New York 2025 Session Status: Introduced

S8511 — Relates to background checks for volunteer and paid firefighters

Last action — In Senate Committee

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  1. 1
    Introduced
  2. 2
    In Committee
  3. 3
    Passed Senate
  4. 4
    Passed Assembly
  5. 5
    To Executive
  6. 6
    Enacted

This bill has been introduced in the Senate. Introduced September 24, 2025. It must pass committee before a floor vote.

Next likely step: a committee referral and hearing.

Prognosis

Not enough signal yet

Where this bill stands today.

Odds of enactment

Low

How often bills like it became law.

Not enough signal yet to read this bill's trajectory — we surface a likelihood only once there's real movement (stage, sponsorship, committee, or votes) to point to.

Prognosis reads this bill's own signals — stage, sponsorship breadth, committee status, recorded votes and cross-state momentum. Odds come from a model trained on which bills have become law.

Summary

Authorizes any prospective employer of a volunteer firefighter or paid firefighter to perform a background check on such applicant.

Bill Text

How this bill changes current law

1 change Share ↗

Compared against the New York Consolidated Laws as published AI-generated reading aid — verify against the official bill.

This bill amends 1 section(s) of the New York Consolidated Laws: Section 160.57 of the criminal procedure law.

  • Section 160.57 of the criminal procedure law

    thirty-one-b and . → thirty-one-B italics ; and (xviii) any prospective employer of a volunteer firefighter or paid firefighter, in relation to an application for employment as a volunteer firefighter or paid firefighter, provided, however, that every person who is an applicant shall be furnished with a copy of all records obtained under this subparagraph and afforded an opportunity to make an explanation thereto.

    amended

Action History

  1. REFERRED TO CODES

  2. REFERRED TO RULES

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

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1 sponsors · 0 co-sponsors · 218 not signed on

Sponsors (1)

Co-sponsors (0)

None.

Not signed on (218)

218 members have not signed on to this bill.

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"Not signed on" means a member has not sponsored or co-sponsored this bill — it does not imply opposition. Members flagged Voted No have a recorded No vote on this bill.

Whip count is in markup. Polling the chamber and every recorded vote this session. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Calling the roll · Tallying · Engrossing

Subjects

public-safety labor
Cross-referencing the record. Reading this bill against every other bill in the corpus by meaning, not keywords. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Matching · Ranking · Engrossing

Frequently asked questions

What does S8511 do?
Authorizes any prospective employer of a volunteer firefighter or paid firefighter to perform a background check on such applicant.
Who sponsors S8511?
S8511 is sponsored by Pamela Helming.
What is the current status of S8511?
This bill has been introduced in the Senate. Introduced September 24, 2025. It must pass committee before a floor vote.
Where can I track S8511?
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Last checked for changes 4 months ago · updated continuously

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