A 9124: Establishes a municipal group insurance technical assistance program for the purpose of assisting persons and municipalities with access to indemnity insurance and employee compensation pursuant to the volunteer firefighter's benefit law.

  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 9124 2025-2026 Regular Sessions  IN ASSEMBLY September 26, 2025 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. BUTTENSCHON -- read once and referred to the Committee on Local Governments AN ACT to amend the volunteer firefighters' benefit law, in relation to establishing a municipal group insurance technical assistance program 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 34 to read as follows: 3 § 34. Municipal group insurance technical assistance program. 1. 4 There is hereby established by the workers' compensation board a munici- 5 pal group insurance technical assistance program for the purpose of 6 assisting persons and municipalities with access to indemnity insurance 7 and employee compensation as required by this chapter. 8 2. Such program shall have the following duties, including, but not 9 limited to: 10 a. establishing a service delivery structure based in New York state 11 that includes a toll-free telephone hotline, an interactive website and 12 availability of in-person, telephone and email access to program staff 13 or volunteers; 14 b. identifying, investigating, referring and resolving complaints made 15 by, or on behalf of, a person who is indemnified by an insurance plan 16 for a fire protection district or a fire alarm district, or to a 17 village, town or county, or combination thereof, that is required to 18 provide insurance to such person, as required by this chapter; 19 c. providing assistance to a village, town or county, or combination 20 thereof, that contracts or is applying to contract for insurance indem- 21 nifying a fire protection district or a fire alarm district, including, 22 but not limited to, the financing of any benefits to be paid with serial 23 bonds or capital notes, contracting and purchasing such indemnity insur- 24 ance, participating in a county plan or municipal group plan, filing EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD09578-01-5 
 A. 9124 2 1 with the workers' compensation board and paying financial benefits to a 2 person covered by such indemnity insurance under this chapter; 3 d. assisting individuals in filing and preparing appeals before the 4 workers' compensation board as may be required by the board or under 5 this chapter; 6 e. collecting, tracking and quantifying problems and inquiries 7 encountered by individuals and municipalities; and 8 f. educating individuals or a village, town or county to their rights 9 and responsibilities with respect to indemnity contracts for a fire 10 protection district or a fire alarm district. 11 3. Notices and materials provided to persons by the workers' compen- 12 sation board as required by this chapter shall include the name, phone 13 number and website address of the municipal group insurance technical 14 assistance program established pursuant to this section. 15 4. Funds available for expenditure pursuant to this section for the 16 establishment of a municipal group insurance technical assistance 17 program may be allocated and distributed by the chair of the workers' 18 compensation board, subject to the approval of the director of the budg- 19 et, but only after the chair of the workers' compensation board holds a 20 request for proposal process for the establishment of a municipal group 21 insurance technical assistance program. Only domestic not-for-profit 22 corporations shall be eligible to submit proposals for such program. 23 Entities and individuals that currently or have represented claimants 24 before the board shall be excluded from consideration. The chair of the 25 workers' compensation board shall consider all competitive proposals 26 submitted through such request for proposal process and shall determine 27 which proposal submitted is appropriate for the establishment of a 28 municipal group insurance technical assistance program. In making such 29 determination, applicants who demonstrate experience providing advocacy 30 or assistance to a fire protection district or a fire alarm district, 31 experience operating a call center, or experience tracking and reporting 32 on case activities while protecting individual confidentiality shall 33 receive deference for the award. 34 § 2. This act shall take effect on the one hundred twentieth day after 35 it shall have become a law.