A new state bill would give all 9/11 first responders unlimited sick leave so they can get the treatment they need.

Yonkers fire union president and 9/11 first responder Barry McGoey says the bill is needed for many 9/11 heroes in the Hudson Valley.

“Many first responders from the surrounding community and all of the state of New York, they're becoming ill many years later and are forced to use their own sick leave,” he says.

State Sen. Terrence Murphy, who co-sponsored the legislation, says the bill would provide unlimited sick leave to all 9/11 first responders in the state, not just those who live in New York City.

Murphy says the bill would also give unlimited sick leave to state utility workers who were sent to Ground Zero. The bill was introduced into the Senate last week and will now go to the state Assembly.