Updates the Pound Ridge Volunteer Exempt Firemen's Benevolent Association's charter and provides for new duties of such charter.
S05994 updates the charter of the Pound Ridge Volunteer Exempt Firemen's Benevolent Association, a local membership corporation serving the Pound Ridge Fire District in Westchester County. The bill modernizes the association’s terminology by replacing gendered references such as “firemen” and “his” with “firefighters” and “their,” and it renames the organization accordingly. It also revises the stated purposes of the association to more clearly describe its functions, including maintaining a suitable headquarters, providing relief and assistance to disabled, indigent, or injured members and their families, promoting the welfare, health, and safety of volunteer members and their families, supporting morale through social and recreational activities, and advancing the volunteer fire service in the district and any contracted fire-protection territory.
The bill also updates the association’s powers and duties by removing outdated language tied to state social welfare approval for certain institutions, and it revises the provisions governing foreign fire insurance premium tax receipts. Those tax references are conformed to current Insurance Law section numbering, and the bill specifies that the funds must be used by the corporation in furtherance of its stated purposes rather than only for the care and relief of disabled or indigent volunteer and exempt volunteer firemen and their families. The tax-related amendments apply to premiums received on and after January 1, 2026, while the act otherwise takes effect immediately.
In practical terms, the bill affects a single local fire benevolent association and the statutory framework governing its charter, membership eligibility, and use of insurance premium tax revenues. It updates the governing law for the Pound Ridge Volunteer Exempt Firefighters' Benevolent Association, aligns the charter with current terminology and organizational practices, and preserves the association’s authority to receive and use foreign fire insurance tax funds for local fire service support purposes.
The overall sentiment appears strongly favorable. The bill passed the Senate Local Government Committee unanimously, cleared the Senate Rules Committee unanimously, and received overwhelming support on the Senate floor with only one negative vote. That voting pattern suggests broad agreement that the measure is a routine but useful charter update rather than a controversial policy change.
There is little visible contention in the available record. The main substantive changes are technical and modernization-oriented, including the gender-neutral terminology and the revised description of how tax revenues may be used. Any potential point of discussion would likely center on the scope of permissible use of foreign fire insurance tax funds, but the bill’s language keeps those funds tied to the association’s fire-service-related purposes and member support functions.
The bill amends chapter 260 of the Laws of 1969, which governs the Pound Ridge Volunteer Exempt Firemen's Benevolent Association, by updating the association’s name, membership language, purposes, and tax provisions. It changes statutory references from outdated Insurance Law sections to current section numbers and broadens the stated allowable uses of foreign fire insurance premium tax revenues to support the association’s enumerated purposes. The act takes effect immediately, with the tax-related amendments applying to premiums received on or after January 1, 2026.
The bill appears to have been received positively and with little opposition. It passed the Senate Local Government Committee 7-0, the Senate Rules Committee 19-0, and the Senate floor 57-1, indicating broad bipartisan support for a local charter update and terminology modernization. The near-unanimous votes suggest the measure was viewed as noncontroversial and administrative in nature.
No major controversy is evident in the available materials. The only potentially notable issue is the redefinition of how foreign fire insurance premium tax funds may be used, shifting from a narrower reference to relief for disabled or indigent volunteer and exempt firemen and their families to a broader statement that the funds must be used in furtherance of the association’s purposes. Even so, the bill retains a fire-service-focused use restriction, and the strong vote totals indicate little disagreement among lawmakers.