S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
       ________________________________________________________________________

           S. 4975                                                  A. 7861

                              2009-2010 Regular Sessions

                             S E N A T E - A S S E M B L Y

                                    April 27, 2009
                                      ___________

       IN SENATE -- Introduced by Sen. LAVALLE -- read twice and ordered print-
         ed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Local Govern-
         ment

       IN  ASSEMBLY  -- Introduced by M. of A. THIELE -- read once and referred
         to the Committee on Insurance

       AN ACT to amend the general municipal law and the civil service law,  in
         relation  to  providing  health  services  and insurance for volunteer
         firefighters and ambulance workers

         THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
       BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

    1    Section 1. Subdivision 7 of section 92-a of the general municipal law,
    2  as  added  by  chapter  331  of  the laws of 2008, is amended to read as
    3  follows:
    4    7. The provisions of this section shall [apply for]  PERMIT  A  PUBLIC
    5  CORPORATION  TO  PROVIDE  coverage  [of]  FOR volunteer firefighters, as
    6  defined in section three of the volunteer firefighters' benefit law, and
    7  volunteer ambulance workers, as defined in subdivision  one  of  section
    8  three of the volunteer ambulance workers' benefit law, provided however,
    9  that  the total cost of participation by such volunteers and their fami-
   10  lies shall be borne by such volunteers.  WHERE A  VOLUNTEER  FIREFIGHTER
   11  OR  AMBULANCE WORKER PROVIDES SERVICES IN A DISTRICT WHICH COVERS ALL OR
   12  PORTIONS OF TWO OR MORE MUNICIPALITIES WHICH OFFER COVERAGE PURSUANT  TO
   13  THIS  SUBDIVISION,  COVERAGE  SHALL  BE  PROVIDED BY THE MUNICIPALITY IN
   14  WHICH THE VOLUNTEER RESIDES. WHERE A MUNICIPALITY OFFERS COVERAGE  UNDER
   15  ONE  OR  MORE PLANS OR OPTIONS, THE SUPERVISOR OR CHIEF ELECTED OFFICIAL
   16  OF SUCH MUNICIPALITY SHALL DETERMINE THE PLAN OR OPTION WHICH  SHALL  BE
   17  AVAILABLE TO SUCH VOLUNTEERS.
   18    S  2.    Subdivision  2  of  section  163 of the civil service law, as
   19  amended by chapter 617 of the laws  of  1967,  is  amended  to  read  as
   20  follows:

        EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                             [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                  LBD11127-01-9
       S. 4975                             2                            A. 7861

    1    2.  The  contract  or contracts shall provide for health insurance for
    2  retired employees of the state and of the state colleges of agriculture,
    3  home economics, industrial labor relations and veterinary medicine,  the
    4  state  agricultural experiment station at Geneva, and any other institu-
    5  tion or agency under the management and control of Cornell university as
    6  the  representative  of the board of trustees of the state university of
    7  New York, and the state college of ceramics  under  the  management  and
    8  control of Alfred university as the representative of the board of trus-
    9  tees  of the state university of New York, and their spouses and depend-
   10  ent children as defined by the regulations of  the  president,  on  such
   11  terms  as  the  president  may  deem  appropriate, and the president may
   12  authorize the inclusion in the plan of the employees and retired employ-
   13  ees  of  public  authorities,  public   benefit   corporations,   school
   14  districts,  special  districts,  district corporations, municipal corpo-
   15  rations excluding active  employees  and  retired  employees  of  cities
   16  having  a  population  of  one million or more inhabitants whose compen-
   17  sation is or was before retirement paid out of  the  city  treasury,  or
   18  other  appropriate  agencies, subdivisions or quasi-public organizations
   19  of the state, INCLUDING ACTIVE MEMBERS  OF  VOLUNTEER  FIREFIGHTERS  AND
   20  VOLUNTEER AMBULANCE COMPANIES SERVING ONE OR MORE MUNICIPAL CORPORATIONS
   21  PURSUANT  TO  SUBDIVISION  SEVEN  OF SECTION NINETY-TWO-A OF THE GENERAL
   22  MUNICIPAL LAW, and their spouses and dependent children  as  defined  by
   23  the regulations of the president. Any such corporation, district, agency
   24  or organization electing to participate in the plan shall be required to
   25  pay  its  proportionate  share  of the expenses of administration of the
   26  plan in such amounts and at such times as determined and  fixed  by  the
   27  president.    All  amounts  payable  for such expenses of administration
   28  shall be paid to the commissioner of taxation and finance and  shall  be
   29  applied  to  the  reimbursement  of  funds  previously advanced for such
   30  purposes.  Neither the state nor any other participant in the plan shall
   31  be charged with the particular experience attributable to the  employees
   32  of  the participant, and all dividends or retroactive rate credits shall
   33  be distributed pro-rata based upon  the  number  of  employees  of  such
   34  participant covered by the plan.
   35    S 3. This act shall take effect immediately.