Committee adopts substitute and forwards fire-station grant framework to full Senate

The Senate Finance Committee on Feb. 17 adopted a committee substitute and reported Senate Bill 140, which would establish a fire station matching grant program to support construction or renovation of fire stations.

Senator Stedman reintroduced the measure and staff told the committee the Fire Station Grant Fund would be created as a separate fund within the Department of Commerce, Community and Economic Development to receive future legislative appropriations. The bill would allow grants to cover up to 50% of a project’s total cost; the legislation as presented did not appropriate funds this year, and staff said implementation would depend on future appropriations when fiscal conditions permit.

Senator Kiel moved to adopt a committee substitute as the working document. Liz Harpold, staff to Senate Finance, told the panel the substitute updates the bill’s effective date to July 1, 2026. The committee adopted the substitute without objection and then voted to report the bill from committee with attached fiscal notes and individual recommendations.

The action sends SB 140 to the Senate with the committee’s fiscal and policy recommendations. Committee members said the program has been a popular funding approach in the past and cited local examples of recently completed fire stations to illustrate community need.