S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   6624
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                              March 18, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced by Sen. OBERACKER -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Environmental Conservation
 
 AN  ACT  to  amend  the  environmental  conservation law, in relation to
   providing tax credits equal to the cost of hunting and fishing license
   fees for volunteer firefighters and volunteer ambulance workers

   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1.  Subdivision  2  of  section  11-0715 of the environmental
 conservation law, as amended by section 4 of part R of chapter 58 of the
 laws of 2013, is amended to read as follows:
   2. A member of the Shinnecock tribe  or  the  Poospatuck  tribe  or  a
 member  of the six nations, residing on any reservation wholly or partly
 within the state, is entitled  to  receive  free  of  charge  a  fishing
 license,  a  hunting  license,  a  muzzle-loading  privilege, a trapping
 license, and a bowhunting privilege; a resident of the state  who  is  a
 member  of  the  United States armed forces in active service who is not
 stationed within the state and has not been herein  longer  than  thirty
 days on leave or furlough, is entitled to receive free of charge a fish-
 ing  license,  a  hunting license, and a trapping license; a resident of
 the state who is an active member of the organized militia of the  state
 of  New  York  as  defined  by  section  one of the military law, or the
 reserve components of the armed forces of the United States, and exclud-
 ing members of the inactive national guard and individual ready reserve,
 is entitled to receive free of  charge  a  fishing  license,  a  hunting
 license,  and  a  trapping  license;  A  VOLUNTEER  AMBULANCE WORKER, AS
 DEFINED IN SUBDIVISION ONE OF SECTION THREE OF THE  VOLUNTEER  AMBULANCE
 WORKERS' BENEFIT LAW, OR A VOLUNTEER FIREFIGHTER, AS DEFINED IN SUBDIVI-
 SION ONE OF SECTION THREE OF THE VOLUNTEER FIREFIGHTERS' BENEFIT LAW, IS
 ENTITLED  TO  RECEIVE A NEW YORK STATE TAX CREDIT EQUAL TO THE COST OF A
 FISHING LICENSE, AND A SMALL AND BIG GAME LICENSE; and a resident who is
 blind is entitled to receive a fishing license free of charge.  For  the
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD02679-01-5
              

 S. 6624                             2
 
 purposes  of this subdivision a person is blind only if either: (a) [his
 or her] THEIR central visual acuity does not exceed 20/200 in the better
 eye with correcting lenses, or (b) [his or her] THEIR visual  acuity  is
 greater  than  20/200 but is accompanied by a limitation of the field of
 vision such that the widest diameter of the  visual  field  subtends  an
 angle no greater than 20 degrees.
   A  resident in the state for a period of thirty days immediately prior
 to the date of application who has attained the age of seventy is  enti-
 tled  to  receive  a  fishing license, a trapping license, and a hunting
 license, at a cost of five dollars for each license.
   A resident in the state for a period of thirty days immediately  prior
 to  the date of application who has attained the age of seventy is enti-
 tled to receive free of charge a bowhunting privilege and a muzzle-load-
 ing privilege.
   § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.