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S 1818

Designates March thirty-first as "Vaping Awareness Day"

2025 Regular Session Introduced by Nathalia Fernández

Expands retirement and disability protection rules to Logan Airport, Massachusetts military reservation, and Barnes ANGB fire personnel by designating them as fire districts under

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Bill Summary · S 1818

Note on source materials
The metadata you provided lists the bill title as “Designates March thirty-first as ‘Vaping Awareness Day’,” but the bill text filed as Senate No. 1818 (S.D. 408) and the body of the measure clearly concern fire departments (airport and military-base fire personnel) and amendments to Massachusetts General Laws, Chapters 41 and 32. This summary is based on the bill text (An Act relative to the commonwealth’s fire departments). Also, some procedural and sponsor entries in your materials appear inconsistent (federal senators listed as cosponsors and out‑of‑order dates). You should verify official status and sponsor information with the Massachusetts Legislature’s website.

Summary

Purpose

The bill amends multiple provisions of Massachusetts General Laws to extend certain statutory treatment, retirement protections, and eligibility rules to specific aviation and military fire personnel and to treat certain authorities as “fire districts” for purposes of those laws.

Key provisions

  • Amends Chapter 41, Section 100:

    • Extends the application of this section to permanent crash crewmen, crash boatmen, fire controlmen and assistant fire controlmen employed at General Edward Lawrence Logan International Airport.
    • Extends application to members of the Massachusetts military reservation fire department and members of the 104th Fighter Wing fire department.
    • For purposes of this section, designates the Massachusetts Port Authority, the Massachusetts military reservation, and Barnes Air National Guard Base as “fire districts.”

  • Amends Chapter 41, Section 100B:

    • Applies this section to any permanent crash crewman/boatman, fire controlman/assistant fire controlman from Logan Airport, and to members of the military reservation and 104th Fighter Wing who are retired under general or special laws relating to accidental disability.
    • Again designates the Massachusetts Port Authority, military reservation, and Barnes ANGB as fire districts for this section.

  • Amends Chapter 32, Sections 94, 94A and 94B:

    • Adds language specifying that, for members of the 104th Fighter Wing fire department or the Massachusetts military reservation fire department, having passed a physical examination on entry into service for those departments before their transition to state employment satisfies the statutory physical‑examination requirement referenced in these retirement/benefit sections.

Who is affected

  • Operationally: crash crew/boat personnel and fire-control personnel employed at Logan Airport; members of the Massachusetts military reservation fire department; members of the 104th Fighter Wing fire department.
  • Administratively: Massachusetts Port Authority, Massachusetts military reservation, Barnes Air National Guard Base (designated as “fire districts” for relevant statutes).
  • Financially: these changes could affect state and local retirement systems, particularly accidental disability retirement eligibility and associated liabilities for current and future retirees from the listed units.
  • Other stakeholders: Commonwealth retirement administrators, municipal and state public-safety finance officials, and affected personnel seeking benefits or retirement treatment.

Procedural status and timeline

  • Docket filed: Senate Docket No. 408 (filed 01/13/2025 per bill text header).
  • Latest listed actions in provided material include reads, referrals (Public Service, Finance, and a May 20 referral to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions), and a hearing scheduled for 06/02/2025. The action list contains inconsistent dates and entries; consult the official Massachusetts legislative tracking site for the authoritative current status.

Potential impacts and considerations

  • Extends parity in statutory treatment and retirement protections to airport and military-base fire personnel who historically may have been governed by different rules — likely improving access to firefighter-specific retirement and disability benefits.
  • Could increase retirement system liabilities depending on scope and number of affected employees and retirees.
  • Administrative implementation will require coordination among the Massachusetts State Retirement Board, Massachusetts Port Authority, military reservation authorities, and relevant fire departments.

For authoritative text and current status, please refer to the Massachusetts Legislature’s official bill page for Senate No. 1818 (2025–2026).

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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