A 3672: Relates to the establishment of special districts for general ambulance services in any county, city, town or village located within the Adirondack park; requires a report on issues of volunteer firefighter and ambulance services staffing.

  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 3672 2025-2026 Regular Sessions  IN ASSEMBLY January 29, 2025 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. JONES -- read once and referred to the Committee on Local Governments AN ACT to amend the general municipal law, in relation to the establish- ment of special districts for general ambulance services within the Adirondack park; and to amend the executive law, in relation to a report on volunteer firefighter and ambulance services staffing The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Paragraph (d) of subdivision 1 of section 122-b of the 2 general municipal law, as amended by chapter 303 of the laws of 1980, is 3 amended, paragraphs (e) and (f) are relettered paragraphs (f) and (g), 4 and a new closing paragraph is added to read as follows: 5 (d) Establish a special district for the financing and operation of 6 general ambulance services as set forth by this section, whereby any 7 county, city, town or village, either wholly or partially within the 8 Adirondack park, acting individually, or jointly with any other county, 9 city, town and/or village, either wholly or partially within the Adiron- 10 dack park, through its governing body or bodies, following applicable 11 procedures as are required for the establishment of fire districts in 12 article eleven of the town law or following applicable procedures as are 13 required for the establishment of joint fire districts in article 14 eleven-A of the town law, with such special district being authorized by 15 this section to be established in all or any part of any such partic- 16 ipating county or counties, town or towns, city or cities and/or village 17 or villages; 18 (e) Employ any combination of the methods authorized in paragraph (a), 19 (b) [or], (c) or (d) of this subdivision; 20 Any county, city, town or village which establishes or participates in 21 a joint district pursuant to paragraph (d) of this subdivision shall 22 dissolve and abolish any preexisting local district serving the same 23 jurisdiction. EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD05550-01-5 
 A. 3672 2 1 § 2. The executive law is amended by adding a new section 720 to read 2 as follows: 3 § 720. Report on volunteer firefighter and ambulance services staff- 4 ing. 1. On or before the first day of January, two thousand twenty-sev- 5 en, the commissioner, in consultation with the state office of fire 6 prevention and control, shall prepare and publish a report on the staff- 7 ing of volunteer firefighter and ambulance services in New York state. 8 Such report shall examine and evaluate the challenges and issues 9 concerning the recruiting and maintenance of trained, available staffing 10 by volunteer fire departments, districts and companies as well as for 11 volunteer ambulance districts and companies. Such report shall specif- 12 ically examine and evaluate the challenges and issues that are partic- 13 ular to rural areas of the state and areas with geographic challenges 14 such as mountains, waterways or limited transportation networks. 15 2. In addition to identifying challenges and issues concerning the 16 recruiting and maintenance of trained, available staffing by volunteer 17 fire departments, districts and companies as well as for volunteer ambu- 18 lance districts and companies across New York state, as required by 19 subdivision one of this section, such report shall also make recommenda- 20 tions on how to address and remediate the challenges and issues identi- 21 fied, with such recommendations being submitted to the governor, the 22 temporary president of the senate, the speaker of the assembly, the 23 chair of the senate standing committee on local government and the chair 24 of the assembly standing committee on local government at the time of 25 the publishing of the report. 26 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately; provided however that the 27 amendments to paragraph (e) of subdivision 1 of section 122-b of the 28 general municipal law made by section one of this act shall survive the 29 expiration and reversion of such section as provided in section 4 of 30 part KK of chapter 55 of the laws of 2022, as amended.