What's happening
This bill allows municipalities to appropriate funds for firefighter training expenses and establishes reimbursement rules when trained firefighters change employers.
Why it matters
Expands municipal authority. By explicitly allowing funds to be allocated for firefighter training (not just police), this bill ensures fire departments have the same legal and financial backing for professional development, potentially improving public safety and fire response quality.
Protects municipal investments. Municipalities that pay for a firefighter’s training are now entitled to reimbursement if the trained firefighter is hired away by another municipality or county sheriff within three years, helping to prevent local governments from losing their investment in workforce development to neighboring employers.
Standardizes reimbursement calculations. The bill sets out a clear, pro-rata formula for how much a new employer must reimburse the previous one for training-related costs, including tuition, salary, and transportation, which could reduce disputes and provide financial predictability for municipalities.
May influence firefighter mobility and hiring practices. Because new employers must reimburse prior training costs for recently trained firefighters, this could impact how often firefighters change jobs and how municipalities approach hiring, potentially encouraging longer retention or more deliberate recruitment strategies.
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Who cares
Municipal firefighters
The bill would authorize municipalities to pay firefighter training school expenses and reasonable travel-related expenses for qualifying training within or outside New York.
County, city, town and village governing boards
The bill would let them appropriate funds and raise money through taxation to cover firefighter training expenses.
Municipalities funding firefighter training
They would receive prorated reimbursement from a firefighter’s new municipal or county sheriff employer for covered training costs when the firefighter changes employers within three years of graduation, subject to exceptions.
Municipalities and county sheriffs hiring trained firefighters
They would face reimbursement obligations for costs including salary, tuition, enrollment fees, books and transportation, with exceptions for amounts recoverable under employment or labor agreements and changes after training certification expires.
Headline styles
Fund Firefighter Training
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
No co-sponsors yet.
History
- Referred to local government
- Referred to local government
Full text
2 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
199
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE (Prefiled)
January 9, 2019
Introduced by Sen. ORTT -- 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 the appropriation of funds for the training of firefighters
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Section 72-c of the general municipal law, as amended by section 1 of subpart C of part C of chapter 97 of the laws of 2011, is amended to read as follows:
§ 72-c. Expenses of members of the police department, the fire department and other peace officers in attending police or firefighter training schools. The board or body of a county, city, town or village authorized to appropriate and to raise money by taxation and to make payments therefrom, is hereby authorized, in its discretion, to appropriate and to raise money by taxation and to make payments from such moneys, for the annual expenses of the members of the police department of such municipal corporation in attending a police training school, and for the annual expenses of the members of the fire department of such municipal corporation in attendance in a firefighter training school, as provided by the regulations of the department, either within such municipal corporation or elsewhere within the state; and for the payment of reasonable expenses of such members and other police officers [or], peace officers or firefighters of the municipality while going to, attending, and returning from any training school conducted by or under the auspices of the federal bureau of investigation, or, in the case of firefighters, under the auspices of the appropriate entity, whether within or without the state. Notwithstanding any inconsistent provision of any general, special or local law to the contrary, whenever a member of the police department of a municipal corporation has attended a police training school, or a member of the fire department of a munici-
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD02725-01-9
S. 199 2
pal corporation has attended a firefighter training school, the expense of which was borne by such municipal corporation, terminates employment with such municipal corporation and commences employment with any other municipal corporation or employer county sheriff, such employer municipal corporation or employer county sheriff shall reimburse the prior employer municipal corporation for such expenses, including, salary, tuition, enrollment fees, books, and the cost of transportation to and from training school, as follows: on a pro rata basis, to be calculated by subtracting from the number of days in the three years following the date of the member's graduation from police or firefighter training school, the number of days between the date of the member's graduation from training school and the date of the termination of employment with the municipal corporation which paid for such training, and multiplying the difference by the per diem cost of such expenses, to be calculated by dividing the total cost of such expenses by the number of days in the three years following the date of the member's graduation, if such change in employment occurs within three years of such member's graduation from police or firefighter training school. Provided, however, the employer municipal corporation or employer county sheriff shall not be required to reimburse the prior employer municipal corporation for that portion of such expenses which is reimbursable by the member to the prior employer municipal corporation under the terms of an employment or labor agreement. Provided, further, however, the employer municipal corporation or employer county sheriff shall not be required to reimburse the prior employer municipal corporation for such basic training if such change in employment occurs after the expiration of the validity of the member's certificate attesting to the satisfactory completion of an approved municipal police or firefighter basic training program.
§ 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 general municipal law, in relation to the appropri- ation of funds for the training of firefighters
Purpose or general idea of bill
This legislation would allow a municipality to recoup the cost of send- ing a firefighter to training school from another municipality that hires that firefighter within three years of their training.
Summary of specific provisions
Section 1 amends Section 72-c of the general municipal law to allow a municipality to recoup the cost of sending a firefighter to training school from another municipality that hires that firefighter within three years of their training. Current law currently allows for this recoupment when the individual is a firefighter.
Section 2 is the effective date.
Justification
Current law allows a municipality to recoup costs of sending a police officer to training school, but does not make the same allowance for firefighters. This legislation is aimed to protect smaller munici- palities that often see their police of firefighters poached by larger municipalities that can afford to pay them more. What this law and legislation simply seems to do is allow a municipality that sees their employee hired within 3 years of finishing training school to recoup the costs associated with having trained that individual.
Prior legislative history
S. 7050 of 2018; advanced to third reading
Fiscal implications
None.
Effective date
Immediately.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.