New York Assembly Bill A06956

New York 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 3/18/25
• Refer: 3/18/25
• Report Pass: 6/5/25
• Refer: 6/5/25
• Report Pass: 6/6/25
• Refer: 6/6/25
• Report Pass: 6/10/25
• Engrossed: 6/10/25
• Refer: 6/10/25
• Engrossed: 6/11/25
• Enrolled: 9/5/25
• Chaptered: 9/10/25
• Passed: 9/10/25

Caption

Amends the name of the Hauppauge Volunteer Exempt Firefighter's Benevolent Association, and certain provisions regarding removing gendered terminology; relates to the use of foreign fire insurance premium taxes.

Summary

A06956 updates the 1955 law incorporating the Hauppauge Volunteer Exempt Firemen’s Benevolent Association by modernizing the association’s name and membership terminology. The bill replaces gendered references such as “firemen” with “firefighter” or “volunteer firefighter,” while keeping the basic structure of the association intact. It continues to define who may belong to the corporation, including current, former, and future volunteer members of the Hauppauge fire district fire department and exempt volunteer firefighters under the General Municipal Law. The bill also revises the provisions governing foreign fire insurance premium taxes collected for the association’s benefit. It updates cross-references in the Insurance Law from the former sections 553 and 554 to current sections 9104 and 9105, and changes the permitted use of those funds so they may be used by the corporation in furtherance of its purposes under the act rather than only for the care and relief of disabled or indigent volunteer and exempt volunteer firemen and their families. The effective date is immediate, but the tax-related amendments apply to premiums received on or after January 1, 2026.

Impact

The bill amends a special act applicable to the Hauppauge Volunteer Exempt Firefighter’s Benevolent Association and changes how that association is described in state law. It updates statutory terminology to reflect current language, revises the association’s name, and aligns the act’s insurance-law references with the current numbering in the Insurance Law. It also broadens the stated permissible use of foreign fire insurance premium tax revenues by tying expenditures to the association’s general purposes rather than a narrower relief-only purpose.

Sentiment

The bill appears to have been received very favorably and without opposition. It passed the Assembly Local Governments Committee, Assembly Ways and Means Committee, Assembly Rules Committee, the Assembly floor, and the Senate floor unanimously, with no recorded nays at any stage. The voting history suggests broad bipartisan support for the technical and terminology updates.

Contention

There is little evidence of substantive controversy in the available record. The main policy change is the shift from a narrow, relief-focused description of how premium-tax funds may be used to a broader authorization for use in furtherance of the corporation’s purposes, but the unanimous votes indicate that this change did not draw recorded opposition. The other notable point is the replacement of gendered and outdated terminology, which appears to have been a straightforward modernization rather than a disputed issue.