Relates to the establishment of special districts for general ambulance services; requires a report on issues of volunteer firefighter and ambulance services staffing.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
5331--A
2021-2022 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
March 2, 2021
___________
Introduced by Sen. STEC -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
printed to be committed to the Committee on Local Government -- recom-
mitted to the Committee on Local Government in accordance with Senate
Rule 6, sec. 8 -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered
reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee
AN ACT to amend the general municipal law, in relation to the establish-
ment of special districts for general ambulance services; and to amend
the executive law, in relation to a report on volunteer firefighter
and ambulance services staffing
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Paragraphs (d), (e) and (f) of subdivision 1 of section
2 122-b of the general municipal law, as amended by chapter 303 of the
3 laws of 1980, are amended and a new closing paragraph is added to read
4 as follows:
5 (d) Establish a special district for the financing and operation of
6 general ambulance services as set forth by this section, whereby any
7 county, city, town or village, acting individually, or jointly with any
8 other county, city, town and/or village, through its governing body or
9 bodies, following applicable procedures as are required for the estab-
10 lishment of fire districts in article eleven of the town law or follow-
11 ing applicable procedures as are required for the establishment of joint
12 fire districts in article eleven-A of the town law, with such special
13 district being authorized by this section to be established in all or
14 any part of any such participating county or counties, town or towns,
15 city or cities and/or village or villages;
16 (e) Employ any combination of the methods authorized in paragraph (a),
17 (b) [or], (c) or (d);
18 [(e)] (f) No contract shall be entered into pursuant to the provisions
19 of this section for the services of an emergency rescue and first aid
20 squad of a fire department or fire company which is subject to the
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD05444-04-1
S. 5331--A 2
1 provisions of section two hundred nine-b of [the general municipal law]
2 this chapter;
3 [(f)] (g) Consider prehospital emergency treatment as that care
4 provided by certified emergency medical technicians or certified
5 advanced emergency medical technicians certified pursuant to the
6 provisions of article thirty of the public health law.
7 Any county, city, town or village which establishes or participates in
8 a joint district pursuant to paragraph (d) of this subdivision shall
9 dissolve and abolish any preexisting local district serving the same
10 jurisdiction.
11 § 2. The executive law is amended by adding a new section 719 to read
12 as follows:
13 § 719. Report on volunteer firefighter and ambulance services staff-
14 ing. 1. On or before the first day of January two thousand twenty-three,
15 the commissioner, in consultation with the state office of fire
16 prevention and control, shall prepare and publish a report on the staff-
17 ing of volunteer firefighter and ambulance services in New York state.
18 Such report shall examine and evaluate the challenges and issues
19 concerning the recruiting and maintenance of trained, available staffing
20 by volunteer fire departments, districts and companies as well as for
21 volunteer ambulance districts and companies. Such report shall specif-
22 ically examine and evaluate the challenges and issues that are partic-
23 ular to rural areas of the state and areas with geographic challenges
24 such as mountains, waterways or limited transportation networks.
25 2. In addition to identifying challenges and issues concerning the
26 recruiting and maintenance of trained, available staffing by volunteer
27 fire departments, districts and companies as well as for volunteer ambu-
28 lance districts and companies across New York state, as required by
29 subdivision one of this section, such report shall also make recommenda-
30 tions on how to address and remediate the challenges and issues identi-
31 fied, with such recommendations being submitted to the governor, the
32 temporary president of the senate, the speaker of the assembly, the
33 chair of the senate standing committee on local government and the chair
34 of the assembly standing committee on local government at the time of
35 the publishing of the report.
36 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
