Bill Text: NY A00857 | 2021-2022 | General Assembly | Introduced

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Relates to the establishment of special districts for general ambulance services; requires a report on issues of volunteer firefighter and ambulance services staffing.

Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2022-01-13 - print number 857a [A00857 Detail]

Download: New_York-2021-A00857-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                           857

                               2021-2022 Regular Sessions

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                       (Prefiled)

                                     January 6, 2021
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by M. of A. JONES, WOERNER, COOK, J. RIVERA, BYRNE, MORINEL-
          LO, BLANKENBUSH, BUTTENSCHON -- read once and referred to the  Commit-
          tee on Local Governments

        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 to read as follows:
     4    (d)  Establish  a  special district for the financing and operation of
     5  general ambulance services as set forth by  this  section,  whereby  any
     6  county,  city, town or village, acting individually, or jointly with any
     7  other county, city, town and/or village, through its governing  body  or
     8  bodies,  following  applicable procedures as are required for the estab-
     9  lishment of fire districts in article eleven of the town law or  follow-
    10  ing applicable procedures as are required for the establishment of joint
    11  fire  districts  in  article eleven-A of the town law, with such special
    12  district being authorized by this section to be established  in  all  or
    13  any  part  of  any such participating county or counties, town or towns,
    14  city or cities and/or village or villages;
    15    (e) Employ any combination of the methods authorized in paragraph (a),
    16  (b) [or], (c) or (d);
    17    [(e)] (f) No contract shall be entered into pursuant to the provisions
    18  of this section for the services of an emergency rescue  and  first  aid
    19  squad  of  a  fire  department  or  fire company which is subject to the
    20  provisions of section two hundred nine-b of [the general municipal  law]
    21  this chapter;

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD05444-01-1
        A. 857                              2

     1    [(f)]  (g)  Consider  prehospital  emergency  treatment  as  that care
     2  provided  by  certified  emergency  medical  technicians  or   certified
     3  advanced   emergency  medical  technicians  certified  pursuant  to  the
     4  provisions of article thirty of the public health law.
     5    §  2. The executive law is amended by adding a new section 719 to read
     6  as follows:
     7    § 719. Report on volunteer firefighter and ambulance  services  staff-
     8  ing.  1.  On or before the first day of January two thousand twenty-two,
     9  the  commissioner,  in  consultation  with  the  state  office  of  fire
    10  prevention and control, shall prepare and publish a report on the staff-
    11  ing  of  volunteer firefighter and ambulance services in New York state.
    12  Such report  shall  examine  and  evaluate  the  challenges  and  issues
    13  concerning the recruiting and maintenance of trained, available staffing
    14  by  volunteer  fire  departments, districts and companies as well as for
    15  volunteer ambulance districts and companies. Such report  shall  specif-
    16  ically  examine  and evaluate the challenges and issues that are partic-
    17  ular to rural areas of the state and areas  with  geographic  challenges
    18  such as mountains, waterways or limited transportation networks.
    19    2.  In  addition  to  identifying challenges and issues concerning the
    20  recruiting and maintenance of trained, available staffing  by  volunteer
    21  fire departments, districts and companies as well as for volunteer ambu-
    22  lance  districts  and  companies  across  New York state, as required by
    23  subdivision one of this section, such report shall also make recommenda-
    24  tions on how to address and remediate the challenges and issues  identi-
    25  fied,  with  such  recommendations  being submitted to the governor, the
    26  temporary president of the senate, the  speaker  of  the  assembly,  the
    27  chair of the senate standing committee on local government and the chair
    28  of  the  assembly  standing committee on local government at the time of
    29  the publishing of the report.
    30    § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.