STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 2079 2025-2026 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY January 15, 2025 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. MANKTELOW, ANGELINO, BRABENEC, DeSTEFANO, DURSO, HAWLEY, LEMONDES, JENSEN, MILLER, SIMPSON, SMULLEN, TAGUE -- read once and referred to the Committee on Local Governments AN ACT to amend the general municipal law, in relation to participants in youth programs sponsored by fire departments The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Subdivision 5 of section 204-b of the general municipal 2 law, as added by chapter 386 of the laws of 1978, is amended to read as 3 follows: 4 5. All activities of participants in such program shall be approved in 5 advance by the chief, or [his] such chief's designee. [No activities may 6 include emergency duties in connection with fire department or fire 7 company operations or any other hazardous activity.] Participants may 8 respond to an emergency or hazardous activity, but shall remain in a 9 designated or marked off area that has been set up by the chief or offi- 10 cer in charge. Such participant cannot respond to an emergency on a 11 vehicle using lights and/or sirens. Furthermore, such participants may 12 not enter a burning structure nor shall participants in a youth program 13 pursuant to this section fall under the definition of active volunteer 14 firefighter as defined in section three of the volunteer firefighters' 15 benefit law. 16 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately. EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD03679-01-5