NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A2535
SPONSOR: Paulin (MS) TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the general municipal law, in relation to optional disa-
bility coverage for county probation officers
PURPOSE:
To allow for optional disability coverage for probation officers.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Sections 1 and 2 of the bill amends section 207-c (1) of the General
Municipal Law to authorize any county to provide county probation offi-
cers with disability coverage equal to their full salary in the event
that they are injured in the performance of their duties.
Section 3 establishes an effective date.
JUSTIFICATION:
Probation officers provide a vital law enforcement element to the commu-
nity's safety and a significant support function to our criminal justice
system. Their duties involve them in virtually all phases of the crimi-
nal justice process, including investigations, presentencing, criminal
supervision, treatment and other preventative corrective services.
Often, probation is relied upon more frequently as a viable alternative
to incarceration or detention. Today's probation officers find them-
selves performing many of the functions performed by their counterparts
In the police and corrections services. Like other police and peace
officers throughout the State, probation officers are exposed on a daily
basis to the risks and dangers involved in managing an increasingly
violent criminal population. In addition, they are regularly exposed to
significant amounts of stress and aggravation, not to mention possibil-
ity of bodily injury that may result from the performance of their
duties. Probation officers, however, do not receive comparable disabili-
ty coverage for injuries they sustain in the line of performance of
those duties. Fundamental fairness requires that this coverage is
extended to probation officers.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
A147 of 2023 and 2024, referred to ways and means/ Same as S366,
referred to local government
A.994 of 2021 and 2022, referred to ways and means/ Same as S.2633,
referred to, local government.
A.2232 of 2019 and 2020, passed assembly in 2019 and referred to govern-
mental employees in 2020 / Same as S.1929 of 2019 and 2020, referred to
local government.
A.9667 of 2018, veto memo 228. Same as S.7554, veto memo 228. A.473 of
2017, veto memo 185.
A.10613 of 2016, referred to ways and means. Same as S.7928 of 2016,
referred to local government.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None to the State.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
2535
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
January 17, 2025
___________
Introduced by M. of A. PAULIN, COLTON, WEPRIN, DiPIETRO, McDONOUGH,
BURDICK, SANTABARBARA, SLATER, SIMONE, LUNSFORD -- Multi-Sponsored by
-- M. of A. LUPARDO -- read once and referred to the Committee on
Governmental Employees
AN ACT to amend the general municipal law, in relation to optional disa-
bility coverage for county probation officers
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Subdivision 1 of section 207-c of the general municipal
2 law, as amended by section 55 of chapter 476 of the laws of 2018, is
3 amended to read as follows:
4 1. Any sheriff, undersheriff, deputy sheriff or corrections officer of
5 the sheriff's department of any county or any member of a police force
6 of any county, city of less than one million population, town or
7 village, or of any district, agency, board, body or commission thereof,
8 or any LIRR police officer as defined in paragraph two of subdivision a
9 of section three hundred eighty-nine of the retirement and social secu-
10 rity law whose benefits are provided in and pursuant to such section
11 three hundred eighty-nine, or a detective-investigator or any other
12 investigator who is a police officer pursuant to the provisions of the
13 criminal procedure law employed in the office of a district attorney of
14 any county, or any corrections officer of the county of Erie department
15 of corrections, or an advanced ambulance medical technician employed by
16 the county of Nassau, or any detention officer employed by the city of
17 Yonkers, or any supervising fire inspector, fire inspector, fire
18 marshal, or assistant fire marshal employed full-time in the county of
19 Nassau fire marshal's office, or at the option of [the] any county [of
20 Nassau], any county probation officer [of the county of Nassau] who is
21 injured in the performance of [his or her] their duties or who is taken
22 sick as a result of the performance of [his or her] such duties so as to
23 necessitate medical or other lawful remedial treatment shall be paid by
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD02524-01-5
A. 2535 2
1 the municipality or The Long Island Rail Road Company by which [he or
2 she] such employee is employed the full amount of [his or her] their
3 regular salary or wages from such employer until [his or her] the disa-
4 bility arising therefrom has ceased, and, in addition such municipality
5 or The Long Island Rail Road Company shall be liable for all medical
6 treatment and hospital care necessitated by reason of such injury or
7 illness. Provided, however, and notwithstanding the foregoing provisions
8 of this section, the municipal or The Long Island Rail Road Company
9 health authorities or any physician appointed for the purpose by the
10 municipality or The Long Island Rail Road Company, as relevant, after a
11 determination has first been made that such injury or sickness was
12 incurred during, or resulted from, such performance of duty, may attend
13 any such injured or sick police officer, from time to time, for the
14 purpose of providing medical, surgical or other treatment, or for making
15 inspections, and the municipality or The Long Island Rail Road Company,
16 as the case may be, shall not be liable for salary or wages payable to
17 such police officer, or for the cost of medical treatment or hospital
18 care furnished after such date as such health authorities or physician
19 shall certify that such injured or sick police officer has recovered and
20 is physically able to perform [his or her] regular duties. Any injured
21 or sick police officer who shall refuse to accept medical treatment or
22 hospital care or shall refuse to permit medical inspections as herein
23 authorized, including examinations pursuant to subdivision two of this
24 section, shall be deemed to have waived [his or her] their rights under
25 this section in respect to expenses for medical treatment or hospital
26 care rendered and for salary or wages payable after such refusal.
27 Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, a provider of
28 medical treatment or hospital care furnished pursuant to the provisions
29 of this section shall not collect or attempt to collect reimbursement
30 for such treatment or care from any such police officer, any such
31 advanced ambulance medical technician or any such detention officer.
32 § 2. Subdivision 1 of section 207-c of the general municipal law, as
33 amended by section 56 of chapter 476 of the laws of 2018, is amended to
34 read as follows:
35 1. Any sheriff, undersheriff, deputy sheriff or corrections officer of
36 the sheriff's department of any county (hereinafter referred to as a
37 "police officer") or any member of a police force of any county, city of
38 less than one million population, town or village, or of any district,
39 agency, board, body or commission thereof, or a detective-investigator
40 or any other investigator who is a police officer pursuant to the
41 provisions of the criminal procedure law employed in the office of a
42 district attorney of any county, or any corrections officer of the coun-
43 ty of Erie department of corrections, or an advanced ambulance medical
44 technician employed by the county of Nassau, or any detention officer
45 employed by the city of Yonkers, or any supervising fire inspector, fire
46 inspector, fire marshal or assistant fire marshal employed full-time in
47 the county of Nassau fire marshal's office, or at the option of [the]
48 any county [of Nassau], any county probation officer [of the county of
49 Nassau] who is injured in the performance of [his or her] their duties
50 or who is taken sick as a result of the performance of [his or her] such
51 duties so as to necessitate medical or other lawful remedial treatment
52 shall be paid by the municipality by which [he or she] such employee is
53 employed the full amount of [his or her] their regular salary or wages
54 until [his or her] the disability arising therefrom has ceased, and, in
55 addition such municipality shall be liable for all medical treatment and
56 hospital care necessitated by reason of such injury or illness.
A. 2535 3
1 Provided, however, and notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this
2 section, the municipal health authorities or any physician appointed for
3 the purpose by the municipality, after a determination has first been
4 made that such injury or sickness was incurred during, or resulted from,
5 such performance of duty, may attend any such injured or sick police
6 officer, from time to time, for the purpose of providing medical, surgi-
7 cal or other treatment, or for making inspections and the municipality
8 shall not be liable for salary or wages payable to such police officer,
9 or for the cost of medical treatment or hospital care furnished after
10 such date as such health authorities or physician shall certify that
11 such injured or sick police officer has recovered and is physically able
12 to perform [his or her] regular duties. Any injured or sick police
13 officer who shall refuse to accept medical treatment or hospital care or
14 shall refuse to permit medical inspections as herein authorized, includ-
15 ing examinations pursuant to subdivision two of this section, shall be
16 deemed to have waived [his or her] their rights under this section in
17 respect to expenses for medical treatment or hospital care rendered and
18 for salary or wages payable after such refusal.
19 Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, a provider of
20 medical treatment or hospital care furnished pursuant to the provisions
21 of this section shall not collect or attempt to collect reimbursement
22 for such treatment or care from any such police officer, a member of a
23 police force of any county, city, any such advanced ambulance medical
24 technician, any such detention officer or any such detective-investiga-
25 tor or any other such investigator who is a police officer pursuant to
26 the provisions of the criminal procedure law.
27 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately; provided that section two
28 of this act shall take effect on the same date and in the same manner as
29 chapter 628 of the laws of 1991 takes effect.
