What's happening
This bill provides increasing state income tax credits to volunteer emergency responders based on years of consecutive qualifying service.
Why it matters
Targets retention and recognition of volunteer emergency personnel. By offering increasing tax credits for consecutive years of service, the bill is designed to incentivize experienced volunteers to stay active, which helps maintain a stable and skilled emergency response workforce.
Expands eligibility beyond firefighters and ambulance workers. The bill includes not just volunteer firefighters and ambulance workers, but also volunteer reserve force officers, auxiliary police officers, and volunteer emergency medical services personnel, acknowledging the vital roles played by multiple types of emergency volunteers.
Defines “qualifying service” with specific standards. To receive the credit, volunteers must be in good standing, have completed all state-mandated training, and participate in at least 40% of their department’s activities annually, ensuring that only actively engaged and trained members benefit.
Resets credit if service lapses. If a volunteer fails to meet qualifying criteria in a given year, their credit resets to the base amount upon their next qualifying year. This encourages consistent, ongoing participation rather than intermittent service, aiming to build reliability in emergency response teams.
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Who cares
Headline styles
Tax Credit for Volunteers
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
Senator · Senate District 38
1 Co-sponsor
History
- Referred to investigations and government operations
- Referred to investigations and government operations
Full text
2 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
1178
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
January 11, 2019
Introduced by Sen. CARLUCCI -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Investigations and Government Operations
AN ACT to amend the tax law, in relation to providing tax credits to volunteer firefighters, volunteer ambulance workers, volunteer reserve forces officers, auxiliary police officers and volunteer emergency medical personnel under certain circumstances
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Section 606 of the tax law is amended by adding a new subsection (h-1) to read as follows:
(h-1) Volunteer firefighters', volunteer ambulance workers', volunteer reserve force officers', auxiliary police officers' and volunteer emergency medical service personnel credit. For taxable years beginning on and after January first, two thousand twenty-one, a credit, in the amounts of:
(1) two hundred fifty dollars for one year of qualifying service;
(2) five hundred dollars for two years of consecutive qualifying service;
(3) six hundred dollars for three years of consecutive qualifying service;
(4) seven hundred dollars for four years of consecutive qualifying service;
(5) eight hundred dollars for five years of consecutive qualifying service;
(6) nine hundred dollars for six years of consecutive qualifying service;
(7) one thousand dollars for seven years of consecutive qualifying service;
(8) one thousand five hundred dollars for eight years of consecutive qualifying service;
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD06485-01-9
S. 1178 2
(9) two thousand dollars for nine years of consecutive qualifying service; or
(10) two thousand five hundred dollars for ten or more years of consecutive qualifying service; shall be allowed against the tax imposed by section six hundred one of this part, to each resident of the state who serves as a volunteer firefighter as defined in subdivision one of section three of the volunteer firefighters' benefit law or a volunteer ambulance worker as defined in subdivision one of section three of the volunteer ambulance workers' benefit law or as a member of a volunteer reserve force or as a member of an auxiliary police department or as a member of a volunteer emergency medical services personnel squad. If a volunteer department member has a year where the qualifying service level is not met, then he or she shall receive the credit provided for in paragraph one of this subsection the next time they have a qualifying service year.
For the purposes of this subsection "qualifying service" shall mean service where such person has been a member in good standing with a volunteer department for a minimum of one year, has completed all required training courses as required by the state of New York and is certified by the chief emergency service coordinator of the county that the volunteer department serves to have attended at least forty percent of the activities of the volunteer department that he or she is a member of.
§ 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the tax law, in relation to providing tax credits to volunteer firefighters, volunteer ambulance workers, volunteer reserve forces officers, auxiliary police officers and volunteer emergency medical personnel under certain circumstances
Purpose
To provide a tax incentive to members of volunteer emergency services to increase recruitment and retention.
Summary of provisions
Section 1. Section 606 of the tax law is amended by adding a new subsection (h-1) to create the Volunteer firefighters', volunteer ambu- lance workers', volunteer reserve force officers, auxiliary police offi- cers' and volunteer emergency medical service personnel credit for tax years beginning of and after January 1, 2019.
Justification
This legislation would create a tax credit on New York State income taxes for volunteer firefighters, volunteer ambulance workers', volun- teer reserve force officers, auxiliary police officers and volunteer emergency medical service personnel to combat some of the greatest difficulties our volunteer services face today, recruitment and retention.
By incentivizing individuals to join and maintain active membership on our voluntary emergency service forces, we can ensure that our rural and suburban communities have the ability to attract and retain individuals for their volunteer services.
This program will provide a progressive program of credits for volun- teers who attend at least forty percent of the activities and are in good standing with at least one year of service. The credit begins at $250 after the first year of service and goes to $2500 for ten or more years of consecutive service.
Legislative history
2017-18: S3826 - INVESTIGATIONS & GOV'T OPS S6062 of 2015-16.
Fiscal implications
To be determined.
Effective date
This act shall take effect immediately.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.