Provides pay per call and paid on call stipends for volunteer firefighters and travel expense reimbursement for call response

Showing the cosponsors who are on Agora, A to Z. The official record may list more.

• Democratic14
• Republican10

This bill has cosponsors from more than one party.

Shown in neutral colors by design; Agora is non-partisan.

◆ The sponsor's argument

Why Monica Martinez says this is needed

Volunteer fire departments provide essential public safety services across New York State, particularly in suburban and rural communities where residents rely heavily on volunteer firefighters to respond to fires, accidents, medical emergencies, natural disasters, and other urgent calls for assistance. However, many volunteer fire departments face persistent recruitment and retention challenges. The demands placed on volunteer firefighters have grown significantly, including increased training obligations, emergency response expectations, and time away from work and family, while many departments continue to struggle to maintain adequate active membership. This legislation provides a locally controlled tool to help address those challenges by allowing fire districts, municipalities, and author- ized fire companies to offer nominal payper-call and paid-on-call stipends consistent with federal regulations under the Fair Labor Stand- ards Act. This approach gives local communities flexibility while help- ing strengthen emergency response capacity, improve recruitment and retention, and support the volunteers who protect New Yorkers.

This is the sponsor's own case for the bill, quoted from their memorandum. It is not Agora's description of what the bill does.