Pennsylvania Auditor General Eugene DePasquale appealed to state legislators Thursday to reform laws regarding the state's volunteer fire departments.

In a live stream media broadcast, DePasquale specifically asked the state legislature to reform laws regarding volunteer fire department funding so that companies with both volunteers and pair firefighters can get sufficient support.

According to DePasquale, accomplishing these goals is difficult under current funding policies.

DePasquale said his department was assigned to distribute tens of millions of dollars in state aide to Volunteer Fire Relief Associations.

VFRAs help volunteer fire companies fund equipment, training, insurance and death benefits. VFRAs must remain legally separate from fire companies. The auditor general awarded $55.1 million to VFRAs in 2018.

VFRAs strictly fund volunteer companies. But in Pennsylvania, many companies use a combination of paid and volunteer firefighters. Many VFRAs struggle to disburse money within the confines of the law, which also prohibits technology purchases such as drones.

Since the law that created VFRAs was established in 1968, it's been update twice.

This is an excerpt — pick up Friday's Butler Eagle to read the full article to read how this the legislation affects local fire companies.