Designates certain employees of public utilities, municipal utilities, electric corporations, gas corporations, water corporations, steam corporations, telecommunications corporations, and cable television companies as first responders during a declared state disaster emergency.
S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________
10694
I N A S S E M B L Y
March 20, 2026
___________
Introduced by M. of A. CUNNINGHAM -- read once and referred to the
Committee on Governmental Operations
AN ACT to amend the executive law, in relation to deeming certain utili-
ty workers first responders during a declared state disaster emergency
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. Section 29-b of the executive law is amended by adding a
new subdivision 4 to read as follows:
4. A. FOR PURPOSES OF ANY STATE DISASTER EMERGENCY DECLARED PURSUANT
TO SECTION TWENTY-EIGHT OF THIS ARTICLE, EMPLOYEES OF PUBLIC UTILITIES,
MUNICIPAL UTILITIES, ELECTRIC CORPORATIONS, GAS CORPORATIONS, WATER
CORPORATIONS, STEAM CORPORATIONS, TELECOMMUNICATIONS CORPORATIONS, AND
CABLE TELEVISION COMPANIES, AS SUCH TERMS ARE DEFINED IN THE PUBLIC
SERVICE LAW, WHOSE DUTIES INCLUDE THE CONSTRUCTION, OPERATION, MAINTE-
NANCE, REPAIR, RESTORATION, OR PROTECTION OF CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE,
SHALL BE DEEMED FIRST RESPONDERS WHILE ENGAGED IN EMERGENCY RESPONSE,
SERVICE RESTORATION, OR INFRASTRUCTURE PROTECTION ACTIVITIES.
B. SUCH DESIGNATION SHALL APPLY SOLELY DURING THE PERIOD OF A DECLARED
STATE DISASTER EMERGENCY AND SHALL BE LIMITED TO ACCESS, MOVEMENT,
CREDENTIALING, EMERGENCY COORDINATION, AND EMERGENCY SUPPORT SERVICES
NECESSARY TO PROTECT PUBLIC HEALTH AND SAFETY.
C. NOTHING IN THIS SUBDIVISION SHALL BE CONSTRUED TO CONFER ELIGIBIL-
ITY FOR RETIREMENT, DISABILITY, DEATH BENEFITS, OR ANY OTHER BENEFIT NOT
OTHERWISE PROVIDED BY LAW.
§ 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD14915-01-6
Open Legislation is a forum for New York State legislation. All comments are subject to review and community moderation is encouraged.
Comments deemed off-topic, commercial, campaign-related, self-promotional; or that contain profanity, hate or toxic speech; or that link to sites outside of the nysenate.gov domain are not permitted, and will not be published. Attempts to intimidate and silence contributors or deliberately deceive the public, including excessive or extraneous posting/posts, or coordinated activity, are prohibited and may result in the temporary or permanent banning of the user. Comment moderation is generally performed Monday through Friday. By contributing or voting you agree to the Terms of Participation and verify you are over 13.
Create an account. An account allows you to sign petitions with a single click, officially support or oppose key legislation, and follow issues, committees, and bills that matter to you. When you create an account, you agree to this platform's terms of participation.