2023 New York Laws › VAW - Volunteer Ambulance Workers' Benefit › Article 3 - Liability for Benefits; Insurance › 30 - Liability for and Payment of Benefits.

§ 30. Liability  for  and  payment  of  benefits.  Except as otherwise
  provided in article five of the workers' compensation law and in section
  twenty-one of this chapter:
1. If at the time of injury  the  volunteer  ambulance  worker  was  a
  member  of  an  ambulance  company  of  a county, city, town, village or
  ambulance district ambulance department, any benefit under this  chapter
  shall  be a county, city, town, village or ambulance district charge, as
  the case may be, and any claim therefor shall be  audited  in  the  same
  manner  as  other  claims  against  the  county,  city, town, village or
  ambulance district and the amount thereof shall be raised  and  paid  in
  the  same  manner  as  other  county,  city,  town, village or ambulance
  district charges.
2. If at the time of injury  the  volunteer  ambulance  worker  was  a
  member  of  an  ambulance  company incorporated under the not-for-profit
  corporation law, or any other law, and located in a  city,  village,  or
  ambulance   district,  protected  under  a  contract  by  the  ambulance
  department or ambulance company of which the volunteer ambulance  worker
  was a member, any benefit under this chapter shall be a city, village or
  ambulance  district  charge,  as the case may be, and any claim therefor
  shall be audited in the same manner as other claims  against  the  city,
  village or ambulance district and the amount thereof shall be raised and
  paid  in  the  same  manner as other city, village or ambulance district
  charges.
3. If at the time of injury  the  volunteer  ambulance  worker  was  a
  member  of a voluntary ambulance service as defined in subdivision three
  of section three thousand one  of  the  public  health  law,  registered
  pursuant  to the provisions of section three thousand four of the public
  health law or certified pursuant to  the  provisions  of  section  three
  thousand six of the public health law and organized as an unincorporated
  association  or  duly  incorporated  under  the  laws  of this state not
  protected under a  contract  by  the  county,  city,  town,  village  or
  ambulance  district, any benefit under this chapter shall be a voluntary
  ambulance service charge and any claim therefor shall be audited in  the
  same  manner as other claims against the voluntary ambulance service and
  the amount thereof shall be raised and paid in the same manner as  other
  voluntary  ambulance  service charges. No charge shall be made against a
  voluntary ambulance service that  does  not  have  coverage  under  this
  chapter.
4.  If  at  the  time  of  injury the volunteer ambulance worker was a
  member of an ambulance company  incorporated  under  the  not-for-profit
  corporation  law,  or  any  other  law,  and  located outside of a city,
  village or ambulance district any benefit under this chapter shall be  a
  town charge and any claim therefor shall be audited and paid in the same
  manner  as  town charges and the amount thereof raised upon the property
  liable to taxation in such outside territory protected by such ambulance
  company in the same manner as town charges therein are raised.
5. If at the time of injury  the  volunteer  ambulance  worker  was  a
  member  of an ambulance company or ambulance department operating in, or
  maintained jointly by two or more villages, or two or more towns, or two
  or more ambulance districts, any benefit under this chapter shall  be  a
  charge  against  such  villages,  towns  or  ambulance districts, in the
  proportion that the full valuation of taxable real estate in each  bears
  to  the  aggregate full valuation of the taxable real estate of all such
  villages, towns or ambulance districts and the amount thereof  shall  be
  audited,  raised  and  paid in the same manner as other village, town or
  ambulance district  charges.  Full  valuation  shall  be  determined  by
  dividing  the  assessed  valuations  of taxable real estate of each such
  village, town or ambulance district as shown  by  the  latest  completed

  assessment  roll  of  the  village,  town  or  ambulance district by the
  equalization rate established by the authorized state agency or  officer
  for such roll; provided, however, in a county having a county department
  of  assessment the full valuation in towns and ambulance districts shall
  be determined by applying the state equalization  rate  established  for
  the town, or the town in which the ambulance district is located, to the
  appropriate portion of the last completed county roll.
6.   Any political subdivision may finance the payment of any benefits
  to be paid and provided under this chapter by  the  issuance  of  serial
  bonds  or  capital  notes pursuant to the local finance law unless it is
  required by some law, other than this chapter, to pay such benefits from
  current funds.
7. Any political subdivision may contract for  insurance  indemnifying
  against  the  liability  imposed  by  this  chapter and the cost of such
  insurance shall be audited, raised  and  paid  in  the  same  manner  as
  benefits are required to be audited, raised and paid in this section.
8.  Insurance authorized to be purchased pursuant to subdivision seven
  of this section may  be  secured  from  the  state  fund  or  any  stock
  corporation,  mutual  corporation,  group  self-insurers  or  reciprocal
  insurer authorized to transact the business of workers' compensation  in
  this  state. If such insurance is not secured, the political subdivision
  liable shall be deemed to have elected to be a self-insurer unless it is
  a participant in a county plan of self-insurance or  its  liability  for
  benefits  under  this  chapter is covered by a town's participation in a
  county plan of self-insurance as provided in subdivision nine of section
  sixty-three of the workers' compensation law or is a  participant  in  a
  public  group  self-insurance plan established under subdivision three-a
  of  section  fifty  of  the  workers'  compensation  law.   Every   such
  self-insurer  shall  file  with  the  chair of the workers' compensation
  board a notice of such election prescribed in form by  such  chair.  For
  failure to file such notice within ten days after such election is made,
  the  treasurer  or  other  fiscal  officer of such political subdivision
  shall be liable to pay to the chair of the workers'  compensation  board
  the  sum  of  one hundred dollars as a penalty, to be transferred to the
  state  treasury.  A  notice  of  election  to  be  a  self-insurer   for
  compensation  and  benefits  to  volunteer  ambulance  workers under the
  provisions of the workers' compensation law and  the  general  municipal
  law  in  effect  prior  to March first, in the year of enactment of this
  chapter, which was filed prior to such date pursuant to  the  provisions
  of subdivision four of section fifty of the workers' compensation law as
  in  effect prior to such date shall be deemed to be a notice of election
  filed under this section unless the chair of the  workers'  compensation
  board is notified to the contrary. The provisions of subdivision five of
  section  fifty  of  the workers' compensation law shall be applicable to
  such self-insurers.
9. The governing board of  a  political  subdivision  liable  for  the
  payment  of  such  benefits  may authorize the treasurer or other fiscal
  officer thereof to pay the  financial  benefits  provided  for  in  this
  chapter  to  the person entitled thereto without waiting for an award in
  any case in the manner provided in section forty-nine of  this  chapter.
  The  amount  payable  prior  to  an award pursuant to such authorization
  shall constitute a settled claim within the meaning of the local finance
  law.
10. A contract  for  ambulance  service,  for  the  purposes  of  this
  section,  shall  be  deemed in full force and effect if negotiations are
  pending for the renewal thereof.
11. Where a city, village, ambulance district  or  town  is  furnished
  service  by  an  ambulance  company,  ambulance  department, or any unit

  thereof pursuant to a contract entered into prior to the enactment  date
  of  this  chapter  with another city, village, ambulance district, or an
  incorporated ambulance company having its headquarters outside the city,
  village  or  ambulance district receiving such service and the liability
  for benefits under this  chapter  in  relation  to  volunteer  ambulance
  workers  rendering  such  service pursuant to such contract on and after
  the enactment date of this chapter is not covered pursuant to  a  county
  self-insurance  plan  pursuant  to  section  sixty-three of the workers'
  compensation law, the contract may be amended  after  a  public  hearing
  held  in  the  manner  provided  by  law  for  the amendment of any such
  contract, or at the option of the contracting parties without  a  public
  hearing,  to  provide  for  payment  by  the  city, village or ambulance
  district receiving such service to the city, village, ambulance district
  or  town  in  which  such  incorporated  ambulance   company   has   its
  headquarters,  of  a  sum  in addition to the amount to be paid for such
  service pursuant to the contract, to provide for any increase  in  cost,
  or  new or added cost, to such city, village, ambulance district or town
  for insurance coverage for liability for benefits under this chapter  on
  and  after  the enactment date of this chapter, by reason of the service
  rendered pursuant to such  contract.  Where  such  service  is  received
  pursuant  to a contract entered into prior to the enactment date of this
  chapter with an incorporated ambulance company having  its  headquarters
  outside  the city, village or ambulance district receiving such service,
  then whether or not  such  contract  is  amended  as  provided  in  this
  section,  or  a  contract entered into on or after the enactment date of
  this  chapter  so  provides,  a  city,  village  or  ambulance  district
  receiving  such  service on and after the enactment date of this chapter
  pursuant to a contract,  shall  pay  to  the  city,  village,  ambulance
  district  or  town  in which such incorporated ambulance company has its
  headquarters a sum in addition to the amount to be paid for such service
  pursuant to the contract, to provide for any increase in cost, or new or
  added cost, to such  city,  village,  ambulance  district  or  town  for
  insurance  coverage for the liability for benefits under this chapter on
  and after the enactment date of this chapter by reason  of  the  service
  rendered  pursuant  to  such  contract.  Any such additional sum so paid
  shall not be subject to division with a volunteer ambulance  company  as
  otherwise provided by law in the case of contracts for such service.