NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
 
BILL NUMBER: A7552
SPONSOR: Thiele
 
TITLE OF BILL: An act to amend the general municipal law, in relation
to the maximum contribution for certain service award programs
 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
This legislation would increase the maximum contribution under a length
of service award program for volunteer firefighters and volunteer ambu-
lance workers.
 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section one amends subdivision (b) of section 218 of the general munici-
pal law to increase the maximum contribution amount under a defined
contribution plan to $1,200 per year of firefighter service.
Section two amends subdivision (1) of section 219-f of the general
municipal law to increase the maximum contribution amount under a
service award program to $1,200 per year of ambulance service.
Section three provides the effective date.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
The length of service award programs (LOSAP) are pension-like programs
intended to help recruit, retain and reward volunteer firefighters and
volunteer ambulance workers for their service to the community. The
current maximum contribution for defined contribution plans and service
award programs has remained at $700 for a long period of time, and thus
has not changed to reflect the need to incentivize volunteers at organ-
izations with length of service award programs.
 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
This is a new bill.
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None.
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately; provided, however, any change or
amendment to a service award program made by this act shall only take
effect as the first of January next succeeding completion of the
proceedings required for adoption of such change or amendment and shall
only apply prospectively.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
7552
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
May 9, 2019
___________
Introduced by M. of A. THIELE -- read once and referred to the Committee
on Local Governments
AN ACT to amend the general municipal law, in relation to the maximum
contribution for certain service award programs
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Subdivision (b) of section 218 of the general municipal
2 law, as amended by chapter 452 of the laws of 2004, is amended to read
3 as follows:
4 (b) The sponsor of a defined contribution plan shall contribute to the
5 plan a fixed amount of money, as determined by the sponsor, on behalf of
6 each participant who is credited with a year of service. The minimum and
7 maximum contribution requirements for a defined contribution service
8 award program shall be as follows. The minimum contribution shall be one
9 hundred twenty dollars per year of service. The maximum contribution
10 shall be [seven] twelve hundred dollars per year of service. The maximum
11 number of years of service for which a participant may receive a
12 contribution shall be forty years. The sponsor shall appropriate annual-
13 ly an amount sufficient to pay the contributions.
14 § 2. Subdivision 1 of section 219-f of the general municipal law, as
15 amended by chapter 452 of the laws of 2004, is amended to read as
16 follows:
17 1. The sponsor of a service award program shall contribute to the
18 program a fixed amount of money, as determined by the sponsor, on behalf
19 of each participant who is credited with a year of ambulance service.
20 The minimum contribution shall be one hundred twenty dollars per year of
21 ambulance service. The maximum contribution shall be [seven] twelve
22 hundred dollars per year of ambulance service.
23 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately; provided, however, any
24 change or amendment to a service award program made by this act shall
25 only take effect as of the first of January next succeeding completion
26 of the proceedings required for adoption of such change or amendment and
27 shall only apply prospectively.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD11364-01-9