SERVE Act of 2013
Latest action. Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.
Supporting Emergency Responders Volunteer Efforts Act of 2013 or the SERVE Act of 2013 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow an individual taxpayer who is a bona fide volunteer of a qualified volunteer emergency response organization a $1,000 refundable tax credit. Requires such individual to: (1) have served as a bona fide volunteer performing fire fighting and prevention services, emergency medical services, and ambulance services for more than six months in a taxable year; (2) have provided more than 40 hours of such services actively engaged in the prevention, control, or extinguishment of fires or response to emergency situations where life, property, or the environment is at risk; or (3) have been stationed on the premises of an emergency response organization in anticipation of being actively engaged in providing such services.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in House" stage on June 24, 2013. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on June 24, 2013: Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the House
- Passage by the Senate
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 113th Congress (2013-14), 296 of the 9,091 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 3.3 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
Richard Hanna (R-NY) introduced it on June 24, 2013, and 8 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They come from both major parties: 4 Democrats, 4 Republicans.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on June 24, 2013, 4826 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 4826 days ago, on June 24, 2013.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 113th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2015 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HouseIn committee, no floor vote yet
- SenateAwaits House passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers