Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility Rivera bill allowing first-class townships to increase funding for fire and EMS reported out of committee

Rivera bill allowing first-class townships to increase funding for fire and EMS reported out of committee

Pennsylvania House Democratic Caucus    October 8, 2025 | 5:03 PM

HARRISBURG, Oct. 8 – Legislation to allow first-class townships to increase funding to support financially struggling local fire and emergency services, introduced by state Rep. Nikki Rivera, was reported out of the House Finance Committee today.

“For decades, our fire and EMS services have been forced to operate on shoe-string budgets because our first-class townships have been limited by law on how much they can impose in taxes,” Rivera, D-Lancaster, said. “My legislation would give municipal officials, who are best able to determine how much money should be taxed to fund life-saving emergency services, the ability to do so.”

Pennsylvania’s first class townships are restricted in how much they can levy in dedicated fire and emergency medical services taxes due to Act 331 of 1931 (The First Class Township Code). The law has imposed an upper limit on how much local governments can tax property owners for these purposes to no more than 3 mills for a fire tax and no more than half a mill for an EMS tax.

Last year, the General Assembly raised how much certain townships may levy in dedicated fire and emergency medical services taxes last year (Act 54 of 2024) to a 10-mills for a fire tax and 5 mills cap for an EMS tax. However, this act only applies to municipalities located in counties that are contiguous to a city of the first class.

Rivera’s bill would amend the First Class Township Code to be in alignment with the changes authorized by Act 54 of 2024.

Rivera reported that the state’s 1,770 registered fire departments are nearly 90% staffed by volunteers and that more than half of PA’s 744 certified EMS agencies had experienced a budget deficit.

“Our mostly volunteer-run fire departments and EMS are underfunded and understaffed, which has resulted in delayed response times,” Rivera said. ““These incredible volunteers are depending on fundraisers such as chicken BBQ dinners—a wholly inadequate funding model—to afford the tools and skills they need to save our lives.

“Short-changing these life-saving services not only is a disservice to the people of Pennsylvania, but it also puts our collective lives in jeopardy. This bill would help modernize funding for our first responders and have a positive impact on their ability to deliver their live-saving services when every second matters.”

Similar legislation amending the Second Class Township Code (H.B. 393), was introduced by state Rep. Chris Pielli and passed the House earlier this year.

The bill is now on its way to the full House for consideration.