§ 30 — Liability for and payment of benefits

§ 30. Liability for and payment of benefits. Except as otherwise\nprovided in article five of the workers' compensation law and in section\ntwenty-one of this chapter:\n 1. If at the time of injury the volunteer ambulance worker was a\nmember of an ambulance company of a county, city, town, village or\nambulance district ambulance department, any benefit under this chapter\nshall be a county, city, town, village or ambulance district charge, as\nthe case may be, and any claim therefor shall be audited in the same\nmanner as other claims against the county, city, town, village or\nambulance district and the amount thereof shall be raised and paid in\nthe same manner as other county, city, town, village or ambulance\ndistrict charges.\n 2. If at the time of injury the volunteer ambulance worker was a\nmember of an ambulance company incorporated under the not-for-profit\ncorporation law, or any other law, and located in a city, village, or\nambulance district, protected under a contract by the ambulance\ndepartment or ambulance company of which the volunteer ambulance worker\nwas a member, any benefit under this chapter shall be a city, village or\nambulance district charge, as the case may be, and any claim therefor\nshall be audited in the same manner as other claims against the city,\nvillage or ambulance district and the amount thereof shall be raised and\npaid in the same manner as other city, village or ambulance district\ncharges.\n 3. If at the time of injury the volunteer ambulance worker was a\nmember of a voluntary ambulance service as defined in subdivision three\nof section three thousand one of the public health law, registered\npursuant to the provisions of section three thousand four of the public\nhealth law or certified pursuant to the provisions of section three\nthousand six of the public health law and organized as an unincorporated\nassociation or duly incorporated under the laws of this state not\nprotected under a contract by the county, city, town, village or\nambulance district, any benefit under this chapter shall be a voluntary\nambulance service charge and any claim therefor shall be audited in the\nsame manner as other claims against the voluntary ambulance service and\nthe amount thereof shall be raised and paid in the same manner as other\nvoluntary ambulance service charges. No charge shall be made against a\nvoluntary ambulance service that does not have coverage under this\nchapter.\n 4. If at the time of injury the volunteer ambulance worker was a\nmember of an ambulance company incorporated under the not-for-profit\ncorporation law, or any other law, and located outside of a city,\nvillage or ambulance district any benefit under this chapter shall be a\ntown charge and any claim therefor shall be audited and paid in the same\nmanner as town charges and the amount thereof raised upon the property\nliable to taxation in such outside territory protected by such ambulance\ncompany in the same manner as town charges therein are raised.\n 5. If at the time of injury the volunteer ambulance worker was a\nmember of an ambulance company or ambulance department operating in, or\nmaintained jointly by two or more villages, or two or more towns, or two\nor more ambulance districts, any benefit under this chapter shall be a\ncharge against such villages, towns or ambulance districts, in the\nproportion that the full valuation of taxable real estate in each bears\nto the aggregate full valuation of the taxable real estate of all such\nvillages, towns or ambulance districts and the amount thereof shall be\naudited, raised and paid in the same manner as other village, town or\nambulance district charges. Full valuation shall be determined by\ndividing the assessed valuations of taxable real estate of each such\nvillage, town or ambulance district as shown by the latest completed\nassessment roll of the village, town or ambulance district by the\nequalization rate established by the authorized state agency or officer\nfor such roll; provided, however, in a county having a county department\nof assessment the full valuation in towns and ambulance districts shall\nbe determined by applying the state equalization rate established for\nthe town, or the town in which the ambulance district is located, to the\nappropriate portion of the last completed county roll.\n 6. Any political subdivision may finance the payment of any benefits\nto be paid and provided under this chapter by the issuance of serial\nbonds or capital notes pursuant to the local finance law unless it is\nrequired by some law, other than this chapter, to pay such benefits from\ncurrent funds.\n 7. Any political subdivision may contract for insurance indemnifying\nagainst the liability imposed by this chapter and the cost of such\ninsurance shall be audited, raised and paid in the same manner as\nbenefits are required to be audited, raised and paid in this section.\n 8. Insurance authorized to be purchased pursuant to subdivision seven\nof this section may be secured from the state fund or any stock\ncorporation, mutual corporation, group self-insurers or reciprocal\ninsurer authorized to transact the business of workers' compensation in\nthis state. If such insurance is not secured, the political subdivision\nliable shall be deemed to have elected to be a self-insurer unless it is\na participant in a county plan of self-insurance or its liability for\nbenefits under this chapter is covered by a town's participation in a\ncounty plan of self-insurance as provided in subdivision nine of section\nsixty-three of the workers' compensation law or is a participant in a\npublic group self-insurance plan established under subdivision three-a\nof section fifty of the workers' compensation law. Every such\nself-insurer shall file with the chair of the workers' compensation\nboard a notice of such election prescribed in form by such chair. For\nfailure to file such notice within ten days after such election is made,\nthe treasurer or other fiscal officer of such political subdivision\nshall be liable to pay to the chair of the workers' compensation board\nthe sum of one hundred dollars as a penalty, to be transferred to the\nstate treasury. A notice of election to be a self-insurer for\ncompensation and benefits to volunteer ambulance workers under the\nprovisions of the workers' compensation law and the general municipal\nlaw in effect prior to March first, in the year of enactment of this\nchapter, which was filed prior to such date pursuant to the provisions\nof subdivision four of section fifty of the workers' compensation law as\nin effect prior to such date shall be deemed to be a notice of election\nfiled under this section unless the chair of the workers' compensation\nboard is notified to the contrary. The provisions of subdivision five of\nsection fifty of the workers' compensation law shall be applicable to\nsuch self-insurers.\n 9. The governing board of a political subdivision liable for the\npayment of such benefits may authorize the treasurer or other fiscal\nofficer thereof to pay the financial benefits provided for in this\nchapter to the person entitled thereto without waiting for an award in\nany case in the manner provided in section forty-nine of this chapter.\nThe amount payable prior to an award pursuant to such authorization\nshall constitute a settled claim within the meaning of the local finance\nlaw.\n 10. A contract for ambulance service, for the purposes of this\nsection, shall be deemed in full force and effect if negotiations are\npending for the renewal thereof.\n 11. Where a city, village, ambulance district or town is furnished\nservice by an ambulance company, ambulance department, or any unit\nthereof pursuant to a contract entered into prior to the enactment date\nof this chapter with another city, village, ambulance district, or an\nincorporated ambulance company having its headquarters outside the city,\nvillage or ambulance district receiving such service and the liability\nfor benefits under this chapter in relation to volunteer ambulance\nworkers rendering such service pursuant to such contract on and after\nthe enactment date of this chapter is not covered pursuant to a county\nself-insurance plan pursuant to section sixty-three of the workers'\ncompensation law, the contract may be amended after a public hearing\nheld in the manner provided by law for the amendment of any such\ncontract, or at the option of the contracting parties without a public\nhearing, to provide for payment by the city, village or ambulance\ndistrict receiving such service to the city, village, ambulance district\nor town in which such incorporated ambulance company has its\nheadquarters, of a sum in addition to the amount to be paid for such\nservice pursuant to the contract, to provide for any increase in cost,\nor new or added cost, to such city, village, ambulance district or town\nfor insurance coverage for liability for benefits under this chapter on\nand after the enactment date of this chapter, by reason of the service\nrendered pursuant to such contract. Where such service is received\npursuant to a contract entered into prior to the enactment date of this\nchapter with an incorporated ambulance company having its headquarters\noutside the city, village or ambulance district receiving such service,\nthen whether or not such contract is amended as provided in this\nsection, or a contract entered into on or after the enactment date of\nthis chapter so provides, a city, village or ambulance district\nreceiving such service on and after the enactment date of this chapter\npursuant to a contract, shall pay to the city, village, ambulance\ndistrict or town in which such incorporated ambulance company has its\nheadquarters a sum in addition to the amount to be paid for such service\npursuant to the contract, to provide for any increase in cost, or new or\nadded cost, to such city, village, ambulance district or town for\ninsurance coverage for the liability for benefits under this chapter on\nand after the enactment date of this chapter by reason of the service\nrendered pursuant to such contract. Any such additional sum so paid\nshall not be subject to division with a volunteer ambulance company as\notherwise provided by law in the case of contracts for such service.\n