Section 54-E. State assistance to reimburse municipalities for firefighting costs

1. As used in this section, unless otherwise expressly stated:
    a. "Normal operating expenses" shall  mean  those  costs,  losses  and
  expenses   which   are   ordinarily  associated  with  the  maintenance,
  administration and day-to-day operations of the  fire  department  of  a
  municipality.  Such  expenses  shall include, but not be limited to, the
  ordinary wages of firefighters, administrative and other overhead costs,
  depreciation, the costs  of  litigation  and  the  costs  of  employee's
  benefits, including insurance, disability, death, or health care whether
  or  not  such  costs are incurred as the result of firefighting services
  rendered to property under the jurisdiction of the state of New York.
    b. "Firefighting costs" shall mean those  expenses  and  losses  which
  would  not  have been incurred had not the fire in question taken place.
  Such costs shall include, but not be limited to, salaries for  specially
  employed  personnel,  costs  of supplies expended, and the lesser of (1)
  the cost of repairing any destroyed or  damaged  equipment  or  (2)  the
  value  of  such  equipment  immediately preceding the fire. Firefighting
  costs shall not include: normal operating expenses  as  defined  herein,
  any  firefighting  cost for which the municipality is reimbursed under a
  policy  of  insurance  or  any  costs  associated  with  false   alarms,
  regardless of cause.
    c. "Claim" shall mean that amount which is equal to those firefighting
  costs  incurred  by  a municipality to the extent that such costs exceed
  the sum of two hundred fifty dollars.
    d. "Fire" shall mean any  instance  of  destructive  and  uncontrolled
  burning  on  property  under  the  jurisdiction of the state of New York
  including scorch burns and explosions of  combustible  dust  or  solids,
  flammable liquids and gases.
    e.  "Municipality"  shall mean any county, city, village, town or fire
  district, having a fire department consisting  of  personnel,  apparatus
  and   equipment  which  has  as  its  purpose  protecting  property  and
  maintaining the safety and welfare of the public  from  the  dangers  of
  fire, or, in the case of a fire protection district or that portion of a
  town  outside  a  village or fire district, a fire company as defined in
  section three of the volunteer firemen's benefit law. The  personnel  of
  any  such  fire department may be paid employees or unpaid volunteers or
  any combination thereof.
    f. "Property under the jurisdiction of the state of  New  York"  shall
  mean real property and improvements thereon and appurtenances thereto in
  which  the  state  of New York holds legal fee simple title and further,
  any real property conveyed or made  available  to  the  New  York  state
  housing  finance  agency  or the dormitory authority of the state of New
  York under agreements for the financing and construction  of  facilities
  for  the  state  university  of  New  York;  provided  however, with the
  exception of property occupied by the state university of New York, such
  property shall not include leasehold interest;  provided  further,  such
  property  shall  not  include  any  property  for  which  a municipality
  receives any payments-in-lieu of taxes or any other payments,  including
  real  property  taxes,  that  are  or  may  be  used  for providing fire
  protection to such property.
    g. "Secretary" shall mean the secretary of state  or  the  state  fire
  administrator as his designee.
    2.  Any  municipality whose fire department has responded to a fire on
  property under the jurisdiction of the state of New York:
    a. shall, within thirty days after such fire, submit a  report,  on  a
  form  prescribed by the secretary of state, to the secretary stating the
  location of such a  fire  and  the  firefighting  costs  incurred  while
  fighting such a fire; and

    b.  may,  within  thirty  days after such a fire, submit a claim, on a
  form prescribed by the secretary of state, to the secretary pursuant  to
  the provisions of this section.
    3.  The  secretary  shall review each claim to determine if such claim
  shall be approved, reduced, amended or rejected  and  shall  notify  the
  municipality,  within  sixty  days  of  receipt of such claim, as to his
  determination. The  municipality  shall  notify  the  secretary,  within
  thirty  days  after  receipt  of the secretary's notification, as to its
  acceptance or rejection of such determination. Failure to so notify  the
  secretary  shall  constitute  an  acceptance  of  the  determination. If
  accepted by the municipality, such acceptance shall constitute the final
  and  conclusive  determination  for  such  claim.  If  rejected  by  the
  municipality,  such municipality shall resubmit its claim, within thirty
  days after receipt of the secretary's notification,  together  with  its
  reasons for objection and any additional documentation which may justify
  its  claim.  Upon  receipt  of  a resubmitted claim, the secretary shall
  review such claim and within sixty days of receipt of  such  resubmitted
  claim,  make  a  final determination as to the amount to be approved for
  such claim. If the municipality shall dispute such  final  determination
  it   may   commence   an   action,  within  sixty  days  of  such  final
  determination, in the court of claims which shall have  jurisdiction  to
  adjudicate the claim and enter judgment, which judgment shall be a final
  determination  for  purposes  of  this  section  and shall be payable in
  accordance with the provisions of subdivisions four  and  five  of  this
  section.
    4.   The  secretary  shall  certify  all  claims  for  which  a  final
  determination has been made.  The  secretary  shall  submit  all  claims
  certified during the preceding year to the comptroller of the department
  of  audit  and  control on or before April first of each year. Any claim
  that has been received prior to April first of such year, but for  which
  no  certification  has  been  made,  shall,  for purposes of payment, be
  considered as a claim for the year in which such certification is made.
    5. All claims certified by the secretary shall be  paid  annually  and
  shall   be   paid  upon  a  warrant  from  the  comptroller  from  funds
  appropriated  in  the  local  assistance  fund.  In   the   event   such
  appropriation  is  insufficient  to permit the aggregate annual payments
  authorized under this section, each municipality's payment for any claim
  or claims  certified  during  the  preceding  year  shall  be  decreased
  proportionally  until  the  total  payments  are  equal  to  the  amount
  appropriated.
    6. The chief fiscal officer of the municipality shall pay the  amounts
  received  under  this  section  into the fund or funds from which moneys
  were  expended  to  provide  the  firefighting  services  for  which   a
  reimbursement was made under this section.
    7.  This  section  shall  not  in  any way impair, limit or modify the
  rights and obligations of any insurer under any policy of insurance.
    8. The secretary of state shall  annually  prepare  a  report  on  the
  effectiveness  of  this  section  and  shall  submit  such report to the
  legislature. Such report shall include the number and  location  of  any
  fire  on  property  under the jurisdiction of the state of New York, the
  number of claims and the amount of each such  claim  filed  pursuant  to
  this  section  and further, the total amount of all claims filed and the
  total amount of payments made under the provisions of this section.  The
  first  such  report  shall  be submitted to the legislature on or before
  June first, nineteen hundred seventy-nine.