Bill Text: NY S02658 | 2025-2026 | General Assembly | Introduced
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: Partisan Bill (Republican 5-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2025-01-22 - REFERRED TO LOCAL GOVERNMENT [S02658 Detail]
Download: New_York-2025-S02658-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 2658 2025-2026 Regular Sessions IN SENATE January 22, 2025 ___________ Introduced by Sens. STEC, GALLIVAN, OBERACKER, ORTT, TEDISCO -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Local Government 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, paragraphs (d) and (f) as amended by 3 chapter 303 of the laws of 1980 and paragraph (e) as amended by section 4 2 of part KK of chapter 55 of the laws of 2022, are amended and a new 5 closing paragraph is added to read as follows: 6 (d) Establish a special district for the financing and operation of 7 general ambulance services as set forth by this section, whereby any 8 county, city, town or village, acting individually, or jointly with any 9 other county, city, town and/or village, through its governing body or 10 bodies, following applicable procedures as are required for the estab- 11 lishment of fire districts in article eleven of the town law or follow- 12 ing applicable procedures as are required for the establishment of joint 13 fire districts in article eleven-A of the town law, with such special 14 district being authorized by this section to be established in all or 15 any part of any such participating county or counties, town or towns, 16 city or cities and/or village or villages; 17 (e) Employ any combination of the methods authorized in paragraph (a), 18 (b) [or], (c) or (d); 19 [(e)] (f) A contract may be entered into pursuant to the provisions of 20 this section for the services of an emergency rescue and first aid squad 21 of a fire department or fire company which is subject to the provisions 22 of section two hundred nine-b of this chapter; EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD06723-01-5S. 2658 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 Any county, city, town or village which establishes or participates in 6 a joint district pursuant to paragraph (d) of this subdivision shall 7 dissolve and abolish any preexisting local district serving the same 8 jurisdiction. 9 § 2. Paragraph (e) of subdivision 1 of section 122-b of the general 10 municipal law, as amended by chapter 303 of the laws of 1980, is amended 11 to read as follows: 12 [(e)] (f) No contract shall be entered into pursuant to the provisions 13 of this section for the services of an emergency rescue and first aid 14 squad of a fire department or fire company which is subject to the 15 provisions of section two hundred nine-b of [the general municipal law] 16 this chapter; 17 § 3. The executive law is amended by adding a new section 720 to read 18 as follows: 19 § 720. Report on volunteer firefighter and ambulance services staff- 20 ing. 1. On or before the first day of January two thousand twenty-seven, 21 the commissioner, in consultation with the state office of fire 22 prevention and control, shall prepare and publish a report on the staff- 23 ing of volunteer firefighter and ambulance services in New York state. 24 Such report shall examine and evaluate the challenges and issues 25 concerning the recruiting and maintenance of trained, available staffing 26 by volunteer fire departments, districts and companies as well as for 27 volunteer ambulance districts and companies. Such report shall specif- 28 ically examine and evaluate the challenges and issues that are partic- 29 ular to rural areas of the state and areas with geographic challenges 30 such as mountains, waterways or limited transportation networks. 31 2. In addition to identifying challenges and issues concerning the 32 recruiting and maintenance of trained, available staffing by volunteer 33 fire departments, districts and companies as well as for volunteer ambu- 34 lance districts and companies across New York state, as required by 35 subdivision one of this section, such report shall also make recommenda- 36 tions on how to address and remediate the challenges and issues identi- 37 fied, with such recommendations being submitted to the governor, the 38 temporary president of the senate, the speaker of the assembly, the 39 chair of the senate standing committee on local government and the chair 40 of the assembly standing committee on local government at the time of 41 the publishing of the report. 42 § 4. This act shall take effect immediately; provided, however, that 43 the amendments to paragraph (e) of subdivision 1 of section 122-b of the 44 general municipal law made by section one of this act shall be subject 45 to the expiration and reversion of such paragraph pursuant to section 4 46 of part KK of chapter 55 of the laws of 2022, when upon such date the 47 provisions of section two of this act shall take effect.
