PRINTER'S NO. 866
No. 763 Session of 1975
INTRODUCED BY D. S. HAYES, CUMBERLAND, LEVI, LETTERMAN, SHUMAN,
MILANOVICH, NOYE, A. C. FOSTER JR. AND BELLOMINI,
MARCH 18, 1975
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON BUSINESS AND COMMERCE, MARCH 19, 1975
AN ACT
1 Providing for grants or loans to volunteer fire companies for
2 the purpose of establishing or modernizing facilities that
3 house fire fighting equipment or purchasing new fire fighting
4 apparatus equipment and training; establishing a revolving
5 fund for such purpose; providing for the administration of
6 the act by the Department of Community Affairs; and making an
7 appropriation.
8 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
9 hereby enacts as follows:
10 Section 1. Short Title.--This act shall be known and may be
11 cited as the "Volunteer Fire Company Assistance Act."
12 Section 2. Definitions.--As used in this act:
13 "Apparatus equipment" means snorkel, pumpers, tankers, ladder
14 trucks, or other large equipment used for fire fighting.
15 "Department" means the Department of Community Affairs of the
16 Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
17 "Facilities" means facilities used to house fire fighting
18 equipment and shall not include meeting halls, social rooms, or
19 any other facilities not directly related to fire fighting.
20 "Volunteer fire company" means any nonprofit chartered
1 corporation, association, or organization located in this
2 Commonwealth which provides fire protection within this
3 Commonwealth.
4 "Volunteer Fire Company Grant or Loan Fund" means the fund
5 established under section 4.
6 Section 3. Assistance to Volunteer Fire Companies.--(a) The
7 department is hereby authorized, upon application of any
8 volunteer fire company, to make grants or loans to said
9 volunteer fire company for the purpose of establishing or
10 modernizing facilities that house fire fighting apparatus
11 equipment. At no time shall the grant exceed 50% of the cost
12 incurred nor be in excess of $50,000, whichever is less, to
13 establish or modernize facilities that house fire fighting
14 equipment or purchase new fire fighting apparatus equipment. The
15 amount of a loan made to any one volunteer fire company shall
16 not exceed $150,000.
17 (b) Prior to approving a grant, the volunteer fire company
18 shall demonstrate to the satisfaction of the department that
19 they have the financial resources or can obtain the financial
20 resources for complete payment of establishing or modernizing
21 facilities that house fire fighting equipment or purchasing new
22 fire fighting apparatus equipment.
23 (c) Loans made by the department shall be for a period of
24 not more than ten years and shall be subject to such security as
25 shall be determined by the department.
26 (d) Grants and loans made by the department shall be paid
27 from the Volunteer Fire Company Grant and Loan Fund to the
28 volunteer fire companies in such a manner determined by the
29 department.
30 (e) All payments of interest on said loans and the principal
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1 thereof shall be deposited by the department in the Volunteer
2 Fire Company Grant and Loan Fund.
3 Section 4. Volunteer Fire Company Loan.--(a) There is hereby
4 created a special fund in the Treasury Department to be known as
5 the Volunteer Fire Company Grant and Loan Fund to which shall be
6 credited all appropriations made by the General Assembly to the
7 department as well as repayment of principal and interest on
8 loans made pursuant to this act.
9 (b) The department may requisition from time to time from
10 the Volunteer Fire Company Grant and Loan Fund such amounts as
11 shall be allocated by the department for grants or loans to
12 volunteer fire companies. When and as the amounts so allocated
13 by the department as loans to volunteer fire companies are
14 repaid to the department pursuant to the terms of the agreements
15 made and entered into with the department, the department shall
16 pay such amounts into the Volunteer Fire Company Grant and Loan
17 Fund, it being the intent of this act that the Volunteer Fire
18 Company Grant and Loan Fund shall operate as a revolving fund
19 whereby all appropriations and payments made thereto may be
20 applied and reapplied to the purposes of this act.
21 (c) At any time that the department shall determine that
22 funds held in the Volunteer Fire Company Grant and Loan Fund are
23 in excess of the amount needed by the department to carry out
24 the purposes of this act, the department may take such action as
25 shall be required to release such excess from the Volunteer Fire
26 Company Grant and Loan Fund and transfer the same to the General
27 Fund in the Treasury Department.
28 Section 5. Powers and Duties of the Department.--The powers
29 and duties shall be:
30 (1) To appoint agents, employees, and servants; and to
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1 prescribe their duties and to fix their compensation within the
2 limitations provided by law.
3 (2) To accept grants from the Federal government and any
4 other individual, agency, or government for use in the Volunteer
5 Fire Company Grant and Loan Fund.
6 (3) To direct the Department of Community Affairs of the
7 Commonwealth to take title to any piece of property which acts
8 as security for any outstanding loan.
9 (4) To require all loans to be secured in such a manner that
10 the Department of Community Affairs shall have a first priority
11 in case of any default or foreclosure.
12 (5) To loan money over a term of years, but in no case in
13 excess of ten years.
14 (6) To require, whenever possible, consolidation or mutual
15 aid agreements between communities in the utilization of
16 volunteer fire companies.
17 (7) To promulgate such rules and regulations as it deems
18 necessary to carry out its powers and duties under this act.
19 Section 6. Appropriation.--The sum of $5,000,000, or as much
20 thereof as may be necessary, is hereby appropriated to the
21 Volunteer Fire Company Grant and Loan Fund for the purposes set
22 forth in the implementation of this act.
23 Section 7. Effective Date.--This act shall take effect
24 immediately.
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