STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 6845 2025-2026 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY March 14, 2025 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. PALMESANO, BLANKENBUSH, BRABENEC, MILLER, MORI- NELLO, REILLY, TAGUE, McDONOUGH -- read once and referred to the Committee on Local Governments AN ACT to amend the town law, in relation to the election of fire chiefs and assistant fire chiefs The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Subdivision 11-a of section 176 of the town law, as amended 2 by chapter 351 of the laws of 2000, is amended to read as follows: 3 11-a. The members of the fire department of the fire district shall 4 meet at a time and place designated by the board of fire commissioners 5 on the Thursday following the first Tuesday in April of each year and 6 nominate persons for the offices of chief and such assistant chiefs as 7 may be provided for in the rules and regulations adopted by the board of 8 fire commissioners; provided, however, that the board of fire commis- 9 sioners may by resolution, adopt a policy allowing fire districts the 10 option to set the day of election of chief and assistant chiefs on the 11 same day as the fire department's election of administration officers. 12 [If the Thursday following the first Tuesday in April falls upon a day 13 of special religious observance, the board of fire commissioners may 14 designate any other weekday in April after such Thursday as the day upon 15 which to hold such meeting.] Each nominee shall be a member of the fire 16 department. In addition, the board of fire commissioners may by resol- 17 ution require that any or all of such fire department officers shall be 18 residents of the fire district. All nominations shall be made by ballot. 19 The person acting as secretary of such meeting shall promptly notify the 20 fire district secretary in writing of such nominations. The board of 21 fire commissioners at its meeting next succeeding the making of such 22 nominations shall consider the same and shall appoint such persons to 23 the offices to which they have been respectively nominated or, if a 24 nomination is not approved the board of fire commissioners shall call EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD01905-01-5
A. 6845 2 1 another meeting of the members of the fire department at which a new 2 nomination shall be made to take the place of any nomination not 3 approved, which procedure shall continue until a full set of officers is 4 approved. Any such person shall assume the duties of [his] such person's 5 office as soon as [he has] they have been appointed thereto by the board 6 of fire commissioners and shall serve until [his] such person's succes- 7 sor is appointed. A person who has been convicted of arson in any degree 8 shall not be eligible for nomination, election or appointment to the 9 office of fire department chief or assistant chief. Any fire department 10 chief or assistant chief who is convicted of arson in any degree during 11 [his] such chief's term of office shall be disqualified from completing 12 such term of office. 13 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.