NY State Senate Bill 2019-S1943

Senate Bill S1943

2019-2020 Legislative Session

Authorizes the forest ranger force to establish a training program for volunteer search and rescue personnel to assist the forest rangers

download bill text pdf

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Environmental Conservation 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
Jan 08, 2020	referred to environmental conservation
Mar 19, 2019	reported and committed to finance
Jan 17, 2019	referred to environmental conservation

Votes

- Mar 19, 2019 - Environmental Conservation Committee Vote
  S1943
  
  10
  
  Aye
  
  0
  
  Nay
  
  1
  
  Aye with Reservations
  
  0
  
  Absent
  
  0
  
  Excused
  
  0
  
  Abstained
  - - Environmental Conservation Committee Vote: Mar 19, 2019
      
      aye (10)
      
      Boyle
      
      Harckham
      
      Kaminsky
      
      Kavanagh
      
      LaValle
      
      Little
      
      May
      
      O'Mara
      
      Salazar
      
      Serrano
      
      aye wr (1)
      
      Metzger

co-Sponsors

2019-S1943 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A1567
Current Committee:: Senate Environmental Conservation
Law Section:: Environmental Conservation Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §9-0105, En Con L
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:: 2009-2010: S3652, A8537
2011-2012: S553, A5016
2013-2014: S1365, A7010
2015-2016: S4563, A3509
2017-2018: S761, A9756
2021-2022: S5183, A514
2023-2024: S28, A2483

2019-S1943 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Authorizes the forest ranger force to establish a training program for volunteer search and rescue personnel to assist the forest rangers in wild, remote and forested areas of the state.

2019-S1943 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                
 
BILL NUMBER: S1943

SPONSOR: LITTLE
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the environmental conservation law, in relation to
authorizing the forest ranger force to establish a training program for
volunteer wild land search and rescue personnel

 
PURPOSE:

To authorize the DEC forest rangers to establish, direct and maintain a
program for the purposes of training and credentialing volunteer, wild
land search and rescue personnel.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1 - Amends subdivision 18 of section 9-0105 of the environmental
conservation law, as added by chapter 617 of the laws of 1984 to add a
new paragraph (b) to authorize the DEC forest rangers to establish,
direct and maintain a program for the purpose of training and creden-

tialing volunteer, wild land search and rescue personnel to assist and
respond along with the forest ranger force to search for lost and miss-
ing persons in the wild, remote and forest land areas of the state.

Section 2 - Contains the effective date

 
EXISTING LAW:

Subdivision 18 of section 9-0105 of the environmental conservation law,
as added by chapter 617 of the laws of 1984, relates to search and
rescue programs established, operated and maintained by the Department
of Environmental Conservation.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

This proposal would provide training and credentials for volunteer
search and rescue groups so that these groups are encouraged to organize
and participate in search and rescue operations. The participation of
volunteer search and rescue groups will benefit the public by providing
additional resources to respond in emergency situations where lost or
missing persons are in need of assistance, the Training that is provided
by the Department's forest rangers to these volunteer groups will help
ensure that volunteer search and rescue efforts are conducted in a safe
and effective manner. Well trained volunteer search and rescue groups
are very important since the Department has limited resources and must
conduct approximately 225 search and rescue efforts per year in wild
remote and forested areas of the state.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

2017-18: S.761/A.9756: Referred Environmental Conservation; Referred
Environmental Conservation

2015-16: S.4563 - Passed Senate; A.3509 Referred to Environmental
Conservation

2013-14: S.1365 - Passed in Senate; A. 7010 Referred to Environmental
Conservation
2011-12: S.553 - Passed in Senate; A. 5016 Referred to Environmental
Conservation

2009-10: S.3652 - Referred to Environmental Conservation; A. 8537
Referred to Environmental Conservation

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

To be determined

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.

2019-S1943 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                            
 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   1943
 
                        2019-2020 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             January 17, 2019
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sens.  LITTLE, SEWARD -- read twice and ordered printed,
   and when printed to be committed to  the  Committee  on  Environmental
   Conservation
 
 AN  ACT  to  amend  the  environmental  conservation law, in relation to
   authorizing the forest ranger force to establish  a  training  program
   for volunteer wild land search and rescue personnel
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Subdivision 18  of  section  9-0105  of  the  environmental
 conservation  law,  as  added  by  chapter  617  of the laws of 1984, is
 amended to read as follows:
   18. A. Establish, operate and maintain a search and rescue program  in
 fire  towns  and  fire  districts of the state. For the purposes of this
 section fire towns shall mean such towns provided for in section  9-1107
 of  this  chapter  and  fire  districts  shall  be deemed to be the fire
 protection areas provided for in section  9-1109  of  this  chapter  and
 regulations  promulgated  pursuant  to  the  authority of such sections.
 Pursuant to such program the forest ranger force of the department shall
 have the authority to organize, direct and execute search operations for
 lost persons or civilian aircraft  and  conduct  rescue  operations  for
 persons  injured  or in serious danger of injury in the wild, remote and
 forested areas of fire towns and fire districts of the  state;  provided
 that, where criminal conduct is suspected or fugitive search is involved
 such  search or rescue operations shall be conducted under the jurisdic-
 tion of the appropriate law enforcement agency.  Search and rescue oper-
 ations outside of fire towns and fire districts may be conducted by  the
 forest  ranger  force  upon request of the agency conducting such opera-
 tion.
   B. PURSUANT TO SUCH PROGRAM, THE FOREST RANGER FORCE OF THE DEPARTMENT
 SHALL HAVE THE AUTHORITY TO ESTABLISH, DIRECT AND MAINTAIN A PROGRAM FOR
 THE PURPOSE OF TRAINING AND CREDENTIALING VOLUNTEER,  WILD  LAND  SEARCH
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.

                                                            LBD03143-01-9

 S. 1943                             2
 
 AND  RESCUE PERSONNEL TO ASSIST AND RESPOND ALONG WITH THE FOREST RANGER
 FORCE TO SEARCH FOR LOST AND MISSING PERSONS IN  THE  WILD,  REMOTE  AND
 FORESTED AREAS OF THE STATE.
   § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.

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Senate Bill S1943

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Sponsored By

Betty Little