Enacts the "who you gonna call? act"; classifies vehicles of the office of chief medical examiner of the city of New York as an emergency vehicle; classifies any actual or potential scene where the New York city office of chief medical examiner has an official role as an emergency operation; authorizes vehicles of the office of chief medical examiner of the city of New York to affix vehicles with blue, red and white lights.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
10237
IN SENATE
May 7, 2026
___________
Introduced by Sen. BOTTCHER -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
printed to be committed to the Committee on Transportation
AN ACT to amend the vehicle and traffic law, in relation to enacting the
"who you gonna call? act"
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "who you
2 gonna call? act".
3 § 2. Section 101 of the vehicle and traffic law, as amended by chapter
4 496 of the laws of 2021, is amended to read as follows:
5 § 101. Authorized emergency vehicle. Every ambulance, police vehicle
6 or bicycle, correction vehicle, fire vehicle, civil defense emergency
7 vehicle, emergency ambulance service vehicle, blood delivery vehicle,
8 human organ delivery vehicle, vehicle of the office of chief medical
9 examiner of the city of New York, county emergency medical services
10 vehicle, environmental emergency response vehicle, sanitation patrol
11 vehicle, hazardous materials emergency vehicle and ordnance disposal
12 vehicle of the armed forces of the United States.
13 § 3. Section 114-b of the vehicle and traffic law, as amended by chap-
14 ter 496 of the laws of 2021, is amended to read as follows:
15 § 114-b. Emergency operation. The operation, or parking, of an author-
16 ized emergency vehicle, when such vehicle is engaged in transporting a
17 sick or injured person, transporting prisoners, delivering blood or
18 blood products in a situation involving an imminent health risk, trans-
19 porting human organs and/or medical personnel for the purpose of organ
20 recovery or transplantation in a situation involving an imminent health
21 risk where undue delay would jeopardize such recovery or transplanta-
22 tion, investigating, transporting or removing deceased persons, support-
23 ing mass-fatality or decedent-removal operations, pursuing an actual or
24 suspected violator of the law, or responding to, or working or assisting
25 at the scene of an accident, disaster, police call, alarm of fire, actu-
26 al or potential release of hazardous materials, actual or potential
27 scene where the New York city office of chief medical examiner has an
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD15550-02-6
S. 10237 2
1 official role, or other emergency. Emergency operation shall not include
2 returning from such service.
3 § 4. Subparagraph b of paragraph 4 of subdivision 41 of section 375 of
4 the vehicle and traffic law, as amended by chapter 143 of the laws of
5 2011, is amended to read as follows:
6 b. In addition to the red and white lights authorized to be displayed
7 pursuant to paragraph two of this subdivision, one or more blue lights
8 or combination blue and red lights or combination blue, red and white
9 lights may be affixed to a police vehicle, fire vehicle, ambulance,
10 emergency ambulance service vehicle, vehicle of the office of chief
11 medical examiner of the city of New York, and county emergency medical
12 services vehicle provided that such blue light or lights shall be
13 displayed on a police vehicle, fire vehicle, ambulance, emergency ambu-
14 lance service vehicle, vehicle of the office of chief medical examiner
15 of the city of New York, and county emergency medical services vehicle
16 for rear projection only. In the event that the trunk or rear gate of a
17 police vehicle, fire vehicle, ambulance, emergency ambulance service
18 vehicle, vehicle of the office of chief medical examiner of the city of
19 New York, and county emergency medical services vehicle obstructs or
20 diminishes the visibility of other emergency lighting on such vehicles,
21 a blue light may be affixed to and displayed from the trunk, rear gate
22 or interior of such vehicles. Such lights may be displayed on a police
23 vehicle, fire vehicle, ambulance, emergency ambulance service vehicle,
24 vehicle of the office of chief medical examiner of the city of New York,
25 and county emergency medical services vehicle when such vehicles are
26 engaged in an emergency operation. Nothing contained in this subpara-
27 graph shall be deemed to authorize the use of blue lights on police
28 vehicles, fire vehicles, ambulances, emergency ambulance service vehi-
29 cles, vehicle of the office of chief medical examiner of the city of New
30 York, and county emergency medical services vehicles unless such vehi-
31 cles also display one or more red or combination red and white lights as
32 otherwise authorized in this subdivision.
33 § 5. This act shall take effect immediately.
