NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A5895
SPONSOR: Magnarelli (MS) TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the volunteer firefighters' benefit law and the volun-
teer ambulance workers' benefit law, in relation to updating benefits
and modernizing coverage for services provided in the line of duty
PURPOSE:
This legislation updates and modernizes certain provisions of law relat-
ing to the volunteer fire service. The purpose of the legislation is to
more accurately reflect current emergency response practices and to
bring the state of the law for volunteers into greater parity with other
segments of the response community.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1 amends the volunteer firefighters' benefit law (VFBL) to
provide a weekly benefit of $650 for volunteers that sustain total
permanent disability or partial permanent disability while in the line
of duty.
Section 2 amends the volunteer ambulance workers' benefit law (VAWBL) to
provide a weekly benefit of $650 for volunteers that sustain total
permanent disability or partial permanent disability while in the line
of duty.
Section 3 establishes effective date.
JUSTIFICATION:
Like any other industry, the volunteer fire service has evolved over
time. Years of experience and technological advancements have changed
the ways volunteer emergency response is provided and, as a result, a
new set of preferred or best practices has developed. This legislation
is designed to modernize the law to better reflect current practices and
to update the law to bring the volunteer fire service into greater pari-
ty with other segments of the workforce.
Despite years of experience and technological advancements, injuries are
still a part of the volunteer fire service. Sometimes the injuries are
severe - causing temporary or total permanent disabilities. The weekly
benefit under VFBL and VAWBL for such injuries has not been updated in
over ten years. It is time to update these benefits.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2017-2018: A.6367-A,
2015-16: A.1627,
2013-2014: 485-B,
2011-2012: A.8563-B
FISCAL IMPACT:
None to the State. This bill may affect premiums of local districts that
purchase policies in accordance with the VFBL or the VAWBL.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
5895
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
February 20, 2019
___________
Introduced by M. of A. MAGNARELLI, BUCHWALD, GUNTHER, WOERNER, WALLACE,
GALEF, BRONSON, D'URSO, STECK -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A. ENGLE-
BRIGHT -- read once and referred to the Committee on Local Governments
AN ACT to amend the volunteer firefighters' benefit law and the volun-
teer ambulance workers' benefit law, in relation to updating benefits
and modernizing coverage for services provided in the line of duty
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. The volunteer firefighters' benefit law is amended by
2 adding a new section 9-a to read as follows:
3 § 9-a. Total disability benefits for injuries on or after July first,
4 two thousand nineteen. Notwithstanding the provisions of section eight
5 or nine of this article, in the case of temporary total disability and
6 permanent total disability when the volunteer firefighter is injured in
7 the line of duty on or after July first, two thousand nineteen, said
8 firefighter shall receive six hundred fifty dollars per week during the
9 continuance thereof.
10 § 2. The volunteer ambulance workers' benefit law is amended by adding
11 a new section 9-a to read as follows:
12 § 9-a. Total disability benefits for injuries on or after July first,
13 two thousand nineteen. Notwithstanding the provisions of section eight
14 or nine of this article, in the case of temporary total disability and
15 permanent total disability when the volunteer ambulance worker is
16 injured in the line of duty on or after July first, two thousand nine-
17 teen, said ambulance worker shall receive six hundred fifty dollars per
18 week during the continuance thereof.
19 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD00193-01-9
