Bill Text: NY S07246 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Amended

---

Bill Title: Relates to youth programs sponsored by fire departments; provides that participants may respond to an emergency or hazardous activity, but shall remain in an appropriate and safe designated area that has been established by the chief or officer in charge; provides such participants cannot respond to an emergency on a vehicle using lights and/or sirens; provides such participants may not enter a burning structure; protects volunteer fire departments and fire companies from certain criminal and civil liability potentially arising from the operation of a youth program.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-03 - REFERRED TO LOCAL GOVERNMENT [S07246 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-S07246-Amended.html

---

                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                         7246--A

                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions

                    IN SENATE

                                      May 19, 2023
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  Sen. MANNION -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
          printed to be committed  to  the  Committee  on  Local  Government  --
          committee  discharged,  bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and
          recommitted to said committee

        AN ACT to amend the general municipal law, the penal law, and  the  arts
          and  cultural  affairs  law,  in  relation  to  participants  in youth
          programs sponsored by fire departments

          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section 1. Subdivisions 5 and 7 of section 204-b of the general munic-
     2  ipal  law,  as  added by chapter 386 of the laws of 1978, are amended to
     3  read as follows:
     4    5. All activities of participants in such program shall be approved in
     5  advance by the chief, or his or her designee. [No activities may include
     6  emergency duties in connection with  fire  department  or  fire  company
     7  operations or any other hazardous activity.] Participants may respond to
     8  an  emergency  or hazardous activity, but shall remain in an appropriate
     9  and safe designated area that has been established by the chief or offi-
    10  cer in charge. The chief or officer in charge  shall  determine  if  any
    11  such  participant  is  allowed  to  respond to an emergency in a vehicle
    12  using lights and/or sirens.   Furthermore,  such  participants  may  not
    13  enter  a  burning  structure  nor  shall participants in a youth program
    14  pursuant to this section fall under the definition of  active  volunteer
    15  firefighter  as  defined in section three of the volunteer firefighters'
    16  benefit law.
    17    7. Volunteer fire departments and fire companies may purchase accident
    18  insurance to insure participants in  such  programs  against  injury  or
    19  death  resulting  from  bodily  injuries  sustained  in  performance  of
    20  approved activities. In addition, they may purchase insurance to protect
    21  against  liability  arising  from  approved  activities.  The  insurance
    22  purchased  pursuant to this subdivision may include medical and hospital

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD01358-03-3
        S. 7246--A                          2

     1  coverage. A volunteer fire department or fire company  shall  not  allow
     2  participants in such program to ride in any vehicle owned or operated by
     3  such  volunteer  fire  department or fire company, unless such volunteer
     4  fire  department  or  fire  company  has  purchased insurance protecting
     5  against liability that could arise from such participant  being  injured
     6  in an accident while riding in such vehicle.
     7    § 2. Section 260.10 of the penal law, as amended by chapter 447 of the
     8  laws of 2010, is amended to read as follows:
     9  § 260.10 Endangering the welfare of a child.
    10    1. A person is guilty of endangering the welfare of a child when:
    11    [1.]  (a)  He or she knowingly acts in a manner likely to be injurious
    12  to the physical, mental or moral welfare of a child less than  seventeen
    13  years old or directs or authorizes such child to engage in an occupation
    14  involving a substantial risk of danger to his or her life or health; or
    15    [2.] (b) Being a parent, guardian or other person legally charged with
    16  the  care  or custody of a child less than eighteen years old, he or she
    17  fails or refuses to exercise reasonable diligence in the control of such
    18  child to  prevent  him  or  her  from  becoming  an  "abused  child,"  a
    19  "neglected  child,"  a  "juvenile  delinquent"  or  a "person in need of
    20  supervision," as those terms are defined  in  articles  ten,  three  and
    21  seven of the family court act.
    22    [3.]  2. A person is not guilty of the provisions of this section when
    23  he or she engages in the conduct described in subdivision one of section
    24  260.00 of this article: (a) with the intent to wholly abandon the  child
    25  by relinquishing responsibility for and right to the care and custody of
    26  such  child;  (b)  with  the intent that the child be safe from physical
    27  injury and cared for in an appropriate manner; (c)  the  child  is  left
    28  with an appropriate person, or in a suitable location and the person who
    29  leaves  the child promptly notifies an appropriate person of the child's
    30  location; and (d) the child is not more than thirty days old.
    31    3. A volunteer fire department or fire company  or  a  member  thereof
    32  shall  not  be  guilty  of  a  violation of this section for engaging in
    33  actions authorized under section  two  hundred  four-b  of  the  general
    34  municipal law as part of a youth program.
    35    Endangering the welfare of a child is a class A misdemeanor.
    36    §  3.  Paragraph (e) of subdivision 1 of section 35.07 of the arts and
    37  cultural affairs law is amended to read as follows:
    38    (e) In any practice or exhibition or place dangerous or  injurious  to
    39  the  life,  limb, health or morals of such child provided, however, that
    40  the provisions of this paragraph shall not apply to: (i)  service  as  a
    41  member  of a certified volunteer ambulance service under the supervision
    42  of an emergency medical technician as provided in article thirty of  the
    43  public  health  law by youthful volunteers at least fifteen years of age
    44  who hold a current American Red Cross advanced first aid  and  emergency
    45  care  card; or (ii) participation in activities authorized under section
    46  two hundred four-b of the general municipal  law  as  part  of  a  youth
    47  program or as an active volunteer member of a fire department.
    48    § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.