A01778 Summary:

BILL NOA01778A
 
SAME ASSAME AS S03685-B
 
SPONSORJones (MS)
 
COSPNSRMcDonough, Ra, Lavine, D'Urso, Woerner, Blake, DiPietro, Byrne, Steck, Cook, Buchwald, Jean-Pierre, Morinello, Norris, Galef, Fahy, Bronson, Lupardo, Abinanti, Barrett, Solages, Raia, Goodell, Hunter, Pheffer Amato, Colton, Miller B, Buttenschon, Brabenec, DeStefano, Burke, Walsh, Crouch, Montesano, Palumbo, Lawrence, Smullen, Manktelow, Sayegh, LiPetri, Arroyo, Jaffee, Tague, Stec, Jacobson, Mikulin, Hawley, Wallace, Stirpe, Johns, Zebrowski, Stern, Gunther, McMahon, Ashby, Schimminger, Salka, Griffin
 
MLTSPNSRByrnes, Englebright, Miller ML
 
Amd §§209-b & 122-b, Gen Muni L; amd §184, Town L
 
Provides that authorities having control of a fire department or fire company which provides emergency medical services may establish fees and charges for services.
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A01778 Actions:

BILL NOA01778A
 
01/17/2019referred to local governments
06/07/2019amend (t) and recommit to local governments
06/07/2019print number 1778a
01/08/2020referred to local governments
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A01778 Memo:

NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY
MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION
submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
 
BILL NUMBER: A1778A
 
SPONSOR: Jones (MS)
  TITLE OF BILL: An act to amend the general municipal law and the town law, in relation to authorizing fees and charges for emergency medical services   PURPOSE: The purpose to allow fire departments the option to recover costs when providing emergency medical services.   SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS: Section 1. this bill amends subdivision 4 of section 209-b of the Gener- al Municipal Law to remove the prohibition on a fire department's abili- ty to recover costs for emergency medical services. Further, this section provides language to ensure that advanced life support services are compensated for services rendered. Section 2. amends subdivision 1 of section 122-b of the General Munici- pal Law to comply with section 1 of this law. Section 3. amends subdivision 1 of section 184 of to comply with section 1 of this law. Section 4. is the enacting clause.   JUSTIFICATION: Currently volunteer fire departments and districts that provide emergen- cy medical services are unable to recover costs for the service that they provide. In recent years, a variety of factors have placed great strain on the resources of these services. As a result, many volunteer fire departments and districts have been forced to stop offering ambu- lance service to their communities. New York State is the only state in the union which prohibits fire departments from recovering any costs for emergency medical services. This bill will correct that by simply offering departments the option to recuperate costs of this noble service.   FISCAL IMPLICATIONS: No fiscal impact   LOCAL FISCAL IMPLICATIONS: A savings to fire districts / departments   EFFECTIVE DATE: This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall have become law.
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A01778 Text:



 
                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                         1778--A
 
                               2019-2020 Regular Sessions
 
                   IN ASSEMBLY
 
                                    January 17, 2019
                                       ___________
 
        Introduced  by  M.  of A. JONES, McDONOUGH, RA, LAVINE, D'URSO, WOERNER,
          BLAKE, DiPIETRO, BYRNE, STECK, COOK, BUCHWALD, JEAN-PIERRE, MORINELLO,
          NORRIS, GALEF, FAHY, BRONSON,  LUPARDO,  ABINANTI,  BARRETT,  SOLAGES,
          RAIA,  GOODELL, HUNTER, PHEFFER AMATO, COLTON, B. MILLER, BUTTENSCHON,
          BRABENEC,  DeSTEFANO,  BURKE,  WALSH,  CROUCH,   MONTESANO,   PALUMBO,
          LAWRENCE,  SMULLEN,  MANKTELOW, SAYEGH, LiPETRI, ARROYO, JAFFEE, WALC-
          ZYK, TAGUE -- Multi-Sponsored by --  M.  of  A.  BYRNES,  ENGLEBRIGHT,
          M. L. MILLER  --  read  once  and  referred  to the Committee on Local
          Governments -- committee discharged, bill amended,  ordered  reprinted
          as amended and recommitted to said committee
 
        AN  ACT to amend the general municipal law and the town law, in relation
          to authorizing fees and charges for emergency medical services
 
          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
 
     1    Section  1.    Subdivision 4 of section 209-b of the general municipal
     2  law, as amended by chapter 476 of the laws of 2018, is amended  to  read
     3  as follows:
     4    4. Fees and charges [prohibited] authorized.  (a) Emergency and gener-
     5  al  ambulance service, including emergency medical service as defined in
     6  section three thousand one of the public health law, authorized pursuant
     7  to this section [shall] may be furnished  without  cost  to  the  person
     8  served; provided, however, that the authorities having control of a fire
     9  department  or fire company that have authorized such fire department or
    10  fire company to provide such service or services may fix a  schedule  of
    11  fees  or  charges  to  be  paid  by  persons  requesting such service or
    12  services. The authorities having control of a fire  department  or  fire
    13  company may provide for the collection of fees and charges or may formu-
    14  late  rules  and  regulations  for  the  collection  thereof by the fire
    15  department or fire company. When fees and charges are authorized  pursu-
    16  ant  to  this  subdivision,  the  fees  and  charges  collected shall be
    17  disbursed in accordance with a written contract entered into between the
 
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD02799-06-9

        A. 1778--A                          2
 
     1  authority having control of a fire department of fire  company  and  the
     2  fire  department  or  fire company itself.   The acceptance by any fire-
     3  fighter of any personal remuneration or gratuity, directly or  indirect-
     4  ly,  from  a person served shall be a ground for his or her expulsion or
     5  suspension as a member of the fire department or fire company.
     6    (b) Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph (a) of  this  subdivi-
     7  sion,  a basic life support service which establishes a schedule of fees
     8  for service shall enter into a contract with a provider or providers  of
     9  advanced  life  support  services  to provide such advanced life support
    10  services. Such contract shall  at  a  minimum  establish  the  fees  for
    11  advanced life support services and the means by which said provider will
    12  be  reimbursed  when  the  ambulance service bills for emergency medical
    13  service.
    14    (c) An emergency and general ambulance  service,  including  emergency
    15  medical  service  as  defined by this section which does not establish a
    16  schedule of fees for service, requesting an Advanced Life Support  (ALS)
    17  intercept  from another furnishing service in an area that is designated
    18  as a rural area by any law or regulation of the state or that is located
    19  in a rural census tract of a metropolitan statistical  area  (as  deter-
    20  mined  under the most recent Goldsmith Modification) shall be subject to
    21  payment of an ALS Rural Intercept Fee  to  such  furnishing  service  at
    22  rates  negotiated between the providers of such services. In the absence
    23  of any agreed upon rates, the service receiving such intercept shall pay
    24  for such services at the usual and customary rate, which  shall  not  be
    25  excessive  or  unreasonable.  Nothing in this section shall restrict any
    26  ambulance providers from establishing mutually agreeable alternate  fees
    27  for services provided to and/or for each respective ambulance service.
    28    §  2.  Paragraph  (e) of subdivision 1 of section 122-b of the general
    29  municipal law, as amended by chapter 303 of the laws of 1980, is amended
    30  to read as follows:
    31    (e) [No] A contract [shall]  may  be  entered  into  pursuant  to  the
    32  provisions  of  this section for the services of an emergency rescue and
    33  first aid squad of a fire department or fire company which is subject to
    34  the provisions of section two hundred nine-b of [the  general  municipal
    35  law] this chapter;
    36    § 3. Subdivision 1 of section 184 of the town law, as amended by chap-
    37  ter 599 of the laws of 1994, is amended to read as follows:
    38    1.  Whenever  the town board shall have established or extended a fire
    39  protection district pursuant to the provisions of this article, the town
    40  board shall provide for the furnishing of  fire  protection  within  the
    41  district  and  for that purpose may (a) contract with any city, village,
    42  fire district or incorporated  fire  company  maintaining  adequate  and
    43  suitable  apparatus and appliances for the furnishing of fire protection
    44  in such district or (b) may acquire by gift or purchase  such  apparatus
    45  and  appliances for use in such district and may contract with any city,
    46  village, fire district or incorporated fire company for operation, main-
    47  tenance, and  repair  of  the  same  and  for  the  furnishing  of  fire
    48  protection  in such district, or both. The contract may also provide for
    49  the furnishing of (1) emergency service in case of accidents, calamities
    50  or other emergencies in connection with which the services of firefight-
    51  ers would be required and (2) general ambulance service subject,  howev-
    52  er,  to  the  provisions  of  section  two hundred nine-b of the general
    53  municipal law. In the event that the fire  department  or  fire  company
    54  furnishing fire protection within the district pursuant to contract does
    55  not  maintain  and  operate an ambulance then a separate contract may be
    56  made for the furnishing  within  the  district  of  emergency  ambulance

        A. 1778--A                          3
 
     1  service or general ambulance service, or both, with any city, village or
     2  fire district the fire department of which, or with an incorporated fire
     3  company  having  its  headquarters outside the district which, maintains
     4  and operates an ambulance subject, however, in the case of general ambu-
     5  lance  service,  to  the provisions of section two hundred nine-b of the
     6  general municipal law, or with an ambulance service, certified or regis-
     7  tered pursuant to article thirty of the public health law[, which is not
     8  organized under the provisions of section  two  hundred  nine-b  of  the
     9  general  municipal  law].  Any  such  contract  with  any such ambulance
    10  service permitted herein shall be subject  to  the  provisions  of  this
    11  section.
    12    §  4.  This  act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall
    13  have become a law.
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A01778 LFIN:

 NO LFIN
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