BILL NUMBER: S2658
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:
2023-2024: S3039 referred to Local Government; A2812 referred to Local
Governments
2022/2021: S5331 referred to Local Government; A857 referred to Local
Government
2020/2019: S1996 referred to Local Governments; A1577 referred to Local
Governments
2018: S7443 passed Senate; A9589 referred to Local Governments
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act would take effect immediately.

Statutes affected:
S2658: 122-b general municipal law, 122-b(1) general municipal law