Provides that the election of chief and assistant chief by a fire department may be on the same day as the day of election of the fire department's election of administration officers

2025 Regular Session Introduced by Ken Blankenbush and 7 co-sponsors

Allows fire departments to hold chief and assistant chief elections on the same day as administration-officer elections, on a permissive basis to simplify logistics and voting.

REFERRED TO LOCAL GOVERNMENTS

Bill Summary: A 6845

Overview

Bill A 6845 would authorize fire departments to schedule the election of their chief and assistant chief on the same day as the election of the fire department’s administration officers. In other words, the bill creates a permissive option for holding these leadership elections concurrently with administration-officer elections, rather than requiring separate election dates.

Purpose and Intent

To provide flexibility in the scheduling of fire department officer elections.

To allow, on a permissive basis, the chief and assistant chief elections to coincide with the department’s administration-officer elections, potentially simplifying logistics and coordination.

Key Provisions

Permits, rather than obligates, the fire department’s chief and assistant chief elections to be held on the same day as the fire department’s administration-officer elections.

The bill’s language indicates a permissive alignment of election dates, subject to applicable local government election procedures and timelines.

Affected Entities

Fire departments governed under the relevant local government framework.

Fire department electors (members and voters in the department).

Local election officials and administrative staff responsible for conducting department elections.

Procedural and Timeline Aspects

Status: Referred to the Committee on Local Governments.

Introduced: March 14, 2025.

Legislative actions recorded: Referred to Local Governments (listed twice in the provided actions).

Next steps: Committee consideration, potential amendments, and a floor vote. If advanced, the bill would move through the standard legislative process toward enactment or defeat.

Sponsorship

Primary sponsor: Philip Palmesano

Cosponsors: Angelo J. Morinello, Chris Tague, Karl Brabenec, David McDonough, Brian D. Miller, Mike Reilly, Kenneth Blankenbush

Related Legislation (prior-session)

A 4403, A 6526, A 4754, A 3532, A 4873, A 4367

These related bills suggest ongoing interest in aligning or adjusting fire department election procedures across sessions.

Potential Impacts and Considerations

Administrative: Could reduce duplicative logistics and costs by consolidating election events.

Voter Experience: May streamline the process for department members voting for multiple officer positions on a single day.

Local discretion: Because the provision is permissive, local departments retain authority to decide whether to align dates, maintaining flexibility to suit specific circumstances.

Implementation: Requires coordination within each department’s election plan and adherence to broader election laws and timelines.

This summary reflects the information available. If the full text becomes available, details such as any amendments, effective date, and jurisdiction-specific considerations could be clarified.