Citizen Portal
Sign In

Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!

Committee advances bill to raise long‑unchanged allowances for volunteer firefighters

Homeland Security and Transportation Committee · February 3, 2026
AI-Generated Content: All content on this page was generated by AI to highlight key points from the meeting. For complete details and context, we recommend watching the full video. so we can fix them.

Summary

Sponsors said HB 1048 would update a clothing and vehicle allowance for volunteer firefighters that has not changed since 1981; backers argued the measure helps rural emergency services and cited large taxpayer savings attributable to volunteers. The committee advanced the bill 7‑0.

Representative Novak asked the Homeland Security and Transportation Committee to advance House Bill 1048, saying volunteer firefighters are "the backbone" of community safety and that the state faces a crisis recruiting volunteers.

Novak told the committee the clothing and vehicle allowance for volunteers was last set in 1981 and should be increased; during questions he noted $100…

Already have an account? Log in

Subscribe to keep reading

Unlock the rest of this article — and every article on Citizen Portal.

  • Unlimited articles
  • AI-powered breakdowns of topics, speakers, decisions, and budgets
  • Instant alerts when your location has a new meeting
  • Follow topics and more locations
  • 1,000 AI Insights / month, plus AI Chat
30-day money-back on paid plans