Exempts the Pleasant Square Volunteer Fire Company from the requirement that the percentage of non-resident fire department members not exceed forty-five percent of the membership.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
11153
IN ASSEMBLY
June 11, 2018
___________
Introduced by COMMITTEE ON RULES -- (at request of M. of A. Butler) --
read once and referred to the Committee on Local Governments
AN ACT to amend the not-for-profit corporation law, in relation to
exempting Pleasant Square Volunteer Fire Company from the requirement
that the percentage of non-resident fire department members not exceed
forty-five percent of the membership
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Subparagraph 3 of paragraph (c) of section 1402 of the
2 not-for-profit corporation law, as amended by chapter 276 of the laws of
3 2016, is amended to read as follows:
4 (3) In towns outside of villages and fire districts, the consent of a
5 majority of the members of the town board to the formation of a fire
6 corporation shall constitute an appointment of the persons named in the
7 certificate of incorporation as town firefighters. Thereafter, other
8 eligible persons may be elected as members pursuant to the by-laws of
9 the fire corporation, but the election of a member must be approved by
10 the town board of each town which consented to the formation of the fire
11 corporation. Such a person shall be a resident of the territory speci-
12 fied in the certificate of incorporation or of territory outside such
13 boundaries which is afforded fire protection by the fire corporation
14 pursuant to a contract for fire protection under which a cash consider-
15 ation is received by the corporation or for which negotiations for
16 renewal of such a contract are pending. The membership of any volunteer
17 member shall terminate when he or she ceases to be a resident of such
18 inside or outside territory, except that the corporation may authorize
19 his or her continued membership where he or she notifies the secretary
20 of the fire corporation (a) that he or she plans to change his or her
21 residence to a territory which is not in such inside or outside territo-
22 ry, and (b) that by reason of his or her residence in the vicinity or
23 his or her usual occupation he or she will be available to render active
24 service as a volunteer firefighter in either such inside or such outside
25 territory. Voting for such authorization shall be pursuant to the
26 by-laws. Such authorization shall not become effective unless approved
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD16253-01-8
A. 11153 2
1 by resolution of the town board of each town which consented to the
2 formation of the corporation. Any membership so continued shall termi-
3 nate when the member can no longer meet the requirements of this subpar-
4 agraph. A person who cannot meet the residence requirements of this
5 subparagraph may be elected to membership as a volunteer member if by
6 reason of his or her residence in the vicinity or his or her usual occu-
7 pation he or she will be available to render active service as a volun-
8 teer firefighter in such inside or outside territory. Voting for such
9 election shall be pursuant to the by-laws. Such election shall not
10 become effective unless approved by resolution of the town board of each
11 town which consented to the formation of the corporation. Such member-
12 ship shall terminate when the member can no longer meet the requirements
13 of this subparagraph. The election or continuance of any person as a
14 member shall be deemed to have been approved by the town board pursuant
15 to this subparagraph in the event that no action is taken by the town
16 board, either approving or disapproving, within forty days in the case
17 of residents of the territory specified in the certificate of incorpo-
18 ration or of outside contract territory, and within seventy days in the
19 case of all others, after service of written notice of such election or
20 continuance of membership shall have been made by the secretary of the
21 corporation upon the town clerk, either personally or by mail. The
22 membership of any volunteer firefighter shall not be continued pursuant
23 to this subparagraph, and persons who do not reside in the territory
24 specified in the certificate of incorporation or in territory protected
25 pursuant to a contract for fire protection shall not be elected to
26 membership, if, by so doing, the percentage of such nonresident members
27 in the fire corporation would exceed forty-five per centum of the actual
28 membership thereof, provided, however, that the forty-five percent limit
29 on non-resident members shall not apply to the membership of the Huguen-
30 ot Fire Company, Inc., within the town of Deerpark, Orange county, to
31 the membership of the Prospect Terrace Fire Company, Inc., within the
32 town of Dickinson, Broome county, to membership of the Hopewell Volun-
33 teer Fire Department, Inc., to membership of the Wales Center Volunteer
34 Fire Company, Inc., within the town of Wales, Erie county, to the
35 membership of the Pleasant Square Volunteer Fire Company, within the
36 town of Gloversville, Fulton county, or to membership of the fire
37 departments within the town of Fleming, Cayuga county. Nonresidents of
38 the territory specified in the certificate of incorporation whose volun-
39 teer membership has been authorized or continued pursuant to this
40 subparagraph may be elected or appointed to any office in the fire
41 corporation and shall have all the powers, duties, immunities, and priv-
42 ileges of resident volunteer members except a non-resident of this state
43 whose membership has been continued pursuant to this subparagraph, or
44 who was elected to membership pursuant to this subparagraph, shall not
45 be considered to be performing any firefighting duty, or to be engaged
46 in any firefighting activity, as a member of the fire company while he
47 or she is outside of this state unless and until he or she has first
48 reported to the officer or firefighter in command of his or her fire
49 department, or any company, squad or other unit thereof, engaged or to
50 be engaged in rendering service outside this state, or has received
51 orders or authorization from an officer of the fire department or fire
52 company to participate in or attend authorized activities outside of
53 this state in the same manner as resident members of the fire company. A
54 person shall not be eligible to volunteer membership in any other fire
55 corporation or fire company at one time. The provisions of this subpara-
56 graph shall not be deemed to authorize the election or the continuance
A. 11153 3
1 of any person as a member of the corporation if such election or contin-
2 uance of membership shall be contrary to the by-laws, rules or regu-
3 lations of the fire corporation.
4 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.