§ 219-a. Administration, reporting and disclosure. 1. The sponsor or
the designated program administrator shall provide each active volunteer
firefighter who participates in a service award program maintained under
this article with a summary of the program's provisions, including the
program's provisions relating to the participation requirements, the
rate at which a nonforfeitable interest in program benefits increases
and the program's service awards formula. This summary shall be provided
to each service award program participant within six months from the
date the program participation commences. In addition, any material
modification to such program provisions shall be communicated in writing
to each participant within six months after the later of the date
modification is adopted or the date it is effective. The designated
program administrator shall cause a statement of contributions to be
provided to sponsors at least once annually. A copy of this program, the
summary of the program, and documents related to the funding or
investment of the assets of the program and of any contracts or
agreements with service providers to the program shall be provided to
participants annually and a copy shall be made available for inspection
or copying by a program participant or beneficiary at the sponsor's main
office. The plan document and the summary of the plan document shall be
made available for public inspection and copying.

2. (a) This program shall be administered by such political
subdivisions in accordance with standards and procedures established by
them. Payment shall be made when certified by such political
subdivisions; provided, however, that in the case of a
state-administered program, the procedures for administration and
payment shall be consistent with the rules and regulations governing the
state-administered program.

(b) It shall be the responsibility of each participating volunteer
fire company to maintain all required records on forms prescribed by the
governing board of such political subdivision of the state; provided,
however, that in the case of a state-administered program, each
participating fire company shall compile and maintain such records in a
manner consistent with the rules and regulations governing the
state-administered program.

(c) Each volunteer fire company shall furnish to the governing board
of such political subdivision a list of all volunteer members, certified
under oath, and shall identify those volunteer members who have
qualified for credit under the award program for the previous year. Such
list shall be submitted annually by March thirty-first. In the case of
state-administered plans, such list shall be submitted annually by March
thirty-first or otherwise as provided in the rules and regulations
governing the state-administered program. Notwithstanding the provisions
of this paragraph a volunteer firefighter may request that his name be
deleted from said list as a "participant" in said "defined benefit plan"
or "defined contribution plan". Such request for deletion shall be in
writing and shall remain effective until withdrawn in the same manner.

(d) The governing board of each such political subdivision shall
review the list of each volunteer fire company and approve the final
annual certification. The approved list of certified members shall then
be returned to each company and posted for at least thirty days for
review by members.

3. The sponsor or designated program administrator shall obtain an
annual audit of its records by an independent certified public
accountant or an independent public accountant. Such audit shall examine
the program's financial conditions, actuarial assumptions, fiduciary
investment and control, and asset allocations, including whether current
assets are adequate to fund future liabilities. A copy of the audit
shall be presented to the program sponsor and to the state comptroller
by such accountant. Copies of the audit shall also be made available for
public inspection and copying. The audit must be completed within two
hundred seventy days of the program sponsor's fiscal year.