PART S

Section 1. Section 3002 of the public health law is amended by adding a new subdivision 1-a to read as follows:

1-a. The state emergency medical services council shall advise and assist the commissioner on such issues as the commissioner may require related to the provision of emergency medical service, specialty care, designated facility care, and disaster medical care. This shall include, but shall not be limited to, the recommendation, periodic revision, and application of rules and regulations, appropriateness review standards, treatment protocols, workforce development, and quality improvement standards. The state emergency medical services council shall meet at least three times per year or more frequently at the request of the chairperson or department and approved by the commissioner.

• 2. Section 3003 of the public health law is amended by adding a new subdivision 1-a to read as follows:

1-a. Each regional emergency medical services council shall advise the state emergency medical services council and department on such issues as the state emergency medical services council or department may require, related to the provision of emergency medical service, specialty care, designated facility care, and disaster medical care, and shall carry out duties to assist in the regional coordination of such, as outlined by the state emergency medical services council with approval of the department.

• 3. The public health law is amended by adding a new section 3004 to read as follows:
• 3004. Emergency medical services system and agency performancestandards. 1. The state emergency medical services council and with input from the regional emergency medical services councils, in collaboration and with final approval of the department, shall create an emergency medical services system and agency performance standards (hereinafter referred to as “performance standards”) for the purpose of sustaining and evolving a reliable emergency medical services system including but not limited to emergency medical services agencies and any facility or agency that dispatches or accepts emergency medical services resources.

2. The performance standards may include but shall not be limited to:safety initiatives, emergency vehicle operations, operational competencies, planning, training, onboarding, workforce development and engagement, survey responses, leadership and other standards and metrics as determined by the state emergency medical services council, with approval of the department, to promote positive patient outcomes, safety, provider retention and emergency medical services system sustainability throughout the state.
3. The performance standards shall require each emergency medicalservices agency, dispatch agency or facility that accepts emergency medical services resources to perform regular and periodic review of the performance standards and its metrics, perform surveys, identification of agency deficiencies and strengths, development of programs to improve agency metrics, strengthen system sustainability and operations, and improve the delivery of patient care.
4. The department, after consultation with the state emergency medicalservices council and with input from regional emergency medical services councils, may contract for services with subject matter experts to assist in the oversight of the performance standards statewide.
5. Emergency medical services agencies that do not meet theperformance standards set forth in this section may be subject to enforcement actions, including but not limited to revocation, suspension, performance improvement plans, or restriction from specific types of response including but not limited to suspension of ability to respond to requests for emergency medical assistance or to perform emergency medical services.

• 4. The public health law is amended by adding a new section 3020 to read as follows:
• 3020. Recruitment and retention. 1. The commissioner shallestablish and fund within amounts appropriated, a public service campaign to recruit additional personnel into the emergency medical system fields.

2. The commissioner shall establish and fund within amountsappropriated an emergency medical system mental health and wellness program that provides resources to emergency medical service practitioners to retain personnel in the emergency medical system fields.

• 5. Section 3032 of the public health law is renumbered section 3034 and two new sections 3032 and 3033 are added to read as follows:
• 3032. State emergency medical services task force. 1. The departmentshall develop a state emergency medical services (EMS) task force, operated by the department, that may coordinate and operate resources that are needed around the state in situations including but not limited to a disaster, specialized response, or community need.

2. The state EMS task force shall be made up of non-government andgovernment agencies, that are licensed to provide emergency medical services in the state including but not limited to commercial agencies, nonprofits, fire departments and third services.
3. The department shall allocate funds to effectuate the delivery ofthe state EMS task force that shall allow for contracting with licensed emergency medical services agencies, the purchase of specialized response equipment, staff to carry out the daily functions of the state EMS task force either directly or by contract and other functions as determined by the department.
4. The state emergency medical services council shall makerecommendations to the department to effectuate the development and delivery of care by the state EMS task force.
5. The state EMS task force shall have the authority to operatethroughout New York state.

• 3033. Rules and regulations. The commissioner, upon approval of thestate emergency medical services council, may promulgate rules and regulations to effectuate the purposes of this article, provided, however, that sections three thousand thirty and three thousand thirty-one of this article shall be subject to the provisions of section three thousand thirty-four of this article.
• 6. Subdivision 2 of section 163 of the civil service law, as amended by section 4 of part T of chapter 56 of the laws of 2010, is amended to read as follows:

2. The contract or contracts shall provide for health benefits for retired employees of the state and of the state colleges of agriculture, home economics, industrial labor relations and veterinary medicine, the state agricultural experiment station at Geneva, and any other institution or agency under the management and control of Cornell university as the representative of the board of trustees of the state university of New York, and the state college of ceramics under the management and control of Alfred university as the representative of the board of trustees of the state university of New York, and their spouses and dependent children as defined by the regulations of the president, on such terms as the president may deem appropriate, and the president may authorize the inclusion in the plan of the employees and retired employees of public authorities, public benefit corporations, school districts, special districts, district corporations, municipal corporations excluding active employees and retired employees of cities having a population of one million or more inhabitants whose compensation is or was before retirement paid out of the city treasury, or other appropriate agencies, subdivisions or quasi-public organizations of the state, including active members of volunteer fire and volunteer ambulance companies serving one or more municipal corporations pursuant to subdivision seven of section ninety-two-a of the general municipal law, and their spouses and dependent children as defined by the regulations of the president. Notwithstanding any law orregulation to the contrary, active members of volunteer ambulance companies serving one or more municipal corporations pursuant to subdivision seven of section ninety-two-a of the general municipal law shall be eligible for health benefits regardless of the amount of funds derived from public sources. Any such corporation, district, agency or organization electing to participate in the plan shall be required to pay its proportionate share of the expenses of administration of the plan in such amounts and at such times as determined and fixed by the president. All amounts payable for such expenses of administration shall be paid to the commissioner of taxation and finance and shall be applied to the reimbursement of funds previously advanced for such purposes. Neither the state nor any other participant in the plan shall be charged with the particular experience attributable to the employees of the participant, and all dividends or retroactive rate credits shall be distributed pro-rata based upon the number of employees of such participant covered by the plan.     § 7. This act shall take effect immediately.