Lawmakers in Harrisburg ended their session for the year without acting on a common sense bill that would help volunteer fire companies — passing it should be a priority in the next session.

The bill, which passed the state Senate but was not brought up for a vote by the state House of Representatives, would allow volunteer fire companies and other nonprofits to accept cashless payments for raffle tickets. Under the current law, passed in 1988, only cash and check are allowed.

State Sen. Devlin Robinson, R-Allegheny County, is one of the cosponsors of the bill and said he was disappointed it wasn’t taken up before the legislature adjourned for the year. He plans to reintroduce the bill.

Robinson is right to be disappointed. As he pointed out, volunteer firefighters have long been asking the state for help to fund their efforts.

“Everybody knows that we have a major problem with volunteer firefighters and the numbers dwindling across the state,” he said.

The bill would expand the reach of one of the most basic fundraising tools that nonprofits have at their disposal and would do so while still ensuring the spirit of the original law is followed.

Those selling tickets would still have to verify anyone who buys one is older than 18 and would still need to follow the existing licensing procedure. In fact, the only real change is that the law would recognize that people prefer electronic payments.

In a story by SpotlightPA, Mark Ott, fire police captain with the Howard Volunteer Fire Company in Centre County, put it succinctly.

“To me, it’s a no-brainer,” he said. “Just pass it.”

We couldn’t agree more. We hope in the next session the bill gets the consideration it deserves.

— JK