This bill creates a new not-for-profit corporation called the Harris Hill Volunteer Fire Company Benevolent Association. Membership is limited to active volunteer members of the Harris Hill Volunteer Fire Company in Erie County, including those who have achieved exempt volunteer firefighter status through service, with exclusions for firefighters removed for cause, expelled, or dropped from the rolls and not reinstated. Membership ends if a person stops being an active volunteer before completing five years of service. The association is intended to support volunteer firefighters and their families through relief, aid, and assistance for indigent, disabled, or injured members, as well as through maintaining headquarters, promoting welfare, and providing health, safety, social, and recreational benefits.
The bill gives the new corporation the powers of a not-for-profit corporation, subject to the act and applicable nonprofit law, and requires an organizational meeting, adoption of bylaws, and election of officers and trustees. It also authorizes the association to control its funds and property through a board of trustees and sets rules for suspension, expulsion, and forfeiture of property interests when membership ends. The bill specifically ties the association to the Harris Hill Volunteer Fire Company and the territory it serves in the Town of Clarence, Erie County.
A major legal effect of the bill is to direct certain foreign fire insurance premium tax revenues to the new association. The corporation would be entitled to collect taxes under Insurance Law sections 9104 and 9105 for fire department use and benefit on premiums covering property in the Harris Hill service area, and those funds must be used only to further the association’s stated purposes. The tax provisions apply to premiums received on and after January 1, 2027, while the act otherwise takes effect immediately.
The available legislative context shows no recorded committee transcript or vote data, so there is no documented floor or committee debate to indicate broad support or opposition. Based on the bill’s structure and purpose, it appears to be a local enabling measure designed to formalize and support volunteer firefighter benevolent activities, which typically draws favorable treatment because it benefits emergency service volunteers and their families.
No specific points of contention are documented in the provided materials. Potential issues inherent in the bill include the limited membership rules, the exclusion of paid firefighters, and the redirection of insurance premium tax revenues to a newly created entity, but there is no evidence in the record provided that these provisions were disputed.
The bill would add a special act of the Legislature creating a new nonprofit benevolent association for the Harris Hill Volunteer Fire Company in Erie County and would effectively amend the local legal framework governing that volunteer fire company’s support organization. It would authorize the association to receive and use foreign fire insurance premium tax revenues under Insurance Law sections 9104 and 9105 for fire department use and benefit, beginning with premiums received on or after January 1, 2027. The measure affects the association, its eligible volunteer firefighter members, and the insurers and tax collection mechanisms tied to the Harris Hill service area.
The bill appears generally favorable and noncontroversial based on the available record. It is a local support measure for volunteer firefighters, a category of legislation that is often viewed positively because it provides aid, organizational structure, and dedicated funding for emergency service volunteers and their families. However, because there are no committee transcripts or votes provided, the record does not show any explicit support, opposition, or amendments.
No direct contention is documented in the materials provided. The main issues that could draw scrutiny are the bill’s narrow membership eligibility rules, including the exclusion of paid firefighters and firefighters removed for cause, and the creation of a dedicated claim on foreign fire insurance premium tax revenues for a newly established nonprofit. Those provisions could matter to local officials, fire company leadership, or taxpayers, but there is no evidence in the supplied record of active opposition or debate.