Revamped PA Senate Committee Will Support First Responders

HARRISBURG, PA — A legislator from suburban Philadelphia is one of three state lawmakers who will be co-chairing a reformed Senate committee that will address issues and initiatives designed to support emergency first responders.

State Sen. Katie Muth, a Democrat representing the 44th Senatorial District, announced that she is joining two colleagues from western Pennsylvania — one fellow Democrat and one Republican — in overseeing the Senate Fire & EMS Caucus.

"Our firefighters and EMS workers — many of whom are volunteers —put their lives on the line and their families on hold to ensure the safety of our communities 24 hours a day, 365 days per year," Muth said in a statement. "The reestablishment of the bipartisan Fire & EMS Caucus gives us a real opportunity to make lasting improvements to our policies and programs that support our firefighters and EMS personnel."

The caucus, which plans to meet at least quarterly, currently has 19 state senators who have joined as members.

Stefano, a Republican representing Pennsylvania's 32nd Senatorial District in the southwestern part of the commonwealth, said in a statement that first responders to "so much for our communities. It's important that we provide as much support as we can so that they can focus on their job."

The legislators noted that back in 2018, a panel called the Senate Resolution 6 Commission put out recommendations designed to improve fire and emergency medical services in the commonwealth, and that while several of those recommendations were implemented, many others to this day still have not seen action by either the legislative or executive branches.

According to a past news release from the Senate GOP, the SR 6 Commission in the fall of 2018 voted on a total of 92 recommendations to the General Assembly to help avert a crisis in the delivery of fire and EMS services statewide, but that lawmakers were urging that more still be done to address issues relating to emergency services personnel.

At the time, senators noted that Pennsylvania went from having around 300,000 volunteer firefighters in the 1970s to less than 30,000 by 2018.

The commission had recommended additional measures such as revamping the office of the state fire commissioner, offering tax credits for employers who allow their employees to run fire calls, and authorizing payment when an ambulance is called and a patient is treated but refuses to be transported to the hospital for further evaluation.

Williams, a Democrat from Allegheny County who is also co-chairing the new caucus, said that she has made it a priority to work closely with fire departments and EMS agencies to "understand how the legislature can best support their ongoing efforts through funding and smart legislative solutions."

"I'm thrilled to see the reformation of the Fire & EMS Caucus, which will allow for additional focus on the pressing issues facing the first responders who serve our communities every day," Williams said in a statement.

More information about the caucus can be found here.