Bill Text: NY S07443 | 2017-2018 | 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 9-0)

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2018-06-13 - referred to local governments [S07443 Detail]

Download: New_York-2017-S07443-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
                                          7443
                    IN SENATE
                                    January 18, 2018
                                       ___________
        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 122-b  of
     2  the  general  municipal  law,  as  amended by chapter 303 of the laws of
     3  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    [(f)]  (g)  Consider  prehospital  emergency  treatment  as  that care
    22  provided  by  certified  emergency  medical  technicians  or   certified
    23  advanced   emergency  medical  technicians  certified  pursuant  to  the
    24  provisions of article thirty of the public health law.
    25    § 2. The executive law is amended by adding a new section 719 to  read
    26  as follows:
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD14231-01-8
        S. 7443                             2
     1    §  719.  Report on volunteer firefighter and ambulance services staff-
     2  ing. 1. On or before the first day of January two thousand nineteen, the
     3  commissioner, in consultation with the state office of  fire  prevention
     4  and  control,  shall  prepare  and  publish  a report on the staffing of
     5  volunteer  firefighter  and  ambulance  services in New York state. Such
     6  report shall examine and evaluate the challenges and  issues  concerning
     7  the  recruiting and maintenance of trained, available staffing by volun-
     8  teer fire departments, districts and companies as well as for  volunteer
     9  ambulance  districts and companies. Such report shall specifically exam-
    10  ine and evaluate the challenges and issues that are particular to  rural
    11  areas  of  the  state and areas with geographic challenges such as moun-
    12  tains, waterways or limited transportation networks.
    13    2. In addition to identifying challenges  and  issues  concerning  the
    14  recruiting  and  maintenance of trained, available staffing by volunteer
    15  fire departments, districts and companies as well as for volunteer ambu-
    16  lance districts and companies across New  York  state,  as  required  by
    17  subdivision one of this section, such report shall also make recommenda-
    18  tions  on how to address and remediate the challenges and issues identi-
    19  fied, with such recommendations being submitted  to  the  governor,  the
    20  temporary  president  of  the  senate,  the speaker of the assembly, the
    21  chair of the senate standing committee on local government and the chair
    22  of the assembly standing committee on local government at  the  time  of
    23  the publishing of the report.
    24    § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.