NY State Senate Bill 2017-S7443

Senate Bill S7443

2017-2018 Legislative Session

Relates to special districts for ambulance services and to volunteer firefighter and ambulance services staffing

download bill text pdf

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Assembly 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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Actions

View Actions

	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jun 13, 2018	referred to local governments delivered to assembly passed senate ordered to third reading cal.1766 committee discharged and committed to rules
May 01, 2018	reported and committed to finance
Jan 18, 2018	referred to local government

Votes

- Jun 13, 2018 - Floor Vote
  S7443
  
  60
  
  Aye
  
  0
  
  Nay
  
  0
  
  Absent
  
  3
  
  Excused
  
  0
  
  Abstained
  - - Floor Vote: Jun 13, 2018
      
      aye (60)
      
      Addabbo Jr.
      
      Akshar
      
      Alcantara
      
      Avella
      
      Bailey
      
      Benjamin
      
      Bonacic
      
      Boyle
      
      Breslin
      
      Brooks
      
      Carlucci
      
      Comrie
      
      DeFrancisco
      
      Dilan
      
      Felder
      
      Flanagan
      
      Funke
      
      Gallivan
      
      Gianaris
      
      Golden
      
      Griffo
      
      Hamilton
      
      Hannon
      
      Helming
      
      Hoylman-Sigal
      
      Jacobs
      
      Kaminsky
      
      Kavanagh
      
      Kennedy
      
      Klein
      
      Krueger
      
      LaValle
      
      Lanza
      
      Larkin
      
      Little
      
      Marcellino
      
      Marchione
      
      Mayer
      
      Montgomery
      
      Murphy
      
      O'Mara
      
      Ortt
      
      Parker
      
      Peralta
      
      Persaud
      
      Phillips
      
      Ranzenhofer
      
      Ritchie
      
      Rivera
      
      Robach
      
      Sanders Jr.
      
      Savino
      
      Serino
      
      Serrano
      
      Seward
      
      Stavisky
      
      Stewart-Cousins
      
      Tedisco
      
      Valesky
      
      Young
      
      excused (3)
      
      Amedore
      
      Croci
      
      Sepúlveda
  Jun 13, 2018 - Rules Committee Vote
  S7443
  
  23
  
  Aye
  
  0
  
  Nay
  
  2
  
  Aye with Reservations
  
  0
  
  Absent
  
  0
  
  Excused
  
  0
  
  Abstained
  - - Rules Committee Vote: Jun 13, 2018
      
      aye (23)
      
      Bonacic
      
      Breslin
      
      DeFrancisco
      
      Dilan
      
      Flanagan
      
      Hannon
      
      Kennedy
      
      Klein
      
      Krueger
      
      LaValle
      
      Lanza
      
      Larkin
      
      Little
      
      Marcellino
      
      Montgomery
      
      Parker
      
      Ranzenhofer
      
      Rivera
      
      Robach
      
      Savino
      
      Seward
      
      Stewart-Cousins
      
      Valesky
      
      aye wr (2)
      
      Gianaris
      
      Griffo
  May 1, 2018 - Local Government Committee Vote
  S7443
  
  9
  
  Aye
  
  0
  
  Nay
  
  0
  
  Aye with Reservations
  
  0
  
  Absent
  
  0
  
  Excused
  
  0
  
  Abstained
  - - Local Government Committee Vote: May 1, 2018
      
      aye (9)
      
      Boyle
      
      Brooks
      
      Carlucci
      
      Kaminsky
      
      Marchione
      
      Murphy
      
      Ortt
      
      Ritchie
      
      Serrano

co-Sponsors

View additional co-sponsors

2017-S7443 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A9589
Current Committee:: Assembly Local Governments
Law Section:: General Municipal Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §122-b, Gen Muni L; add §719, Exec L
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:: 2019-2020: S1996, A1577
2021-2022: S5331, A857
2023-2024: S3039, A2812

2017-S7443 (ACTIVE) - Summary

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

2017-S7443 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                
 
BILL NUMBER: S7443

SPONSOR: LITTLE
 
TITLE OF BILL:

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

 
PURPOSE:

This bill would authorize municipalities to establish a special district
for general ambulance services, and would require a report by the
commissioner of the Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services
to identify challenges concerning volunteer emergency services or
personnel.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

This bill would allow any county, city, town or village, to establish a

special district for the financing and operation of general ambulance
services. This bill would also require a report with recommendations on
volunteer firefighter and ambulances services by the commissioner of the
Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

Article 11 of the Town Law governs the requirements to form a fire
district. Presently, a town board or village board of trustees may
establish a joint fire district, when the territory in the joint fire
district is contiguous. However, for a town to establish a new fire
district, it must be outside of any village or city. This restriction
creates difficulty for districts in rural communities or those with
unique geography such as waterways or mountains, as transportation
networks can be limited and response times unavoidably delayed. This
difficulty has led to difficulty obtaining volunteer crews, as each
individual crew member can be required to cover more territory and put
in more hours than in other areas of the state.

According to the New York State Department of Health, a 2013 analysis
showed that the average scene to destination time throughout New York
State was 13.16 minutes. However, in the Adirondack mountain region, for
instance, it was significantly higher in many areas, with the average
scene to destination time in Clinton County being 17.77 minutes, Essex
County 25.55 minutes, Franklin County 18.32 minutes, Hamilton County
53.46 minutes, and Warren County 21.59 minutes. These delayed response
times pose a great threat to saving lives, protecting property and
encouraging the recruitment and retention of volunteers.

This bill seeks to address this issue in two ways. First, it would allow
a municipality to establish a special district with any county, city,
town, or village, thereby allowing communities to establish districts
with economy of scale and participants, in an effort to increase the
quality of emergency protection services. Second, it would further
require a study by the Division of Homeland Security and Emergency
Services, calling upon its experts in the state office of fire
prevention and control, to investigate, report and make recommendations

on how to encourage recruitment of crews and improved response times for
their operations.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

This is a new bill.

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None noted.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act would take effect immediately.

2017-S7443 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                            
 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   7443
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             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:
 
   Section 1. Paragraphs d, e and f of subdivision 1 of section 122-b  of
 the  general  municipal  law,  as  amended by chapter 303 of the laws of
 1980, are amended to read as follows:
   (d) ESTABLISH A SPECIAL DISTRICT FOR THE FINANCING  AND  OPERATION  OF
 GENERAL  AMBULANCE  SERVICES  AS  SET FORTH BY THIS SECTION, WHEREBY ANY
 COUNTY, CITY, TOWN OR VILLAGE, ACTING INDIVIDUALLY, OR JOINTLY WITH  ANY
 OTHER  COUNTY,  CITY, TOWN AND/OR VILLAGE, THROUGH ITS GOVERNING BODY OR
 BODIES, FOLLOWING APPLICABLE PROCEDURES AS ARE REQUIRED FOR  THE  ESTAB-
 LISHMENT  OF FIRE DISTRICTS IN ARTICLE ELEVEN OF THE TOWN LAW OR FOLLOW-
 ING APPLICABLE PROCEDURES AS ARE REQUIRED FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF JOINT
 FIRE DISTRICTS IN ARTICLE ELEVEN-A OF THE TOWN LAW,  WITH  SUCH  SPECIAL
 DISTRICT  BEING  AUTHORIZED  BY THIS SECTION TO BE ESTABLISHED IN ALL OR
 ANY PART OF ANY SUCH PARTICIPATING COUNTY OR COUNTIES,  TOWN  OR  TOWNS,
 CITY OR CITIES AND/OR VILLAGE OR VILLAGES;
   (E) Employ any combination of the methods authorized in paragraph (a),
 (b) [or], (c) OR (D);
   [(e)] (F) No contract shall be entered into pursuant to the provisions
 of  this  section  for the services of an emergency rescue and first aid
 squad of a fire department or fire  company  which  is  subject  to  the
 provisions of section two hundred nine-b of the general municipal law;
   [(f)]  (G)  Consider  prehospital  emergency  treatment  as  that care
 provided  by  certified  emergency  medical  technicians  or   certified
 advanced   emergency  medical  technicians  certified  pursuant  to  the
 provisions of article thirty of the public health law.
   § 2. The executive law is amended by adding a new section 719 to  read
 as follows:
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets

                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD14231-01-8

 S. 7443                             2
 
   §  719.  REPORT ON VOLUNTEER FIREFIGHTER AND AMBULANCE SERVICES STAFF-
 ING. 1. ON OR BEFORE THE FIRST DAY OF JANUARY TWO THOUSAND NINETEEN, THE
 COMMISSIONER, IN CONSULTATION WITH THE STATE OFFICE OF  FIRE  PREVENTION
 AND  CONTROL,  SHALL  PREPARE  AND  PUBLISH  A REPORT ON THE STAFFING OF
 VOLUNTEER  FIREFIGHTER  AND  AMBULANCE  SERVICES IN NEW YORK STATE. SUCH
 REPORT SHALL EXAMINE AND EVALUATE THE CHALLENGES AND  ISSUES  CONCERNING
 THE  RECRUITING AND MAINTENANCE OF TRAINED, AVAILABLE STAFFING BY VOLUN-
 TEER FIRE DEPARTMENTS, DISTRICTS AND COMPANIES AS WELL AS FOR  VOLUNTEER
 AMBULANCE  DISTRICTS AND COMPANIES. SUCH REPORT SHALL SPECIFICALLY EXAM-
 INE AND EVALUATE THE CHALLENGES AND ISSUES THAT ARE PARTICULAR TO  RURAL
 AREAS  OF  THE  STATE AND AREAS WITH GEOGRAPHIC CHALLENGES SUCH AS MOUN-
 TAINS, WATERWAYS OR LIMITED TRANSPORTATION NETWORKS.
   2. IN ADDITION TO IDENTIFYING CHALLENGES  AND  ISSUES  CONCERNING  THE
 RECRUITING  AND  MAINTENANCE OF TRAINED, AVAILABLE STAFFING BY VOLUNTEER
 FIRE DEPARTMENTS, DISTRICTS AND COMPANIES AS WELL AS FOR VOLUNTEER AMBU-
 LANCE DISTRICTS AND COMPANIES ACROSS NEW  YORK  STATE,  AS  REQUIRED  BY
 SUBDIVISION ONE OF THIS SECTION, SUCH REPORT SHALL ALSO MAKE RECOMMENDA-
 TIONS  ON HOW TO ADDRESS AND REMEDIATE THE CHALLENGES AND ISSUES IDENTI-
 FIED, WITH SUCH RECOMMENDATIONS BEING SUBMITTED  TO  THE  GOVERNOR,  THE
 TEMPORARY  PRESIDENT  OF  THE  SENATE,  THE SPEAKER OF THE ASSEMBLY, THE
 CHAIR OF THE SENATE STANDING COMMITTEE ON LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND THE CHAIR
 OF THE ASSEMBLY STANDING COMMITTEE ON LOCAL GOVERNMENT AT  THE  TIME  OF
 THE PUBLISHING OF THE REPORT.
   § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.

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