S4137-2011 Actions

• Jan 4, 2012: REFERRED TO LOCAL GOVERNMENT
• Mar 21, 2011: REFERRED TO LOCAL GOVERNMENT

S4137-2011 Memo

BILL NUMBER:S4137

TITLE OF BILL:
An act
to amend the general municipal law, in relation to allowing certain fire
districts to provide a general ambulance service

PURPOSE:
This legislation would only affect fire districts throughout
the state to allow them to establish a schedule of fees or charges
for providing emergency and general ambulance service.

SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Subdivision 1 of section 122-b of the general
municipal law is amended to allow fire districts that represent a
locality to allow them to provide emergency medical service, or a
general ambulance service and collect a fee for service.

JUSTIFICATION:
As a volunteer fire department, fire districts are
prohibited from charging for ambulance services. In practice,
however, these districts employ a number of paid firefighters, who
are trained EMTs and answer ambulance and emergency services calls.
If the district were part of a municipal government, it could charge
users for services rendered by these paid emergency services personnel.

The ever-increasing costs of state mandates, coupled with increases in
equipment (and in career departments, personnel) costs have led many
municipal and volunteer ambulance providers to charge for this very
costly service. If the ambulance is provided through a police
department, ambulance department, volunteer ambulance corps, or even
contracted with a proprietary/for-profit service, a fee can be charged.
If the service is rendered by a fire department in any way, no fee may
be charged.

This legislation would not require any fee to be established, but it
would offer municipalities and independent volunteer fire companies
the opportunity to recover these ever-increasing mandated costs.

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
A.10891 of 2004: Referred to Local Governments A.7647 of 2005-06:
Referred to Local Governments

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None.

EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.

S4137-2011 Text

                      S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
  ________________________________________________________________________

                                    4137

                         2011-2012 Regular Sessions

                              I N  SENATE

                               March 21, 2011
                                 ___________

  Introduced  by  Sen.  GOLDEN -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
    printed to be committed to the Committee on Local Government

  AN ACT to amend the general  municipal  law,  in  relation  to  allowing
    certain fire districts to provide a general ambulance service

    THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
  BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:


    Section 1. The opening paragraph of subdivision 1 of section 122-b  of
  the  general  municipal  law,  as  amended by chapter 303 of the laws of
  1980, is amended to read as follows:

    Any county, city, town [or], village OR FIRE DISTRICT  REPRESENTING  A
  LOCALITY,  acting  individually  or  jointly,  may  provide an emergency
  medical service, a general ambulance service or a  combination  of  such
  services  for  the  purpose  of  providing prehospital emergency medical
  treatment or transporting sick or injured persons found within the boun-
  daries of the municipality to a hospital, clinic,  sanatorium  or  other
  place for treatment of such illness or injury, and for that purpose may:

    S 2. This act shall take effect immediately.





   EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                        [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                             LBD09570-01-1