Senate Bill S5331A

2021-2022 Legislative Session

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

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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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Actions

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Date of Action	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jan 10, 2022	print number 5331a
Jan 10, 2022	amend and recommit to local government
Jan 05, 2022	referred to local government
Apr 16, 2021	notice of committee consideration - requested
Mar 02, 2021	referred to local government

Bill Amendments

Original

A (Active)

2021-S5331 - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A857
Current Committee:: Senate Local Government
Law Section:: General Municipal Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §122-b, Gen Muni L; add §719, Exec L
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:: 2017-2018: S7443, A9589
2019-2020: S1996, A1577
2023-2024: S3039, A2812
2025-2026: S2658, A3432

2021-S5331 - Summary

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

2021-S5331 - Sponsor Memo

                                
 
BILL NUMBER: S5331

SPONSOR: STEC
 
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 economies 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:

2020/2019: S1996 referred to Local Governments; A1577 referred to Local
Governments

2018: 57443 passed Senate; A9589 referred to Local Governments

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None Noted.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act would take effect immediately.

2021-S5331 - Bill Text download pdf

                            
 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   5331
 
                        2021-2022 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                               March 2, 2021
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  STEC  --  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]
 THIS CHAPTER;
   [(f)] (G)  Consider  prehospital  emergency  treatment  as  that  care
 provided   by  certified  emergency  medical  technicians  or  certified
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.

                                                            LBD05444-01-1

 S. 5331                             2
 
 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:
   § 719. REPORT ON VOLUNTEER FIREFIGHTER AND AMBULANCE  SERVICES  STAFF-
 ING.  1.  ON OR BEFORE THE FIRST DAY OF JANUARY TWO THOUSAND TWENTY-TWO,
 THE  COMMISSIONER,  IN  CONSULTATION  WITH  THE  STATE  OFFICE  OF  FIRE
 PREVENTION AND CONTROL, SHALL PREPARE AND PUBLISH A REPORT ON THE STAFF-
 ING  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  VOLUNTEER  FIRE  DEPARTMENTS, DISTRICTS AND COMPANIES AS WELL AS FOR
 VOLUNTEER AMBULANCE DISTRICTS AND COMPANIES. SUCH REPORT  SHALL  SPECIF-
 ICALLY  EXAMINE  AND EVALUATE THE CHALLENGES AND ISSUES THAT ARE PARTIC-
 ULAR TO RURAL AREAS OF THE STATE AND AREAS  WITH  GEOGRAPHIC  CHALLENGES
 SUCH AS MOUNTAINS, 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.

co-Sponsors

View additional co-sponsors

2021-S5331A (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A857
Current Committee:: Senate Local Government
Law Section:: General Municipal Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §122-b, Gen Muni L; add §719, Exec L
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:: 2017-2018: S7443, A9589
2019-2020: S1996, A1577
2023-2024: S3039, A2812
2025-2026: S2658, A3432

2021-S5331A (ACTIVE) - Summary

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

2021-S5331A (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S5331A

SPONSOR: STEC
 
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:

Section 1 -This bill would allow any county, city, town or village, to
establish a special district for the financing and operation of general

ambulance services.

Section 2 - 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.

Section 3 -Provides effective date

 
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 economies 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:

2020/2019: S1996 referred to Local Governments; A1577 referred to Local
Governments

2018: 57443 passed Senate; A9589 referred to Local Governments

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act would take effect immediately.

2021-S5331A (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                  5331--A
 
                        2021-2022 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                               March 2, 2021
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  STEC  --  read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Local Government -- recom-
   mitted to the Committee on Local Government in accordance with  Senate
   Rule  6,  sec.  8  --  committee  discharged,  bill  amended,  ordered
   reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee

 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 and a new closing paragraph is added  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
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD05444-04-1

 S. 5331--A                          2
 
 provisions of section two hundred nine-b of [the general municipal  law]
 THIS CHAPTER;
   [(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.
   ANY COUNTY, CITY, TOWN OR VILLAGE WHICH ESTABLISHES OR PARTICIPATES IN
 A JOINT DISTRICT PURSUANT TO PARAGRAPH (D)  OF  THIS  SUBDIVISION  SHALL
 DISSOLVE  AND  ABOLISH  ANY  PREEXISTING LOCAL DISTRICT SERVING THE SAME
 JURISDICTION.
   § 2. The executive law is amended by adding a new section 719 to  read
 as follows:
   §  719.  REPORT ON VOLUNTEER FIREFIGHTER AND AMBULANCE SERVICES STAFF-
 ING. 1. ON OR BEFORE THE FIRST DAY OF JANUARY TWO THOUSAND TWENTY-THREE,
 THE  COMMISSIONER,  IN  CONSULTATION  WITH  THE  STATE  OFFICE  OF  FIRE
 PREVENTION AND CONTROL, SHALL PREPARE AND PUBLISH A REPORT ON THE STAFF-
 ING  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  VOLUNTEER  FIRE  DEPARTMENTS, DISTRICTS AND COMPANIES AS WELL AS FOR
 VOLUNTEER AMBULANCE DISTRICTS AND COMPANIES. SUCH REPORT  SHALL  SPECIF-
 ICALLY  EXAMINE  AND EVALUATE THE CHALLENGES AND ISSUES THAT ARE PARTIC-
 ULAR TO RURAL AREAS OF THE STATE AND AREAS  WITH  GEOGRAPHIC  CHALLENGES
 SUCH AS MOUNTAINS, 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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Senate Bill S5331A

Sponsored By

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

Actions

Bill Amendments

2021-S5331 - Details

2021-S5331 - Summary

2021-S5331 - Sponsor Memo

2021-S5331 - Bill Text download pdf

co-Sponsors

2021-S5331A (ACTIVE) - Details

2021-S5331A (ACTIVE) - Summary

2021-S5331A (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2021-S5331A (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments

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Sponsored By

Daniel G. Stec

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

Actions

Bill Amendments

2021-S5331 - Details

2021-S5331 - Summary

2021-S5331 - Sponsor Memo

2021-S5331 - Bill Text download pdf

co-Sponsors

Patrick M. Gallivan

Peter Oberacker

Robert G. Ortt

Patty Ritchie

2021-S5331A (ACTIVE) - Details

2021-S5331A (ACTIVE) - Summary

2021-S5331A (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2021-S5331A (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments