Bill Text: NY A02419 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Relates to the establishment of special districts for general ambulance services in any county, city, town or village located within the Adirondack park; requires a report on issues of volunteer firefighter and ambulance services staffing.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-03 - referred to local governments [A02419 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-A02419-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          2419

                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                    January 26, 2023
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  M. of A. JONES, BUTTENSCHON -- read once and referred to
          the Committee on Local Governments

        AN ACT to amend the general municipal law, in relation to the establish-
          ment of special districts for general ambulance  services  within  the
          Adirondack  park;  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.  Paragraph  (d)  of  subdivision 1 of section 122-b of the
     2  general municipal law, as amended by chapter 303 of the laws of 1980, is
     3  amended, paragraphs (e) and (f) are relettered paragraphs (f)  and  (g),
     4  and a new closing paragraph is added to read as follows:
     5    (d)  Establish  a  special district for the financing and operation of
     6  general ambulance services as set forth by  this  section,  whereby  any
     7  county,  city,  town  or  village, either wholly or partially within the
     8  Adirondack park, acting individually, or jointly with any other  county,
     9  city, town and/or village, either wholly or partially within the Adiron-
    10  dack  park,  through  its governing body or bodies, following applicable
    11  procedures as are required for the establishment of  fire  districts  in
    12  article eleven of the town law or following applicable procedures as are
    13  required  for  the  establishment  of  joint  fire  districts in article
    14  eleven-A of the town law, with such special district being authorized by
    15  this section to be established in all or any part of  any  such  partic-
    16  ipating county or counties, town or towns, city or cities and/or village
    17  or villages;
    18    (e) Employ any combination of the methods authorized in paragraph (a),
    19  (b) [or], (c) or (d) of this subdivision;
    20    Any county, city, town or village which establishes or participates in
    21  a  joint  district  pursuant  to paragraph (d) of this subdivision shall
    22  dissolve and abolish any preexisting local  district  serving  the  same
    23  jurisdiction.

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD04950-01-3
        A. 2419                             2

     1    §  2. The executive law is amended by adding a new section 719 to read
     2  as follows:
     3    §  719.  Report on volunteer firefighter and ambulance services staff-
     4  ing. 1. On or before the first day of January, two thousand twenty-five,
     5  the  commissioner,  in  consultation  with  the  state  office  of  fire
     6  prevention and control, shall prepare and publish a report on the staff-
     7  ing  of  volunteer firefighter and ambulance services in New York state.
     8  Such report  shall  examine  and  evaluate  the  challenges  and  issues
     9  concerning the recruiting and maintenance of trained, available staffing
    10  by  volunteer  fire  departments, districts and companies as well as for
    11  volunteer ambulance districts and companies. Such report  shall  specif-
    12  ically  examine  and evaluate the challenges and issues that are partic-
    13  ular to rural areas of the state and areas  with  geographic  challenges
    14  such as mountains, waterways or limited transportation networks.
    15    2.  In  addition  to  identifying challenges and issues concerning the
    16  recruiting and maintenance of trained, available staffing  by  volunteer
    17  fire departments, districts and companies as well as for volunteer ambu-
    18  lance  districts  and  companies  across  New York state, as required by
    19  subdivision one of this section, such report shall also make recommenda-
    20  tions on how to address and remediate the challenges and issues  identi-
    21  fied,  with  such  recommendations  being submitted to the governor, the
    22  temporary president of the senate, the  speaker  of  the  assembly,  the
    23  chair of the senate standing committee on local government and the chair
    24  of  the  assembly  standing committee on local government at the time of
    25  the publishing of the report.
    26    § 3. This act shall take effect immediately; provided however that the
    27  amendments to paragraph (e) of subdivision 1 of  section  122-b  of  the
    28  general  municipal law made by section one of this act shall survive the
    29  expiration and reversion of such section as provided  in  section  4  of
    30  part KK of chapter 55 of the laws of 2022, as amended.