STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
8642
IN SENATE
February 26, 2024
___________
Introduced by Sen. WEBB -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
printed to be committed to the Committee on Corporations, Authorities
and Commissions
AN ACT to amend the not-for-profit corporation law, in relation to
exempting the Varna Volunteer Fire Company, Inc., from the forty-five
percent limit on non-resident members
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 separately amended by chapters 383,
3 424, 431 and 463 of the laws of 2023, 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.
LBD14654-01-4
S. 8642 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 Nedrow Fire Department, within the town of Onondaga,
36 Onondaga county, to the membership of the Howlett Hill Fire Department,
37 within the town of Onondaga, Onondaga county, to the membership of the
38 Southwood Volunteer Fire Department, Inc., within the town of Onondaga,
39 Onondaga county, to the membership of the East Syracuse Fire Department,
40 within the town of Dewitt, Onondaga county, to the membership of the
41 Camillus Volunteer Fire Department, Inc., within the town of Camillus,
42 Onondaga county, to the membership of the Pleasant Square Fire Company,
43 Inc. within the town of Johnstown, Fulton county, to the membership of
44 the East Amherst Fire Department, Inc., within the town of Amherst, Erie
45 county, to the membership of the Crittenden Volunteer Fire Department,
46 Inc., within the town of Alden, Erie county, to membership of the fire
47 departments within the town of Fleming, Cayuga county, to membership of
48 the Bushnell's Basin Fire Department, in the town of Perinton, Monroe
49 county, to the membership of the East Dunkirk Volunteer Fire Company,
50 Inc. within the town of Dunkirk, Chautauqua county, to the membership
51 of the Varna Volunteer Fire Company, Inc., within the town of Dryden,
52 Tompkins county, to the membership of the Leeds Hose Company No. 1, Inc.
53 within the town of Catskill, Greene county or to membership of the Sali-
54 na Consolidated Fire District #2, in the town of Salina, Onondaga coun-
55 ty. Nonresidents of the territory specified in the certificate of incor-
56 poration whose volunteer membership has been authorized or continued
S. 8642 3
1 pursuant to this subparagraph may be elected or appointed to any office
2 in the fire corporation and shall have all the powers, duties, immuni-
3 ties, and privileges of resident volunteer members except a non-resident
4 of this state whose membership has been continued pursuant to this
5 subparagraph, or who was elected to membership pursuant to this subpara-
6 graph, shall not be considered to be performing any firefighting duty,
7 or to be engaged in any firefighting activity, as a member of the fire
8 company while he or she is outside of this state unless and until he or
9 she has first reported to the officer or firefighter in command of his
10 or her fire department, or any company, squad or other unit thereof,
11 engaged or to be engaged in rendering service outside this state, or has
12 received orders or authorization from an officer of the fire department
13 or fire company to participate in or attend authorized activities
14 outside of this state in the same manner as resident members of the fire
15 company. A person shall not be eligible to volunteer membership in any
16 other fire corporation or fire company at one time. The provisions of
17 this subparagraph shall not be deemed to authorize the election or the
18 continuance of any person as a member of the corporation if such
19 election or continuance of membership shall be contrary to the by-laws,
20 rules or regulations of the fire corporation.
21 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
