§ 63 — Liability of county

§ 63. Liability of county. 1. In the case of plans established\npursuant to former subdivision three-a of section fifty of this chapter\nand continued pursuant to the provisions of section sixty-one of this\nchapter, payments with respect to (a) the liability of participants\narising on and after January first, nineteen hundred fifty-seven, and\n(b) the joint liability of the participants imposed pursuant to such\nformer subdivision three-a of section fifty of this chapter, shall be\nmade by the county.\n 2. When a plan is established pursuant to this article, payments with\nrespect to the liability of participants arising on and after the\neffective date of the plan shall be made by the county.\n 3. Where a town participates in a plan, in addition to payments with\nrespect to the liability of the town, the county shall make payments\nwith respect to that portion of the liability of all villages, fire\ndistricts, fire protection districts and fire alarm districts within\nsuch town and all territory within such town outside cities, villages,\nfire districts, fire protection districts and fire alarm districts\narising out of the death of or injury to volunteer firefighters;\nprovided, however, that the county shall not be obligated to make such\npayments in the case of a village, fire district, fire protection\ndistrict or fire alarm district, located in more than one town unless\nthe town board of each town containing part of the village or district\nby resolution elects to become a participant in the plan. Participation\nin a plan by a village or fire district shall make the county liable for\nsuch payments where the town or towns in which such village or fire\ndistrict is located are not participants in the plan. The term "injury",\nas used in this subdivision, means "injury" as defined in subdivision\nfour of section three of the volunteer firefighters' benefit law, as\namended from time to time. If a county has elected to establish a\nself-insurance plan for itself, it may elect to extend coverage under\nsuch plan to voluntary ambulance companies upon the same terms and\nconditions as such coverage applies to volunteer firefighters.\n 4. The expenditure of county funds for payments authorized or required\nby this article is hereby declared to be for a county purpose.\n 5. For the purposes of this article, officers and employees of a soil\nconservation district located wholly within a county shall be deemed\nemployees of the county in which such district is located.\n 6. Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this section, each\nparticipant alone shall be obligated to pay the increased liability\nprovided for by section fourteen-a of this chapter.\n 7. Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, each\nparticipant in a plan continued or established pursuant to this article\nshall be deemed to have duly taken such action, as would have otherwise\nbeen required by this chapter, to elect to bring all of its employees,\nor officers, elected or appointed or otherwise, not enumerated in\nsection three, subdivision one, groups one to seventeen inclusive, of\nthis chapter, within the coverage of this chapter hereafter,\nnotwithstanding the definitions of the terms "employment", "employer",\nor "employee" in subdivisions three, four and five of section two of\nthis chapter, and each participant which has any group, as defined by\norder of the New York state civil defense commission, of civil defense\nvolunteers not enumerated in section three, subdivision one, group\nseventeen, who are personnel of a volunteer agency of the local office\nof such participant, as defined in the state defense emergency act,\nshall be deemed to have duly taken such separate and distinct action of\nits legislative or other governmental body, as would otherwise have been\nrequired by this chapter, to bring such group of civil defense\nvolunteers within the coverage of this chapter hereafter as to their\nauthorized civil defense services to the extent not covered under\narticle ten of this chapter, and hereafter all such officers and\nemployees and such civil defense volunteers of a participant in a plan\ncontinued or established pursuant to this article shall be within the\ncoverage of this chapter to the same extent as if all appropriate action\nhad been taken pursuant to section three, subdivision one, group\nnineteen, or any other applicable provision, of this chapter; provided,\nhowever, in relation to such officers and employees of the participant,\nor any class or group of such officers and employees of the participant\nor for such civil defense volunteers who are personnel of the\nparticipant, a participant may (1) elect not to provide such coverage,\n(2) elect to provide such coverage in a manner provided in section fifty\nof this chapter other than under article five thereof, (3) elect to\nrevoke an election made under either "(1)" or "(2)" above and adopt the\nother of such elections, or (4) elect to revoke an election made under\neither "(1)" "(2)" or "(3)" above and have such coverage provided under\nthe plan as if no election had been made hereunder. Any such election\nshall become effective when adopted if it is filed with the chairman of\nthe workmen's compensation board and with the committee or administrator\nof the plan within ten days after adoption, otherwise it shall become\neffective when filed with both the chairman of the workmen's\ncompensation board and the committee or administrator of the plan. The\nchairman of the workmen's compensation board may prescribe the form or\nforms of any such election. Notwithstanding the provisions of section\nthree, subdivision one, group nineteen, of this chapter, if the county\nelects to exclude one or more groups of such civil defense volunteers of\nthe county's office of civil defense, then the plan shall not be liable\nfor coverage under this chapter for such civil defense volunteers so\nexcluded, but this shall not preclude a town or a village in such county\nor a city participating in the consolidated county office of civil\ndefense of such county from bringing the members of such group or groups\nof duly enrolled civil defense volunteers who are residents of and are\nenrolled from such town, village or city within the coverage of this\nchapter during any period when the county has so excluded, but in any\nsuch case the compensation shall be secured in a manner provided in\nsection fifty of this chapter other than under article five thereof.\nThis subdivision shall not affect the coverage of officers and employees\nand civil defense volunteers for whom mandatory coverage is provided\nunder this chapter.\n 8. Except as provided in subdivision three or nine of this section in\nrelation to volunteer firefighters and volunteer ambulance workers,\nparticipation in a plan by a town shall not make the county liable for\npayments of compensation under this chapter in relation to the officers\nand employees of a fire or ambulance district located in whole or in\npart in such town. Except as provided in subdivision three of this\nsection in relation to volunteer firefighters or subdivision nine of\nthis section in relation to volunteer ambulance workers, the county\nshall be liable for payments of compensation under this chapter in\nrelation to the officers and employees of a fire or ambulance district\nonly in cases where the fire or ambulance district is a participant in\nthe plan.\n 9. Where a town participates in a plan, in addition to payments with\nrespect to the liability of the town, the county shall make payments\nwith respect to that portion of the liability of all villages, ambulance\ndistricts, within such town and all territory within such town outside\ncities, villages, ambulance districts, arising out of the death of or\ninjury to volunteer ambulance workers; provided, however, that the\ncounty shall not be obligated to make such payments in the case of a\nvillage, ambulance district, located in more than one town unless the\ntown board of each town containing part of the village or district by\nresolution elects to become a participant in the plan. Participation in\na plan by a village or ambulance district shall make the county liable\nfor such payments where the town or towns in which such village or\nambulance district is located are not participants in the plan. The term\n"injury", as used in this subdivision, means "injury" as defined in\nsubdivision four of section three of the volunteer ambulance workers'\nbenefit law, as amended from time to time.\n