOOD, MARCH 1, 2005
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON VETERANS AFFAIRS AND EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS, MARCH 1, 2005
AN ACT 1 Amending Title 53 (Municipalities Generally) of the Pennsylvania 2 Consolidated Statutes, providing for fire company reduction 3 and closure provisions for municipalities. 4 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania 5 hereby enacts as follows: 6 Section 1. Section 2962 of Title 53 of the Pennsylvania 7 Consolidated Statutes is amended by adding a subsection to read: 8 § 2962. Limitation on municipal powers. 9 * * * 10 (d.1) Reduction of fire protection.--A municipality shall 11 not reduce or eliminate any ladder or engine company without 12 first satisfying each of the following criteria: 13 (1) In the event that the municipality seeks to reduce 14 or eliminate any engine or ladder company, the municipality 15 must provide written notice of the proposed reduction or 16 elimination to all firefighters and paramedics assigned to 17 the affected company, to any labor organizations representing
1 affected firefighters and paramedics, and to all citizens 2 served by the affected company. In order to notify the 3 public, the municipality may place an advertisement in a 4 newspaper of general circulation within the affected area. 5 (2) In the event that the municipality seeks to reduce 6 or eliminate any engine or ladder company, it must first 7 commission and complete a study of the proposed reduction, 8 which shall include, but not be limited to, detailed 9 projections of the savings to be achieved by the proposed 10 reduction or closure, and analyses of the impact of the 11 proposed reduction on emergency response time, delivery of 12 emergency services to the public, homeowner fire insurance 13 premium coverage implications and safety of firefighters, 14 paramedics and citizens. An independent third party shall 15 conduct the impact study which shall be released no earlier 16 than 90 days from the date of commission. Once the study has 17 been completed, it shall be made immediately available to 18 labor organization representatives, the Office of the State 19 Fire Commissioner and to any other interested party that 20 requests a copy. 21 (3) No less than 60 days nor more than 75 days after 22 receipt of the study by the labor organization 23 representatives and the Office of the State Fire 24 Commissioner, the municipality shall hold public hearings in 25 order to receive feedback on the proposed reduction in fire 26 protection services and on the results of the impact study. 27 The municipality shall also accept written responses to the 28 findings contained in the impact study. 29 (4) The provisions of this subsection shall be 30 applicable to all municipalities, notwithstanding the fact 20050H0713B0804 - 2 -
1 that such municipalities, after the effective date of this 2 subsection, may have adopted or amended a home rule charter. 3 * * * 4 Section 2. This act shall be retroactive to June 1, 2004. 5 Section 3. This act shall take effect immediately. L21L53JLW/20050H0713B0804 - 3 -