A 5246 New York Assembly · 2025 Regular Session

Excludes volunteer firefighters and emergency medical services employees from the permissive use of marijuana

This bill removes the permissive use of marijuana for volunteer firefighters and emergency medical services (EMS) employees who perform safety-sensitive tasks, such as driving fire apparatus, rescue operations, or providing emergency medical care. It requires fire agencies to implement drug testing (including preemployment, random, and cause-based tests) to ensure these employees are not impaired by cannabis, following federal standards. Additionally, volunteer firefighters or EMS staff using medical cannabis must immediately report prescriptions to their agency, which will then assess their fitness for duty with a medical director. The law directly affects volunteer safety personnel in fire and EMS agencies, prioritizing public and workplace safety by restricting cannabis use in critical roles.
Bill status in committee 1 of 4 stages cleared
Introduction
Feb 2025
Committee Review
Floor Vote
Governor
Introduced Feb 12, 2025 Last action Jan 7, 2026
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Total actions
2
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0
Committee
2
Jan 7, 2026
Committee
REFERRED TO LABOR
lower
Feb 12, 2025
Committee
REFERRED TO LABOR
lower
1 primary · 8 co-sponsors

Sponsors