NY State Senate Bill 2009-S7751

Senate Bill S7751

2009-2010 Legislative Session

Provides that the definition of search and rescue team includes voluntary and municipal wilderness/ inland search and rescue teams

download bill text pdf

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Local Government Committee

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

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	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
May 06, 2010	referred to local government

2009-S7751 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A8750
Current Committee:: Senate Local Government
Law Section:: General Municipal Law
Laws Affected:: Add §209-ff, amd §209-bb, Gen Muni L
Versions Introduced in 2011-2012 Legislative Session:: S3552, A5668

2009-S7751 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Provides that the definition of search and rescue team includes voluntary and municipal wilderness/inland search and rescue teams.

2009-S7751 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 BILL NUMBER:  S7751

 TITLE OF BILL :
An act to amend the general municipal law, in relation to defining
search and rescue teams to include voluntary and municipal search and
rescue teams


 PURPOSE :
To define a Volunteer Search and Rescue Worker as an individual
trained and certified by the Department of Environmental Conservation
and to expand the existing definition of Specialized Rescue Team to
include teams who members are Volunteer Search and Rescue Workers.

 SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS :
Amends the general municipal law by adding a new section 209-ff that
would define "search and rescue team" and "volunteer search and rescue
worker".

Amends subdivision 4 of section 209-bb of the general municipal law to
Include "volunteer search and rescue workers" as emergency services
workers who may be members of specialized teams.

 JUSTIFICATION :
Many of the laws that were written and enacted over the past decade
did not take into account the need for Emergency Services

organizations that are not directly part of Fire or Ambulance
Services. As a result, today we have more than 26 professional Search
and Rescue teams in the state, serving their communities alongside
fire, ambulance, law enforcement, and other emergency services groups
but without the recognition, support, and legal protections afforded
by the laws of the state. These teams provide expertise and experience
in Search and Rescue disciplines, augmenting local and State
resources, and freeing up often scarce local resources for other
tasks.

Over the past few years both Federal and State agencies have
recognized and identified the importance of the roles that
Wilderness/Inland Search and Rescue teams have in emergency services
and now include them in local, state, and Federal plans that address
both single incidents, along with larger scale natural and manmade
disasters. By defining the basic training and certification criteria
for these teams and their members in New York, agencies and
organizations that elect to utilize their services will be assured of
their continued level of professionalism.

 SUMMARY OF AMENDMENTS :
The bill is amended to state that a search and rescue worker is
defined as an individual who has obtained the minimum level of
training or experience to meet qualifying standards established by the
Department of Environmental Conservation's Office of Public
Protection.

 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY :
A.11534 of 2005/06: Referred to Local Governments

 FISCAL IMPLICATIONS :
None.

 EFFECTIVE DATE :
Immediately.

2009-S7751 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                            
                    S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________

                                  7751

                            I N  S E N A T E

                               May 6, 2010
                               ___________

Introduced by Sen. AUBERTINE -- 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 defining
  search and rescue teams to include voluntary and municipal search  and
  rescue teams

  THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  Section 1. The general municipal  law  is  amended  by  adding  a  new
section 209-ff to read as follows:
  S  209-FF.  SEARCH  AND RESCUE TEAMS AND WORKERS. FOR PURPOSES OF THIS
CHAPTER:
  1. "SEARCH AND RESCUE  TEAM"  MEANS  ONLY  A  VOLUNTARY  OR  MUNICIPAL
WILDERNESS/INLAND  SEARCH  AND  RESCUE  TEAM  WHOSE  MEMBERS  SHALL HAVE
OBTAINED THE MINIMUM LEVEL OF TRAINING OR EXPERIENCE TO MEET  QUALIFYING
STANDARDS  ESTABLISHED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION'S
OFFICE OF PUBLIC PROTECTION; INCORPORATED UNDER THE  LAWS  OF  NEW  YORK
STATE; FORMED FOR THE PURPOSE OF LOCATING AND RESCUING, OR RECOVERING, A
KNOWN  INDIVIDUAL  OR  KNOWN  INDIVIDUALS, IN AN UNKNOWN LOCATION, WHOSE
SAFETY MAY BE THREATENED BY CONDITIONS RELATED  TO  THE  ENVIRONMENT  OR
OTHER FACTORS; AND WHICH IS OPERATING NOT FOR PECUNIARY PROFIT OR FINAN-
CIAL GAIN.
  2. "VOLUNTEER SEARCH AND RESCUE TEAM WORKER" MEANS AN ACTIVE VOLUNTEER
MEMBER  OF  A  SEARCH  AND  RESCUE TEAM AS SPECIFIED ON A LIST REGULARLY
MAINTAINED BY THE TEAM.
  S 2. Subdivision 4 of section 209-bb of the general municipal law,  as
amended  by  chapter  482  of  the  laws  of 1997, is amended to read as
follows:
  4. For the purposes of this section, "specialized  teams"  shall  mean
any  emergency  team or squad composed of volunteer firefighters, volun-
teer ambulance workers, VOLUNTEER SEARCH AND RESCUE WORKERS or municipal
employees, who shall have attained the  minimum  level  of  training  or
experience  to  meet  qualifying  standards established by the office of
fire prevention and control, and which is administered by the  state,  a
county, city or town for the purposes of training for or responding to a

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.

                                                           LBD05500-03-9

S. 7751                             2

man  made  or  natural disaster by carrying out any activities which are
within the relevant training and expertise of such  municipal  employees
or are authorized pursuant to the volunteer firefighters' benefit law or
the  volunteer ambulance workers' benefit law but which are not normally
provided by such entities.
  S 3. This act shall take effect immediately.

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