I 
112TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2488 
To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow a $1,000 refundable 
credit for individuals who are bona fide volunteer members of volunteer 
firefighting and emergency medical service organizations. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 11, 2011 
Mr. HINCHEY (for himself, Mr. CRITZ, Mrs. LOWEY, Mr. PETERSON, Mr. 
GALLEGLY, Mr. HANNA, Mr. WU, Mr. FILNER, and Mr. GRIJALVA) intro-
duced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways 
and Means 
A BILL 
To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow a 
$1,000 refundable credit for individuals who are bona 
fide volunteer members of volunteer firefighting and 
emergency medical service organizations. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Supporting Emergency 
Responders Volunteer Efforts Act of 2011’’ or the 
‘‘SERVE Act of 2011’’. 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
07:10 Jul 12, 2011
Jkt 099200
PO 00000
Frm 00001
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H2488.IH
H2488
jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
SEC. 2. REFUNDABLE CREDIT FOR BONA FIDE VOLUNTEER 
MEMBERS OF VOLUNTEER EMERGENCY RE-
SPONSE ORGANIZATIONS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Subpart C of part IV of sub-
chapter A of chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 
1986 (relating to refundable credits) is amended by insert-
ing after section 36C the following new section: 
‘‘SEC. 36D. BONA FIDE VOLUNTEER MEMBERS OF VOLUN-
TEER 
EMERGENCY 
RESPONSE 
ORGANIZA-
TIONS. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—In the case of any individual 
who— 
‘‘(1) is a bona fide volunteer of a qualified vol-
unteer emergency response organization, and 
‘‘(2) meets the requirements of subsection (b) 
for the taxable year, 
there shall be allowed as a credit against the tax imposed 
by this subtitle an amount equal to $1,000. 
‘‘(b) SERVICE REQUIREMENTS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—An individual meets the re-
quirements of this subsection for any taxable year if 
such individual— 
‘‘(A) has served as a bona fide volunteer 
performing qualified services for the qualified 
volunteer emergency response organization for 
more than 6 months in such taxable year, and 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
07:10 Jul 12, 2011
Jkt 099200
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H2488.IH
H2488
jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
‘‘(B) has provided more than 40 hours of 
such services— 
‘‘(i) actively engaged in the preven-
tion, control, or extinguishment of fires or 
response to emergency situations where 
life, property, or the environment is at 
risk, or 
‘‘(ii) stationed at the premises of the 
qualified volunteer emergency response or-
ganization in anticipation of being so ac-
tively engaged. 
‘‘(2) QUALIFIED
SERVICES.—For purposes of 
this subsection— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—The term ‘qualified 
services’ means fire fighting and prevention 
services, emergency medical services, and ambu-
lance services. 
‘‘(B) TRAINING AND CERTIFICATION RE-
QUIREMENTS.—An individual shall not be treat-
ed as performing qualified services unless such 
individual meets all applicable training and cer-
tification requirements of the qualified volun-
teer emergency response organization for which 
such services are performed. 
‘‘(c) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section— 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
07:10 Jul 12, 2011
Jkt 099200
PO 00000
Frm 00003
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H2488.IH
H2488
jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
‘‘(1) BONA FIDE VOLUNTEER.—The term ‘bona 
fide volunteer’ has the meaning given such term by 
section 457(e)(11)(B)(i). 
‘‘(2) QUALIFIED VOLUNTEER EMERGENCY RE-
SPONSE ORGANIZATION.—The term ‘qualified volun-
teer emergency response organization’ has the mean-
ing given such term by section 139B(c)(3).’’. 
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 
(1) Paragraph (2) of section 1324(b) of title 
31, United States Code, is amended by inserting 
‘‘36D,’’ after ‘‘36C,’’. 
(2) The table of sections for subpart C of part 
IV of subchapter A of chapter 1 of the Internal Rev-
enue Code of 1986 is amended by inserting after the 
item relating to section 36C the following new item: 
‘‘Sec. 36D. Bona fide volunteer members of volunteer emergency response orga-
nizations.’’. 
(c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 
this section shall apply to taxable years beginning after 
the date of the enactment of this Act. 
Æ 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
07:10 Jul 12, 2011
Jkt 099200
PO 00000
Frm 00004
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6301
E:\BILLS\H2488.IH
H2488
jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS