County Executive Ed Day is urging Rockland County’s state lawmakers to renew efforts to pass a series of fire safety bills that were first introduced as part of a bipartisan legislative package in 2024.
In a letter sent Thursday to Rockland County’s representatives in Albany, Day praised recent efforts by State Senator Pete Harckham and Assemblymembers Patrick Carroll and Chris Eachus to strengthen fire code enforcement through increased penalties and additional staffing. He noted that those proposals align with a broader package of fire safety legislation that was developed following years of concerns over code enforcement and public safety.
The package, which was announced in early 2024 by Rockland County, the Rockland County Firefighters Association, and a bipartisan group of state lawmakers, includes several measures aimed at improving fire prevention, code enforcement, emergency communications, and protections for first responders.
Among the proposals are state funding assistance for local code enforcement efforts, the creation of felony charges for reckless endangerment of emergency service personnel, authority for municipalities to place unpaid housing code fines on annual tax bills, increased benefits for volunteer firefighters and ambulance workers, and expanded funding for Enhanced 911 communications systems.
Additional legislation would establish minimum staffing requirements for code enforcement agencies, allow the Secretary of State to investigate municipalities that fail to properly enforce the Uniform Fire Prevention and Building Code, and strengthen penalties against property owners whose code violations result in serious injuries. One proposal would make certain severe code violations a Class D felony when they lead to significant harm.
Day emphasized that while this year’s legislative session has concluded, he remains committed to seeing the measures become law and called on Rockland County’s state representatives to continue advancing the legislation in future sessions.
“It is incumbent upon every one of us to remain vigilant,” Day wrote. “I continue to encourage all of our current Rockland state representatives to move these bills through the state legislature into law.”
The letter was sent to Assemblymembers Chris Eachus, Aron Wieder, Karl Brabenec, and Patrick Carroll, as well as State Senators Bill Weber and Pete Harckham.
