78th Annual FASNY Legislative Conference

November 5 – 6, 2011

All attendees will be required to be current paid up members of FASNY. You must bring your FASNY Membership card to the conference. This membership card will be scanned prior to entering the Sunday Conference. Anyone who has a card but has not paid for this year will have an opportunity to pay at the Conference.

The annual FASNY Legislative Conference is scheduled this year at the Holiday Inn, Wolf Road, Albany, and will bring sectional legislative representatives, FASNY Board Members and FASNY Legislative Committee members together to finalize the Association’s proactive legislative priorities for the 2012 legislative session.

The new date accompanies a tighter format with sole focus on refining the legislative initiatives while giving the sectional organizations and counties all of September and October to work on the key issues arising locally that they want brought to Albany for statewide consideration. This additional time and interaction locally by FASNY Legislative Committee members should expand member participation in the process of developing the proposed agenda items.

As in the past, departments are urged to send their legislative representatives to their county and sectional meetings prior to the conference. Submissions from sections will be compiled, reviewed and discussed Saturday. A final agenda will be developed and printed for review and ratification by those delegates present Sunday morning.

The legislative agenda, as adopted, is subject to change from time to time to accommodate changing priorities and a rapidly changing legislative dynamic. FASNY’s Board has traditionally adopted the agenda ratified by the delegates, but has also added legislative initiatives, subtracted legislative initiatives and identified items that must be opposed. This amendment process will continue and the legislative agenda will always be a working document.

It must be recognized in this era of “more for less” that changing the format of the weekend is cost efficient. FASNY is not only considering cost containment for the Association but is mindful of returning members’ time to local fire activities and to the firefighter families. FASNY Legislative Committee Chair Robin Schott commented on the format change saying, “The legislative considerations of the fire service have become more complex, the issues more numerous, and the Legislative Conference must focus on legislation without distraction. We think this format does what is needed.”

Agenda for the Fall 2011 Legislative Conference: