HB 2446

PRIOR PRINTER'S NOS. 3257, 3479  PRINTER'S NO.   3484
                THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
                    HOUSE BILL
                    No. 2446
                                          Session of
                                            2026
INTRODUCED BY HADDOCK, SOLOMON, McNEILL, VENKAT, MADDEN,
   FREEMAN, RIVERA, SANCHEZ, NEILSON, PASHINSKI, STEELE,
   DONAHUE, INGLIS, PIELLI, BOROWSKI, O'MARA, BOYD, TAKAC,
   A. BROWN, CIRESI, T. DAVIS, FLEMING AND MADSEN,
   APRIL 22, 2026
AS RE-REPORTED FROM COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS, HOUSE OF
   REPRESENTATIVES, AS AMENDED, JUNE 2, 2026
                               AN ACT
1 Amending Title 35 (Health and Safety) of the Pennsylvania
2    Consolidated Statutes, in Commonwealth services, establishing
3    the Fire Company Transformational Grant Program.
4    The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
5 hereby enacts as follows:
6    Section 1.    Title 35 of the Pennsylvania Consolidated
7 Statutes is amended by adding a section to read:
8 § 7385.3.   Fire Company Transformational Grant Program.
9    (a)   Establishment.--The Fire Company Transformational Grant
10 Program is established and shall be administered by the office.
11    (b)   Funding.--The office may expend not more than
12 $30,000,000 annually from the Property Tax Relief Reserve Fund     <--
13 for the purposes of awarding grants under this section.
14    (c)   Eligible applicants.--A municipal fire company,
15 volunteer fire company and combination fire company may be
16 eligible for a grant under the program upon application to the
1 office in the form and manner prescribed by the office.
2    (d)   Purposes.--Grants under the program shall be used to:
3(1)   Purchase equipment, including vehicles, protective
4    equipment, communications equipment and accessory equipment.
5(2)   Renovate, modernize or construct facilities
6    necessary for the operation of a fire company.
7(3)   Fund retention and recruitment programs, including
8    stipends, length of service award programs, recruitment
9    campaigns and necessary consultants.
10(4)   Pay staffing costs, including salaries for active
11    firefighting personnel, not to include any overtime costs.
12(5)   Pay for expenses related to multicompany projects or
13    regionalization efforts.
14(6)   Fund projects that improve operations and service
15    delivery involving multiple fire companies.
16(7)   Fund any other uses deemed appropriate by the office
17    in the guideline published under subsection (f)(1).
18    (e)   Eligibility.--To receive a grant under the program, an
19 applicant must:
20(1)   Be actively participating in a fire reporting system
21    as designated by the office.
22(2)   Have on record with the commissioner up-to-date
23    point-of-contact information for the municipal fire company,
24    volunteer fire company or combination fire company. The
25    contact information shall include a mailing address, a
26    telephone number and an email address and must be submitted
27    to the commissioner no later than July 31 immediately
28    preceding each grant application period.
29(3)   Be registered as an active response agency with a
30    public safety answering point as defined in section 5302
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1  (relating to definitions).
2(4)    Have a fire company identification number that is
3  associated solely with the fire company applying for the
4  grant.
5(5)    Be designated by a municipality, by resolution or
6  ordinance, as a provider of fire or rescue services within
7  the municipality.
8(6)    Not be delinquent or in violation of any other grant
9  or loan issued by the office.
10  (f)   Program standards and requirements.--
11(1)    The office shall issue guidelines to implement the
12  program and shall transmit the guidelines to the Legislative
13  Reference Bureau for publication in the next available issue
14  of the Pennsylvania Bulletin.
15(2)    Program guidelines shall:
16(i)    Establish eligibility standards for applicants.
17(ii)    Describe the objectives of the program, which
18objectives shall be consistent with this section.
19(iii)    Establish caps, limits and restrictions with
20respect to grant amounts in accordance with subsection
21(g).
22(iv)    Establish an annual application process and
23timelines for submission of applications.
24(v)    Present the criteria under which grant
25applications shall be evaluated by the office.
26(vi)    Establish a timetable within which the office
27shall award or disapprove a complete grant application.
28(vii)    Establish procedures by which the office shall
29verify expenditures of grant money by a grant recipient.
30(viii)    Establish requirements related to
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1recordkeeping and audit procedure.
2    (g)   Amounts and criteria.--Grants issued under the program
3 shall be:
4(1)   No less than $100,000 and no more than $1,000,000,
5    unless the applicant for the grant is composed of two or more
6    municipal fire companies, combination fire companies or
7    volunteer fire companies that consolidated their equipment,
8    firefighters and services within five years preceding the
9    date of the current year's application submission deadline,
10    in which case the grant shall be no more than $2,500,000.
11(2)   For a period of five years or less, unless the
12    office determines that there is a hardship or undue burden to
13    extend the term of the grant in excess of five years. The
14    commissioner shall have sole discretion to determine whether
15    a fire company has demonstrated hardship or undue burden. No
16    extension may result in a term that exceeds 10 years from the
17    effective date of the award.
18(3)   Issued on a reimbursement basis, except when payment
19    is necessary to procure items and services that require
20    advanced payment or working capital. The grant recipient
21    shall be required to provide documentation that supports an
22    advanced payment request with their application.
23    (h)   Restrictions.--The office may not award a grant to an
24 eligible applicant that submits an untimely application.
25    (i)   Administration.--The office may use up to 2% of the
26 funds available under this section for administrative costs.
27    (j)   Annual reports.--
28(1)   The commissioner shall prepare an annual report on
29    the grants administered under the program. The report shall
30    include all of the following information:
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1(i)    The total number of applications received for
2grants.
3(ii)    The total number of applications approved and
4the amounts funded for each recipient.
5(iii)    An analysis of how the grants were used by
6each recipient.
7(2)   The commissioner shall submit the annual report
8    under paragraph (1) to all of the following:
9(i)    The chairperson and minority chairperson of the
10Appropriations Committee of the Senate.
11(ii)    The chairperson and minority chairperson of the
12Appropriations Committee of the House of Representatives.
13(iii)    The chairperson and minority chairperson of
14the Veterans Affairs and Emergency Preparedness Committee
15of the Senate.
16(iv)    The chairperson and minority chairperson of the
17Veterans Affairs and Emergency Preparedness Committee of
18the House of Representatives.
19(3)   The commissioner shall post the annual report under
20    paragraph (1) on the office's publicly accessible Internet
21    website.
22    (k)   Definitions.--As used in this section, the following
23 words and phrases shall have the meanings given to them in this
24 subsection unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:
25    "Combination fire company."        A volunteer fire company located
26 in this Commonwealth with at least two paid employees in
27 addition to a fire chief. The term includes either an
28 independent, nonprofit entity or part of a unit of local
29 government.
30    "Municipal fire company."       A firefighting service that is
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1 established and operated by a municipality in this Commonwealth
2 as a part of the unit of local government. The term does not
3 include a nonprofit chartered corporation, independent
4 association or independent organization.
5    "Office."    The Office of the State Fire Commissioner.
6    "Program."    The Fire Company Transformational Grant Program
7 established under this section.
8    "Volunteer fire company."    As defined in section 7802
9 (relating to definitions).
10    Section 2.    This act shall take effect in 90 days.
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