Assemblyman Joseph Angelino voiced his frustration after the Assembly majority voted on the floor to reject his proposal to give volunteer firefighters and members of a volunteer ambulance corps a tax credit of $2,500 (A.1064). 

Angelino said the bill would help with the current volunteer shortage that fire departments are facing. 

The assemblyman is a volunteer firefighter in his hometown fire department, which has both paid and volunteer members, so he is knowledgeable and uniquely qualified to speak on the issue. 

The bill was brought to the floor for a vote through a procedure called a motion to discharge, which has the entire assembly vote on whether a bill should come to the floor for a final up- or down-vote.

“Our volunteer firefighters and EMS are the backbone of public safety, especially in rural parts of the state. In fact, over 90 percent of firefighters are volunteers. Over the past couple of years, however, we have seen a dramatic drop in volunteers. My assembly district has lost two fire departments in the last year, and one more is teetering on closure because of a lack of volunteers. That is why this bill is so important, we need to be able to not only reward those who are volunteers but also be able to recruit new members as well,” said Angelino.

Angelino commented on the fact that despite this bill being common sense, the majority decided not to consider it simply due to his party affiliation.

“I’m disappointed, but not surprised this happened. Under one-party rule, it doesn’t matter how good your bill is; the majority will not allow it to proceed if you have an ‘R’ next to your name. This is petty partisan politics at its worst. We should be able to come together in a bipartisan manner to pass bills such as this, but unfortunately, that’s not how things work in Albany,” concluded Angelino.

Office of Assemblyman Joseph Angelino (R,C-121)
Norwich, NY