---
type: "Bill"
title: "Directs the office of fire prevention and control to form a task force and issue a report relating to volunteer firefighter recruitment and retention"
description: "Directs the office of fire prevention and control within the division of homeland security and emergency services to form a task force and issue a report relating to volunteer firefighter recruitment and retention; creates the New York state volunteer firefighter recruitment and retention task force; requires a report to the governor and legislature on Firefighter 1 training, and all other firefighter training offered by the office of fire prevention and control, and delivery methods to enhance and streamline training including the use of distance learning; the utilization of community colleges, BOCES or state accredited high schools to train firefighters and the creation of pilot programs within community colleges or BOCES that will offer Firefighter 1 certification upon completion; the creation of a dedicated bureau within the office of fire prevention and control responsible for recruitment and retention of volunteer firefighters; tax incentives and volunteer firefighter benefits currently provided and recommendations as to these or new programs; analysis of current recruitment and retention programs successfully being utilized by other states and recommendations as to adoption of similar programs in New York; and identification and recruitment incentives to assist in the recruitment of volunteer firefighters from under-represented and at-risk populations; makes related provisions."
jurisdiction: "us/states/ny"
legislature: "New York Legislature"
session: "2019-2020"
identifier: "A 9779"
citation: "New York A 9779 (2019-2020)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: []
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["THIELE"]
version_count: 2
action_count: 18
vote_count: 2
first_action: "2020-02-11"
last_action: "2020-11-11"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/a73ade3d-0a0d-4939-9a54-5b667dc21b92"
source_url: "http://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2019/A9779"
source_hash: "4047fc0875358820dda9248706c15e4f3b997b3d20bc8df322ceec9a1ca3087f"
vintage: "2026-07-01"
source_snapshot: "https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump"
retrieved_at: "2026-07-06"
confidence: "reported"
tags: ["legislation", "bill", "us-ny"]
---

# New York A 9779 (2019-2020) — Directs the office of fire prevention and control to form a task force and issue a report relating to volunteer firefighter recruitment and retention

Directs the office of fire prevention and control within the division of homeland security and emergency services to form a task force and issue a report relating to volunteer firefighter recruitment and retention; creates the New York state volunteer firefighter recruitment and retention task force; requires a report to the governor and legislature on Firefighter 1 training, and all other firefighter training offered by the office of fire prevention and control, and delivery methods to enhance and streamline training including the use of distance learning; the utilization of community colleges, BOCES or state accredited high schools to train firefighters and the creation of pilot programs within community colleges or BOCES that will offer Firefighter 1 certification upon completion; the creation of a dedicated bureau within the office of fire prevention and control responsible for recruitment and retention of volunteer firefighters; tax incentives and volunteer firefighter benefits currently provided and recommendations as to these or new programs; analysis of current recruitment and retention programs successfully being utilized by other states and recommendations as to adoption of similar programs in New York; and identification and recruitment incentives to assist in the recruitment of volunteer firefighters from under-represented and at-risk populations; makes related provisions.

## Version chain

The bill's text revisions, in order — the diff chain from filing to enrollment.

1. **A9779** (committee substitute) — [source](http://assembly.state.ny.us/leg/?sh=printbill&bn=A9779&term=2019&Text=Y)
2. **A9779A** (committee substitute) — [source](http://legislation.nysenate.gov/pdf/bills/2019/A9779A)

## Votes

- Assembly Vote — **142–0** (pass) · lower
- Floor Vote - Version: A — **60–0** (pass) · upper

## Sponsors

- THIELE — primary (person)
- BUTTENSCHON — cosponsor (person)
- BYRNE — cosponsor (person)
- DESTEFANO — cosponsor (person)
- ENGLEBRIGHT — cosponsor (person)
- GALEF — cosponsor (person)
- GRIFFIN — cosponsor (person)
- HAWLEY — cosponsor (person)
- HUNTER — cosponsor (person)
- LUPARDO — cosponsor (person)
- MCMAHON — cosponsor (person)
- MILLER ML — cosponsor (person)
- MORINELLO — cosponsor (person)
- NORRIS — cosponsor (person)
- RA — cosponsor (person)
- SALKA — cosponsor (person)
- SANTABARBARA — cosponsor (person)
- STERN — cosponsor (person)
- TAGUE — cosponsor (person)
- ZEBROWSKI — cosponsor (person)

## Timeline

The legislative action history — every referral, reading, and vote.

- **2020-02-11** REFERRED TO GOVERNMENTAL OPERATIONS `referral-committee`
- **2020-07-08** AMEND (T) AND RECOMMIT TO GOVERNMENTAL OPERATIONS `referral-committee, amendment-passage`
- **2020-07-08** PRINT NUMBER 9779A `amendment-passage`
- **2020-07-16** REPORTED REFERRED TO WAYS AND MEANS `referral-committee`
- **2020-07-17** REPORTED REFERRED TO RULES `referral-committee`
- **2020-07-21** REPORTED
- **2020-07-21** RULES REPORT CAL.255
- **2020-07-21** ORDERED TO THIRD READING RULES CAL.255
- **2020-07-21** PASSED ASSEMBLY `passage`
- **2020-07-21** DELIVERED TO SENATE
- **2020-07-21** REFERRED TO RULES `referral-committee`
- **2020-07-22** SUBSTITUTED FOR S7589B
- **2020-07-22** 3RD READING CAL.820
- **2020-07-22** PASSED SENATE `passage`
- **2020-07-22** RETURNED TO ASSEMBLY
- **2020-10-30** DELIVERED TO GOVERNOR `executive-receipt`
- **2020-11-11** SIGNED CHAP.258 `executive-signature`
- **2020-11-11** APPROVAL MEMO.12

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/a73ade3d-0a0d-4939-9a54-5b667dc21b92`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official New York legislature records).