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Bill to extend state employee‑assistance services to volunteer first responders draws bipartisan support
Summary
HB1705 would extend access to the state employee assistance program to volunteer and small‑town first responders in communities with five or fewer full‑time responders, citing repeated trauma and rural access gaps. Sponsors stressed low cost and bipartisan backing; DHS asked for contingency funding language and implementation planning.
Representative Margaret Dry told the committee HB1705 would provide a low‑cost mental‑health safety net for volunteer EMTs, firefighters and dispatchers in small New Hampshire communities that lack access to employer EAPs or comprehensive health coverage.
Dry said repeated exposure to traumatic incidents leaves many volunteers with PTSD, substance‑use and other behavioral health needs but no reliable pathway to short‑term counseling. She and co‑sponsors argued an EAP expansion would be cost‑effective compared with the fiscal and public‑safety costs of losing volunteer responders.
A fiscal note initially estimated roughly $114,000 to cover up to 6,000 eligible people; that appropriation was pulled this session so the provision can proceed through the budget process and, as amended, the law would take effect in 2027 to allow planning. Supporters from rural districts and finance members said the program is low cost and targets communities least able to provide services.
Department of Health and Human Services officials (Employee Assistance Program director Michael Lawless and John Williams) said they do not take a position on the underlying policy but recommended contingency language so the department would not be required to implement the program until adequate funding is available. They also noted operational questions about utilization and staffing that would be addressed through the budget process.
Several legislators and co‑sponsors described real cases where volunteers lacked EAP access and had to find and pay for counseling; supporters argued a small appropriation would be far less expensive than replacing volunteer services with paid staff.
The committee record shows bipartisan interest and a plan to address funding and implementation details in the budget cycle before a 2027 effective date.
