Senate BillIntroduced
S 4802: Requires hearings on claims for compensation to occur within 120 days; results in a default judgment for the claimant if such hearing has not occurred within 120 days.
What S 4802 does, verified January 8, 2026
The bill aims to amend the Volunteer Firefighters' Benefit Law to expedite the hearing process for claims. A claim for benefits can be submitted without a seven-day waiting period. A hearing ordered by the chair or board must occur within one hundred twenty days after a claim is submitted. If a hearing is not held within this timeframe, the claim is automatically approved, including full payment of the award. The changes take effect immediately.
Bill journey
1IntroducedCurrent
2In CommitteePending
3First Chamber FloorPending
4Second ChamberPending
5GovernorPending
6ChapteredPending
Last action: REFERRED TO LOCAL GOVERNMENT (2026-01-07)Alert me
Quick answers about S 4802
- What is the current status of S 4802?
- As of January 8, 2026, S 4802 is recorded as "Introduced": it has been introduced and is waiting for its first committee hearing or floor vote. The last recorded action, on January 7, 2026, was "REFERRED TO LOCAL GOVERNMENT".
- Did S 4802 pass?
- Not yet. S 4802 has been introduced and has not passed either house.
- Who wrote S 4802, and where is it now?
- S 4802 was authored by Sen. Chris Ryan with 1 coauthor. Its committee of record is Senate Local Government.
Author and sponsors
Full contact details, staff, and committees with Connect, $16/moUnlockRecent actions2 total · showing 2
| Jan. 07, 2026 | REFERRED TO LOCAL GOVERNMENT |
| Feb. 13, 2025 | REFERRED TO LOCAL GOVERNMENT |
Latest bill textIntroduced version, February 13, 2025 · 276 words
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 4802 2025-2026 Regular Sessions IN SENATE February 13, 2025 ___________ Introduced by Sen. C. RYAN -- 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, in relation to requiring hearings on certain claims to occur within a specific amount of time The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Section 43 of the volunteer firefighters' benefit law, as 2 amended by chapter 336 of the laws of 1957, is amended to read as 3 follows: 4 § 43. Determination of claims for benefits. The provisions of section 5 twenty of the [workmen's] workers' compensation law shall be applicable 6 as fully as if set forth in this chapter, except that the waiting period 7 of seven days for the presentation of claims for benefits shall not 8 apply to the presentation of claims for benefits under this chapter, and 9 a hearing ordered by the chair or board shall occur within one hundred 10 twenty days after a claim for compensation is submitted under this chap- 11 ter, provided that failure of such hearing to occur within one hundred 12 twenty days of such submission shall default such claim in the claim- 13 ant's favor, including full payment of the award, determining such claim 14 for compensation. 15 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately. EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD09577-01-5
Text of S 4802 as introduced, from the official record. Connect Plus keeps every version and highlights what changed.Compare versions