The General Assembly adjourned the 2018 short session Friday, June 29, without the Senate moving HB340|Separation Allowance in a committee.

“We are very disappointed first and foremost that fire fighters were not given an open hearing in a Senate committee on the bill,” said PFFPNC Political Director Josh Smith. “The House initially had the same concerns the Senate had over the $300 million overall cost to municipalities but Speaker Tom Moore gave us an opportunity to make our case in that body’s committees to show savings to municipalities, and we changed hearts and minds. We were not given that privilege in the Senate, and it’s very disappointing.”

PFFPNC lobbyists pressed senators all the way until the end, including a conversation with Senate Pensions/Retirement Committee Chair Andy Wells (R-Alexander/Catawba) on Thursday afternoon, and he reiterated that he was not opposed to separation allowance but wants to find a state funding mechanism that would assist municipalities in funding the benefit.

Sen. Wells said he welcomes PFFPNC to meet with him in Hickory in the interim leading up to the 2019 legislative session. He would include the NC League of Municipalities, the organizer and chief messenger in opposing separation allowance for fire fighters.

Other offers to work with PFFPNC on separation allowance in the interim including Senate President Pro Tem Phil Berger (R-Rockingham/Guilford), Rules Chairman Bill Rabon (R-Brunswick/New Hanover/Pender/Bladen) and Se. Trudy Wade (R-Guilford).

Smith said he appreciates the offers to work with the Senate on their funding concerns, and he commits PFFPNC to that process. However, Smith reserved his greatest appreciate for the House, specifically Rep. Nelson Dollar (R-Wake) and Rep. Jason Saine (R-Lincoln), who worked tirelessly to find legislation to amend with separation allowance until the gavel fell on Friday.

PFFPNC will follow up on this story and a 2017-2018 wrap up in future Legislative Briefing newsletters.

Top budget writers – Sen. Harry Brown (R-Onslow/Jones) and Rep. Nelson Dollar (R-Wake) – held a joint press conference on Thursday to announce a package of line-items that have been agreed upon in the General Assembly’s budget.

During his time at he lectern, Sen. Brown said budget writers were adding correctional officers to the list of eligible recipients of the LODD benefit and added that the payout would double to $100,000 from $50,000. Increasing the benefit was a part of PFFPNC’s legislative requests to the General Assembly and to add more cancers to the program.

“Increasing the benefit payout has always been a cornerstone of our agenda, but we thought it would not be possible until we got all fire fighter cancers funded in the program,” said PFFPNC Political Director Josh Smith. “PFFPNC is appreciative to the General Assembly for doubling the LODD payout to $100,000 and we applaud budget writers for making fallen fire fighters, first responders, correctional officers and their families a priority.”

A final budget is expected to be released over the Memorial Day weekend. PFFPNC is on the lookout for any additional fire fighter cancers that may be covered by LODD. 

The House and Senate will begin votes on the nearly $24 billion spending plan on Tuesday and Wednesday in committees and has floor votes scheduled for Thursday and Friday.

The budget will then go to Governor Roy Cooper and he is expected to veto it. The General Assembly will likely take a veto override vote in mid June.

PFFPNC has been told the General Assembly will take up policy bills the first week in June. PFFPNC’s top priority is the enactment of HB340 | Separation Allowance for Fire Fighters. 

PFFPNC is proud to announce the IAFF’s Federation of State and Provincial Professional Fire Fighters Conference will be held Sept. 25-29, 2018, at the Fairfield Marriott (downtown) in Charlotte.

The formal announcement was made at the IAFF’s ALTs Conference in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., last month. North Carolina was awarded the conference after submitting a competitive process with other statewide and provincial affiliates from across the United States and Canada.

Nearly 100 delegates attended FSPPFF meetings, which feature education seminars for state affiliate presidents and secretary-treasurers.

The conference also includes exchanges of information with state and provincial officers about national, state, and provincial legislation.

“This is an honor for PFFPNC and we are proud of this opportunity to showcase North Carolina,” said PFFPNC President Tom Brewer. “PFFPNC continues to build a great program and other states, including the IAFF, are taking notice.”

If you follow PFFPNC DVP Scott Mullins on Twitter, you’ll notice he’s stirring it up over the disproportionate number of fire fighters getting cancer, something he’s been working on since 2015 when PFFPNC introduced presumptive workers compensation legislation at the General Assembly.

Now Mullins has a focus on Asheville policymakers, and he’s gotten the attention of Asheville Mayor Esther Manheimer, who met him on Friday, Jan. 12, to discuss how the city can better support fire fighters in the effort to prevent cancer.

“Fire fighters know the risks of the job,” said Mullins, a captain in the Asheville Fire Department. “We run into burning buildings and if the flames don’t kill us, the residue left on our turnout gear that we wear on every call can. But, we should never neglect precautionary steps that can save our lives.”

Mullins is advocating for an extra set of turnout gear that a fire fighter can rotate as the other set is cleaned as a minimal and necessary step.

PFFPNC Political Director Josh Smith said Mullins is the personification of how the organization’s political work should work.

“Scott not only drives to Raleigh on his days off to meet with legislators to tell very personal stories about Asheville colleagues fighting these fire fighter cancers but he also takes that message to local leaders,” Smith said. “He is a bulldog for this profession and an example of how we need to be in every local across the state.”

Mullins and Mayor Manheimer are planning a follow-up meeting on cancer prevention in Asheville. She has requested more information and Mullins is collecting it now.

 

*This article first appeared in the Jan. 12 edition of the PFFPNC Legislative Briefing.

Day 2 of the PFFPNC Convention included some fantastic guests and presentations.

The morning began with Rep. Holly Grange from District 20 addressing the crowd. Rep. Grange is a former member of the U.S. Army Core of Engineers. She talked about some core values she lives by and acknowledge fire fighters and paramedics do too: Loyalty, Respect, Honor, Integrity and Personal Courage.

Following Rep. Grange, we were honored to hear from IAFF General President Harold Schaitberger. He talked about a number of things including our political presence, the growth of the IAFF and the newly opened IAFF Center for Excellence for Behavioral Health Treatment and Recovery.  President Schaitberger emphasized that post traumatic stress is an occupational injury not a disorder. He assured members that the IAFF would be there to help with depression, suicidal thoughts and alcohol and drug addictions.

President Schaitberger also assured the PFFPNC that he and the IAFF have our backs also on the political front both in our efforts and financially. He encouraged us to stay involved with local and state politics and congratulated us on our efforts so far.

You can watch President Schaitberger address convention here.

We also heard from IAFF General Secretary/Treasurer Ed Kelly. He went over the financial status of the IAFF and said the Union is in great financial standing. He also talked about the IAFF PAC and encouraged more from PFFPNC to donate to the international PAC.

President Schaitberger and S/T Kelly were on hand to present Morrisville with their charter and welcomed them to the IAFF.

We also heard from Greensboro’s Vinnie Messina on social media and branding.

Messina encouraged all Locals to have a social media presence especially Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. You don’t have to start immediately but he encouraged all Locals to at least sign up for these social media accounts. He also recommended Constant Contact for email communication. He encouraged all Locals to use their logo on everything and to keep branding simple, clear and consistent and easily searchable by the public.

Keynote speaker Lt. Gov. Dan Forest took the stage around 1 p.m. and spoke to the crowd about efforts being made in Raleigh and how we can work together. He invited us to work together on getting HB 340 through the Senate.

“Politics is a game of compromise,” he told the crowd. “There’s not an issue that anyone has that we can’t work on.”

He ended by saying his office is always open and he is happy to talk about any issues.

You can watch the beginning of his address on our Facebook page.

There will be one election this year for a two-year trustee position.  The nominees are Curtis Collins, Jeremy King and Vinnie Messina. Voting will take place starting at 8 a.m. tomorrow until convention starts at 9 a.m.