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A1800Assembly2017-2018 Session

Certify Arson Investigators

Official title

“Relates to enacting the "Han Tak Lee Act"”

Sponsor Ron KimAD-40+4 co-sponsors
Status
In Assembly Committee
Governmental Operations
Impact
4/10
Low
Passage
0%

Bill progress

Step 2 of 7

In committee · Governmental Operations

What's happening

The Han Tak Lee Act requires New York to certify arson-assessing firefighters using NFPA 921 standards for proper training.

Why it matters

  1. Ensures higher reliability and accuracy in arson investigations. by requiring that firefighters specializing in arson assessment are trained and certified according to NFPA 921, a nationally recognized standard for fire and explosion investigations. This helps reduce wrongful arson accusations and convictions based on outdated or flawed fire science.

  2. Promotes professional accountability and standardization. within New York’s fire investigation community, aligning state practices with recognized national guidelines and reducing variability in how arson determinations are made across different jurisdictions.

  3. Potentially strengthens the evidentiary value of arson investigations in court. , since certification under NFPA 921 may make expert testimony more credible and defensible against legal challenges, ultimately impacting both criminal and civil arson cases.

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Who cares

  • Firefighters specializing in arson assessment

    They would have to be certified and tested on NFPA 921 standards to establish proper training in determining whether fires are accidental or intentionally set.

  • Fire departments with arson specialists

    They would need to ensure those firefighters meet the bill’s certification and testing requirements.

  • National Fire Protection Association

    Its NFPA 921 guidelines would become the required testing standard for certification of firefighters specializing in arson assessment.

Headline styles

Certify Arson Investigators

Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.

Sponsors

Primary sponsor
Ron Kim

Assembly Member · Assembly District 40

Chair, Tourism, Parks, Arts and Sports Development

2 Multi-sponsors

History

  1. Referred to governmental operations
  2. Referred to governmental operations

Full text

1 pageUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗

STATE OF NEW YORK

1800

2017-2018 Regular Sessions

IN ASSEMBLY

January 13, 2017

Introduced by M. of A. KIM, MOSLEY, CROUCH, COLTON, HYNDMAN -- Multi- Sponsored by -- M. of A. BLAKE, COOK -- read once and referred to the Committee on Governmental Operations

AN ACT to amend the executive law, in relation to enacting the "Han Tak Lee Act"

The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:

Section 1. Short title. This act shall be known and cited as the "Han Tak Lee Act".

§ 2. Paragraph 4 of section 158 of the executive law is amended by adding a new subparagraph (g) to read as follows:

(g) Certify all firefighters who specialize in assessing arsons to ascertain they have received proper training to determine whether fires are caused accidentally or intentionally set. Such certification shall require such firefighters to be tested on "NFPA 921" standards, the national guidelines set by the national fire protection association to cover all aspects of arson-related cases.

§ 3. This act shall take effect immediately.

EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets

[ ] is old law to be omitted.

LBD05249-01-7

Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.

Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.