A bill meant to send more money to rural fire districts from a state fund won quick second-round approval Wednesday in the Legislature.
Senators by voice vote advanced Legislative Bill 664, introduced by state Sen. Mike Groene of North Platte, to the third and last stage of floor debate.
The bill would tap Nebraska’s Mutual Finance Assistance Fund, founded in 1998, by paying $10,000 a year to each district within a countywide “mutual finance” organization.
Fire districts would continue to receive $10 from the fund for each resident living within their boundaries. The state fund receives 10% of proceeds from taxes Nebraskans pay on their insurance premiums.
The current $10-per-resident payment takes about $3 million to $4 million a year from the fund, Groene said before senators gave the bill 42-0 initial approval April 6.