Raised Bill No. 934, introduced in the January Session of 2023, proposes an amendment to Section 7-323v of the general statutes, effective July 1, 2023. The bill, referred to the Committee on Public Safety and Security, aims to ensure that volunteer fire companies are compensated for their responses to calls within state parks and state forests. The amendment would require the State Fire Administrator to pay $500 to each volunteer fire company for each call they respond to on limited access highways, the Berlin Turnpike, and now, as per the new insertion, property within the boundaries of a state park or a state forest. This is a change from the current law, which specifies the section of Route 8 in the town of Beacon Falls within the Naugatuck State Forest.

Additionally, the bill includes a provision to protect the funding of volunteer fire companies from municipal budget cuts. Specifically, it states that no municipality that provides funds to a volunteer fire company may reduce such funding based on the payments that the company receives, or is anticipated to receive, under the amended Section 7-323v. This clause ensures that the financial support from the state is supplemental and does not negatively impact the existing funding that volunteer fire companies receive from their local municipalities. The bill has received a joint favorable committee recommendation.

Statutes affected:
Raised Bill: 7-323v
PS Joint Favorable Change of Reference: 7-323v