Bill Text: NY S01996 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Introduced

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

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-01-08 - REFERRED TO LOCAL GOVERNMENT [S01996 Detail]

Download: New_York-2019-S01996-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
                                          1996
                               2019-2020 Regular Sessions
                    IN SENATE
                                    January 18, 2019
                                       ___________
        Introduced  by  Sen.  LITTLE -- 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, 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;
    22    [(f)] (g)  Consider  prehospital  emergency  treatment  as  that  care
    23  provided   by  certified  emergency  medical  technicians  or  certified
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD03140-01-9
        S. 1996                             2
     1  advanced  emergency  medical  technicians  certified  pursuant  to   the
     2  provisions of article thirty of the public health law.
     3    §  2. The executive law is amended by adding a new section 719 to read
     4  as follows:
     5    § 719. Report on volunteer firefighter and ambulance  services  staff-
     6  ing.  1.  On or before the first day of January two thousand twenty, the
     7  commissioner, in consultation with the state office of  fire  prevention
     8  and  control,  shall  prepare  and  publish  a report on the staffing of
     9  volunteer firefighter and ambulance services in  New  York  state.  Such
    10  report  shall  examine and evaluate the challenges and issues concerning
    11  the recruiting and maintenance of trained, available staffing by  volun-
    12  teer  fire departments, districts and companies as well as for volunteer
    13  ambulance districts and companies. Such report shall specifically  exam-
    14  ine  and evaluate the challenges and issues that are particular to rural
    15  areas of the state and areas with geographic challenges  such  as  moun-
    16  tains, waterways or limited transportation networks.
    17    2.  In  addition  to  identifying challenges and issues concerning the
    18  recruiting and maintenance of trained, available staffing  by  volunteer
    19  fire departments, districts and companies as well as for volunteer ambu-
    20  lance  districts  and  companies  across  New York state, as required by
    21  subdivision one of this section, such report shall also make recommenda-
    22  tions on how to address and remediate the challenges and issues  identi-
    23  fied,  with  such  recommendations  being submitted to the governor, the
    24  temporary president of the senate, the  speaker  of  the  assembly,  the
    25  chair of the senate standing committee on local government and the chair
    26  of  the  assembly  standing committee on local government at the time of
    27  the publishing of the report.
    28    § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.