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Panel adopts amendment to fund employee assistance program for volunteer firefighters, then moves HB1705 to interim study
Summary
The committee adopted amendment 0531H to HB1705 (inserted 'volunteer' and added a $114,000 appropriation), but members split on the bill's drafting and scope; after debate the committee voted to place HB1705 on interim study to refine language and implementation details.
The subcommittee voted to adopt amendment 2026-0531H to HB1705, a bill to extend employee assistance programs (EAPs) to volunteer firefighters, but later declined to advance the underlying bill and instead moved it to interim study.
Representative Sullivan, sponsor of the amendment, said the change inserts the word "volunteer" in two places to make clear the intent is to cover volunteer firefighters in small towns and adds an appropriation of $114,000 to cover anticipated demand. "Without the word 'volunteer,' it appears this is addressing all firefighters in the state and that's not the intent," Sullivan said when introducing the amendment.
Members broadly supported the goal of providing timely mental-health support for volunteers but differed on scope and drafting: some worried the EAP model is too broad for trauma-related needs and questioned whether HHS would staff the program, while others argued early EAP access could prevent slower, costlier workers' compensation claims. Representative Granger and others expressed concern about embedding the language in the wrong statutory section and about whether the department would request additional positions.
The committee approved amendment 0531H on a roll call (reported as 18 to 2). The subsequent vote on the bill "ought to pass as amended" failed, and members then voted to place HB1705 on interim study so the subcommittee can produce a more precise, implementable proposal.
