BILL NUMBER:  S3748

 TITLE OF BILL :  An act to amend the state technology law and the
state finance law, in relation to training and education courses for
certain organizations

 PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL :

To make volunteer emergency response organizations eligible for the
Empire Knowledge Bank program offered by the NYS Office of Information
Technology Services.

 SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS :

Section 1 amends section 103 of the state technology law to make fire
districts, volunteer fire organizations, and volunteer ambulance
organizations eligible to participate in the Empire Knowledge Bank
program offered by the NYS Office of Information Technology Services.

Section 2 amends subdivision 3 of section 99-q of the state finance
law to make participation in the Empire Knowledge Bank program
eligible for grant funding through the Volunteer Firefighting and
Volunteer Emergency Services Recruitment and Retention Fund.

Section 3 is the effective date.

              

 DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ORIGINAL AND AMENDED VERSION (IF APPLICABLE) :

 JUSTIFICATION :

The Empire Knowledge Bank is a training and education program offered
by the NYS Office of Information Technology. The program is an
e-learning program that provides a convenient and cost-effective way
to continue training and develop professional skills. The program
offers over 3,000 courses in information technology (e.g. programming,
web development, security), professional development (e.g. management,
leadership, project management, accounting, human resources), and
desktop software (e.g.  word processing, spreadsheets, etc.). For a
small fee, dozens of government agencies have participated in the
Empire Know- ledge Bank in recent years. At this time, the program is
not open to not-for-profit volunteer emergency response
organizations.Volunteer emergency response organizations are
experiencing difficulty with retention of existing members and the
recruitment of new members. Training and education opportunities are
benefits that are projected to enhance recruitment and retention
efforts within the volunteer fire service. The courses offered through
the Empire Knowledge Bank program would serve the volunteer fire
service well at both the organizational level and at the individual
volunteer level.At the organizational level, courses in accounting or
financial management would be helpful for proper record-keeping and
financial duties at the firehouse or ambulance company. Also, courses
in information technology and software applications will assist in
improving administrative effectiveness and efficiency. This type of
training and education will help volunteer fire companies and
ambulance companies better serve the communities they protect. For
individual emergency response volunteers, the Empire Knowledge Bank
provides various personal and professional benefits. For example, some
volunteer emergency responders are small business owners. The
professional development courses offered in the program may provide
useful education on how to improve operations at their business, or
help them develop a skill that they currently do not possess. In
addition, according to the website for the Office of Information
Technology Services, the program also offers courses that provide
continuing education credits and courses that follow professional
tracks for Six Sigma, Project Management, and others. Making this type
of training available to volunteer responders will help retain
existing volunteers that are working to maintain their volunteer and
professional activities.  Further, some courses may even be eligible
for college credit. These courses will be especially attractive to
young men and women that are interested in volunteering but have not
done so because of their need to work in order to pay for college.By
making volunteer fire and ambulance companies eligible for the Empire
Knowledge Bank, volunteers will be provided with personal and
professional development benefits that will aid in the recruitment and
retention of members. This will help ensure that our communities have
the volunteers they need in order to ensure the highest levels of fire
protection and emergency response services.

 PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY :

2013-14 S6592 passed senate
2015-16 54552 referred to energy and telecommunications

 FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS :

None to the State.

 EFFECTIVE DATE :
This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall have
become a law, provided however that, effective immediately, the
addition, amendment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary
for the implementation of this act on its effective date are
authorized to be made on or before such effective date.