Today, Assemblymember Monica Wallace (D-Lancaster) announced that legislation she authored to protect investments made in emergency vehicles by municipalities and fire companies has been signed into law (Chapter 387 of 2018). This legislation (A.10424) creates an emergency vehicle lemon law in NYS, requiring maintenance to be done in a timely fashion, limiting the time period during which the vehicle is out of service.

“Our community’s firefighters, EMTs, and paramedics run into dangerous situations every day in service to others,” said Wallace. “When a firetruck or ambulance goes out of service, necessary life-saving equipment is unavailable for use, which can increase response times by those responding to an emergency. It is our responsibility to equip our community’s heroes with the necessary safeguards to ensure they can effectively protect our neighborhoods and respond to those in need.”

Under current law, municipalities and fire districts arrange for repair through the dealer and have no recourse against the manufacturer. Under Wallace’s new law, these entities will have the ability to work directly with the manufacturer in order to resolve any problems with the emergency vehicles in a timely manner.

Wallace serves as Chair of the New York State Assembly Subcommittee on Volunteer Emergency Services and has been a strong advocate for first responders. For questions regarding the new law, please reach out to Assemblymember Wallace’s office at (716) 686-0080 or by email at wallacem@nyassembly.gov