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S 1882

Relates to certain farm wineries, farm breweries, farm distilleries, and farm cideries whose business includes agricultural tourism

2025 Regular Session Introduced by Mark Walczyk

The bill guarantees call, volunteer, reserve, and auxiliary firefighters and EMTs in Massachusetts receive a disability payment equal to the state's annual entry-level income for a

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Bill Summary · S 1882

Summary — S.1882 (Massachusetts Senate Docket No. 2018)

An Act relative to call and volunteer firefighters and EMTs

Note on source materials: the supplied packet contains inconsistent metadata (titles, sponsors, and committees that appear to be from different jurisdictions). The legislative text reproduced below is for a Massachusetts bill (Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Senate Docket No. 2018 / S.1882, filed 1/17/2025) presented by Senator Paul W. Mark. This summary focuses on that Massachusetts bill text.

Purpose and intent

The bill amends Massachusetts public-employee disability statutes to set a specific minimum disability payment level for call, volunteer, reserve, or auxiliary firefighters and emergency medical personnel who become incapacitated in the line of duty. The intent is to ensure these part‑time/volunteer responders receive a standardized, meaningful income replacement when injured or otherwise incapacitated on duty.

Key provisions

  • Amends chapter 41 of the General Laws:
    • Section 111F (firefighters): after the existing provision for payments to incapacitated firefighters, inserts a proviso that if the incapacitated firefighter is a call, volunteer, reserve or auxiliary firefighter, the amount payable by the city, town or district shall equal the "annual entry level income for all occupations in the commonwealth" on the date of incapacity, as determined by the Department of Labor and Workforce Development (DOLWD).
    • Section 111M (emergency medical personnel): mirrors the same change for call, volunteer, reserve or auxiliary emergency medical personnel — their statutory payment will be equal to the annual entry‑level income for all occupations in the Commonwealth as determined by DOLWD on the date of incapacity.
  • The statutory trigger for the payment amount is the date of incapacity; the DOLWD is designated to determine the relevant annual entry‑level income figure.

Who is affected

  • Primary beneficiaries: call, volunteer, reserve, and auxiliary firefighters and emergency medical personnel (EMTs/paramedics) in Massachusetts who become incapacitated in the line of duty.
  • Payors: the city, town, or district that employs/appoints the incapacitated individual will be responsible for making the payment.
  • State agency involved: Department of Labor and Workforce Development — tasked with determining the annual entry‑level income for all occupations.

Potential impact and considerations

  • Financial: municipal and special district expenditures for disability payments to volunteer responders are likely to increase if current payments are lower than the DOLWD’s annual entry‑level income measure. The bill does not specify an offset or state aid.
  • Equity: establishes a uniform floor for income replacement for volunteer responders, reducing variability tied to part‑time work histories or local pay practices.
  • Administrative: requires DOLWD to publish/maintain the "annual entry level income for all occupations" benchmark; municipalities will need procedures to apply that figure to individual claims.
  • Effective date: not specified in the bill text provided.

Procedural status and history (from supplied materials)

  • Filed / presented in the Massachusetts Senate: January 17, 2025 (Senate Docket No. 2018), presented by Paul W. Mark.
  • Text references a similar prior filing (Senate No. 2463 of 2023–2024).
  • Other listed procedural entries and sponsors in the supplied packet appear to relate to other, non‑Massachusetts measures and were therefore not used to describe the Massachusetts bill’s current state.

If you would like, I can:
- Draft a plain‑language explanation for affected municipalities or volunteer departments,
- Estimate potential fiscal impacts for a sample municipality, or
- Track this bill’s movement through Massachusetts committees and votes.

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

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