S 190: Establishes the payment of certain volunteer firefighter and volunteer ambulance worker death benefits shall be within ninety days of the filing of application to receive such death benefit.

  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 190 2025-2026 Regular Sessions  IN SENATE (Prefiled) January 8, 2025 ___________ Introduced by Sens. MARTINEZ, ADDABBO, HELMING, MATTERA, OBERACKER, RHOADS, ROLISON, WALCZYK, WEBB -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Local Government AN ACT to amend the volunteer firefighters' benefit law and the volun- teer ambulance workers' benefit law, in relation to the payment of death benefits 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 7-b to read as follows: 3 § 7-b. Payment of death benefits. 1. All death benefits payable under 4 section seven of this article shall be paid to the person or persons 5 entitled to such benefit within ninety days of the date such person or 6 persons files an application with the workers' compensation board to 7 receive such benefit, except if the employer or insurance carrier files 8 a notice of controversy with the chair of the workers' compensation 9 board in accordance with section twenty-five of the workers' compen- 10 sation law; provided that if there is a discrepancy in the claim for 11 benefits that would prevent the claim from being processed within ninety 12 days, the workers' compensation board shall provide written notice to 13 the claimant within such ninety day period explaining the discrepancy 14 and why the claim cannot be processed within the ninety day period. 15 2. The workers' compensation board shall conduct outreach services to 16 provide coordinated information to the person or persons entitled to a 17 death benefit payable under section seven of this article regarding 18 assistance available to help such person or persons with the death bene- 19 fit program's application procedures. 20 § 2. The volunteer ambulance workers' benefit law is amended by adding 21 a new section 7-b to read as follows: EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD00586-01-5 
 S. 190 2 1 § 7-b. Payment of death benefits. 1. All death benefits payable under 2 section seven of this article shall be paid to the person or persons 3 entitled to such benefit within ninety days of the date such person or 4 persons files an application with the workers' compensation board to 5 receive such benefit, except if the employer or insurance carrier files 6 a notice of controversy with the chair of the workers' compensation 7 board in accordance with section twenty-five of the workers' compen- 8 sation law; provided that if there is a discrepancy in the claim for 9 benefits that would prevent the claim from being processed within ninety 10 days, the workers' compensation board shall provide written notice to 11 the claimant within such ninety day period explaining the discrepancy 12 and why the claim cannot be processed within the ninety day period. 13 2. The workers' compensation board shall conduct outreach services to 14 provide coordinated information to the person or persons entitled to a 15 death benefit payable under section seven of this article regarding 16 assistance available to help such person or persons with the death bene- 17 fit program's application procedures. 18 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.