NY State Senate Bill 2025-S7554

Senate Bill S7554

2025-2026 Legislative Session

Allows political subdivisions which contract to receive fire protection services to jointly establish a service award program with political subdivisions which contract to receive ambulance services

download bill text pdf

Current 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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	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Apr 22, 2025	referred to local government

2025-S7554 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A8224
Current Committee:: Senate Local Government
Law Section:: General Municipal Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §216-a, Gen Muni L

2025-S7554 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Allows political subdivisions which contract to receive fire protection services from a special fire company or department to jointly establish a service award program with political subdivisions which contract to receive ambulance services from the same special fire company or department.

2025-S7554 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S7554

SPONSOR: MARTINS
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the general municipal law, in relation to allowing poli-
tical subdivisions which contract to receive fire protection services
from a special fire company or department to jointly establish a service
award program with political subdivisions which contract to receive
ambulance services from the same special fire company or department

 
PURPOSE:

Current law only allows political subdivisions receiving fire protection
services from the same special fire company or department to establish a
service award program. This bill will allow political subdivisions which
contract with a special fire company or department for fire protection
services to jointly establish a service award program with political
subdivisions which contract to receive ambulance services from the same
special fire company or department.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section one amends the general municipal law to allow political subdivi-
sions which contract to receive fire service, ambulance services, or
both from a special fire company or department to jointly establish a
service award program for the volunteer firefighters of such special
fire company or department, provided however, that no such service award
program shall be established unless each and every political subdivision
which contracts to receive fire protection services, ambulance services,
or both from the special fire company or department joins in establish-
ing the program.

Section two establishes the effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

There are special fire companies or departments which provide both fire
protection services and ambulance services. In some cases, the special
fire companies or departments provide services to multiple subdivisions
and those political subdivisions accept either fire or ambulance
services or both. As such, there are situations where a special fire
company or department provides fire service to some political subdivi-
sions while providing only ambulance services to other political subdi-
visions it services. This bill will correct a deficiency in the law.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

New bill.

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
Immediately.

2025-S7554 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   7554
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                              April 22, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen. MARTINS -- 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 allowing poli-
   tical subdivisions which contract to receive fire protection  services
   from  a  special  fire  company  or  department to jointly establish a
   service award program with political subdivisions  which  contract  to
   receive  ambulance  services  from  the  same  special fire company or
   department
 
   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1.  Subdivisions  1, 2 and 10 of section 216-a of the general
 municipal law, as added by chapter 550 of the laws  of  1995,  paragraph
 (b)  of subdivision 2 as amended by chapter 714 of the laws of 2006, and
 subdivision 10 as renumbered by chapter 452 of the  laws  of  2004,  are
 amended to read as follows:
   1.   The   political  subdivisions  which  contract  to  receive  fire
 protection services, AMBULANCE SERVICES, OR BOTH  from  a  special  fire
 company  or department may jointly establish a service award program for
 the volunteer firefighters of such special fire company  or  department,
 provided,  however,  that  no such service award program shall be estab-
 lished unless each and every political subdivision  which  contracts  to
 receive  fire  protection services, AMBULANCE SERVICES, OR BOTH from the
 special fire company or department joins in establishing the program.
   2. A service award program for the volunteer firefighters of a special
 fire company or department shall be jointly established by the political
 subdivisions which contract to receive fire protection  services,  AMBU-
 LANCE SERVICES, OR BOTH from such fire company or department only if:
   (a)  the  governing board of each and every such political subdivision
 approves an agreement to jointly sponsor the program by  an  affirmative
 vote of at least sixty percent of the governing board; and

  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD11736-01-5
 S. 7554                             2

 
   (b)  the  eligible voters of each and every such political subdivision
 separately approve a proposition authorizing their political subdivision
 to jointly sponsor the program  to  be  administered  by  the  political
 subdivision or the state of New York.
   10.  In  the event that the governing board of a political subdivision
 which is a party to an agreement to  jointly  sponsor  a  service  award
 program  for  the  volunteer  firefighters  of a special fire company or
 department ceases to contract to receive fire protection services, AMBU-
 LANCE SERVICES, OR BOTH from the special fire company or department, the
 political subdivision shall cease to be a sponsor of the  service  award
 program  and  shall  be  deemed  to have withdrawn from the agreement in
 accordance with the terms of the agreement without further action by the
 governing board or voters of any political subdivision.
   § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.

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