Date Published: April 14, 2005   

Bill rouses firefighters

By CRYSTAL OWENS
Item Staff Writer
cowens@theitem.com

Firefighters in South Carolina are uniting to drum up opposition against the Put Parents in Charge Act that currently resides in the state's House Ways and Means Committee.

The House bill, and the centerpiece of Gov. Mark Sanford's education agenda, would allow parents whose children transfer from public to independent schools, home schooling or other public schools to receive a tax credit. Based on this year's state budget, the tax credit would be about $2,000 per child in the fall.

The bill has been the center of much debate among parents, educators and lawmakers since its Feb. 24 introduction in the House. As it now stands, an amendment to include vouchers is also up for discussion.

But South Carolina firefighters say this aspect of the legislation needs to be brought to the public's attention.

"We have a lot of firefighters that probably do agree with the Put Parents in Charge Act," said former Sumter Fire Department Chief Doug Mathis.

"But not when they start talking about taking away such things as funding for fire academies. I believe most would have a problem with it," Mathis said.

According to the S.C. State Fireman's Association, the Put Parents in Charge legislation, if passed, would be funded through insurance premium taxes paid by insurance companies, totaling more than $130 million annually.

One of those taxes, the Fireman's Inspection Fund, commonly referred to by firefighters as the "1 percent money" — a fund of approximately $15 million — could be utilized for education.

According to an April 7 "Fire Service Legislative Alert" from the State Firemen's Association, the House Ways and Means Committee is trying to absorb the fine print of the legislation to determine if the bill will abolish funding for the S.C. Fire Academy and Office of State Fire Marshal, which is also completely funded by insurance premium taxes.

But South Carolina firefighters are not taking any chances and plan to go to the Statehouse on Tuesday to voice their opposition.

"We'll be there," said Sumter Fire Chief Karl Ford. "If we just sit back and let this happen it'll be gone. ... The legislators, for some reason, have been after this money for years."

Part of that 1 percent money, Ford said, goes to retirement funds, insurance and retention for paid and volunteer firefighters. The law prohibits the money from being used for fire-related equipment.

"These guys put their lives on the line every day and they deserve to have a little something extra," he said.

Mathis said the Sumter Fire Department is home to 70 paid and 215 volunteer firefighters who would be affected if the legislation is not amended to exclude the 1 percent money.

"This would affect the ranks of firefighters all over South Carolina," he said. "The number of volunteers are already dwindling and this would just be a huge blow to the effort to retain them. They (work) for free to start with, and they deserve a little something when they retire."


Contact Staff Writer Crystal Owens at cowens@theitem.com or 803-774-1270.