Requires the department of veterans' services to consult with the office of fire prevention and control and the department of health to identify the most effective ways to provide useful information to veterans about available volunteer opportunities with local volunteer fire departments and emergency services providers.
S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________
9490
I N A S S E M B L Y
January 7, 2026
___________
Introduced by M. of A. STERN -- read once and referred to the Committee
on Veterans' Affairs
AN ACT to amend the veterans' services law, in relation to volunteer
opportunities for veterans
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. Subdivision 30-a of section 4 of the veterans' services
law, as added by a chapter of the laws of 2025 amending the veterans'
services law relating to establishing voluntary opportunities for veter-
ans, as proposed in legislative bills numbers S. 274-B and A. 8485, is
amended to read as follows:
30-a. [(a)] To provide information on the department's website on
volunteer opportunities available to veterans as defined in section one
of this article, including but not limited to [working at the depart-
ment, or], (A) a volunteer fire department, AFTER CONSULTATION WITH THE
OFFICE OF FIRE PREVENTION AND CONTROL TO IDENTIFY THE MOST EFFECTIVE
WAYS TO PROVIDE USEFUL INFORMATION ABOUT AVAILABLE VOLUNTEER OPPORTU-
NITIES, or (B) AN emergency services provider, AFTER CONSULTATION WITH
THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH TO IDENTIFY THE MOST EFFECTIVE WAYS TO PROVIDE
USEFUL INFORMATION ABOUT AVAILABLE VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES.
[(b) The department shall post on their website under the employment
portal any relevant application forms that a qualified veteran can use
to apply for volunteer opportunities or to request additional informa-
tion.]
§ 2. Subdivision 1 of section 15 of the veterans' services law, as
amended by a chapter of the laws of 2025 amending the veterans' services
law relating to establishing voluntary opportunities for veterans, as
proposed in legislative bills numbers S. 274-B and A. 8485, is amended
to read as follows:
1. A local veterans' service agency shall have power under the direc-
tion of the state veterans' service agency, and it shall be its duty to
inform military and naval authorities of the United States and assist
members of the uniformed services and veterans, who are residents of
this state, and their families, in relation to (1) matters pertaining to
EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
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.