State legislators want to sweeten the pot for those considering becoming a volunteer firefighter or ambulance worker.

Sen. Simcha Felder, D-New York City, recently proposed S.6802 to increase the volunteer firefighters’ and ambulance workers’ tax credit while Sen. Todd Kaminsky, D-Long Island, has proposed legislation (S.6838) to make volunteer firefighters and volunteer ambulance workers eligible for state-backed low-interest mortgages.

Felder’s proposal would increase the tax credit for volunteer firefighters and ambulance workers from $200 to $500 for single filers and from $400 to $1,000 for spouses filing jointly. The tax credit program was originally signed into law in 2007 and remained unchanged since.

“This tax credit is a small price to pay for the tremendous cost savings that volunteer first responders provide to our communities and state,” Felder wrote in his legislative justification. “According to a study by the Firemen’s Association of the State of New York, volunteer firefighters alone save New York state more than $3 billion each year.”

Kaminsky’s proposal would amend the state’s Real Property Tax Law to expand eligibility for the Low Interest Rate Program of the State of New York Mortgage Agency (SONYMA) for volunteer firefighters and ambulance workers who have served at least one year. Qualified firefighters and ambulance workers could receive a preferential interest rate of 1.5% below the standard interest rate on a 30-year mortgage.

“The purpose of this legislation is to assist with homeownership for our volunteer firefighters and EMTs who perform crucially and lifesaving services for their communities,” Kaminsky wrote in his legislative justification.

“There has also been a decline in new volunteer firefighters and EMTs, and hopefully, through the expansion of this program, recruitment efforts will improve. New York’s homeownership rates also continue to decline. Our state has one of the lowest homeownership rates of only 51 percent, which is discouraging when compared to the national rate if 64.8 percent. There are too many hurdles to buying a home in New York and the state should act to address this issue.”