Bill Text: NY S08041 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Introduced

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Provides that if, as a result of services performed in line of duty during a state of emergency, a volunteer firefighter or volunteer ambulance worker is exposed to or comes in contact with COVID-19, the chief engineer or other executive officer of the fire department or fire company or the captain or other executive officer of the ambulance department, volunteer ambulance company or ambulance district of which he or she is a member may authorize such volunteer firefighter or volunteer ambulance worker to obtain such examinations, tests, treatment and care as are immediately necessary to determine whether he or she is injured; further grants a presumption that exposure to COVID-19 caused partial or total disability or death.

Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 12-7)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-03-13 - PRINT NUMBER 8041A [S08041 Detail]

Download: New_York-2019-S08041-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          8041

                    IN SENATE

                                     March 12, 2020
                                       ___________

        Introduced by Sens. BROOKS, MARTINEZ, BORRELLO, BOYLE, GAUGHRAN, KAPLAN,
          KENNEDY, MAY -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be
          committed to the Committee on Local Government

        AN  ACT  to amend the volunteer firefighters' benefit law and the volun-
          teer ambulance workers' benefit law, in  relation  to  exposure  to  a
          communicable disease that requires mandatory quarantine

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

     1    Section 1. Section 11-b of the volunteer firefighters' benefit law, as
     2  amended by chapter 476 of the laws  of  2018,  is  amended  to  read  as
     3  follows:
     4    § 11-b. Hazardous  exposures. If, as a result of services performed in
     5  the line of duty, a volunteer firefighter is  exposed  to  or  comes  in
     6  contact  with any poisons, gases, x-rays, radium, radio-active materials
     7  or other potentially harmful substances or matter, or is  exposed  to  a
     8  communicable disease that requires mandatory quarantine, the chief engi-
     9  neer  or  other executive officer of the fire department or fire company
    10  of which he or she is a member may authorize the  volunteer  firefighter
    11  to obtain such examinations, tests, treatment and care as are immediate-
    12  ly necessary to determine whether he or she is injured. Any such author-
    13  ization  may  be granted prior to the giving of a notice of injury under
    14  this chapter. In any such  case,  the  volunteer  firefighter  shall  be
    15  deemed  to have been injured and shall be entitled to treatment and care
    16  and disability benefits as provided in this chapter.
    17    § 2. Section 11-b of the volunteer ambulance workers' benefit law,  as
    18  amended  by  chapter  481  of  the  laws  of 1988, is amended to read as
    19  follows:
    20    § 11-b. Hazardous exposures. If, as a result of services performed  in
    21  the line of duty, a volunteer ambulance worker is exposed to or comes in
    22  contact  with  any poisons, gases, x-rays, radium, radioactive materials
    23  or other potentially harmful substances or matter, or is  exposed  to  a
    24  communicable  disease that requires mandatory quarantine, the captain or
    25  other executive officer of the ambulance department, volunteer ambulance
    26  company or ambulance district of which he or she is a member may author-

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD15824-01-0
        S. 8041                             2

     1  ize the volunteer ambulance worker to obtain such  examinations,  tests,
     2  treatment  and care as are immediately necessary to determine whether he
     3  or she is injured.  Any such authorization may be granted prior  to  the
     4  giving  of  a notice of injury under this chapter. In any such case, the
     5  volunteer ambulance worker shall be deemed  to  have  been  injured  and
     6  shall  be  entitled  to  treatment  and  care and disability benefits as
     7  provided in this chapter.
     8    § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.