S463-2011 Actions

• Jan 4, 2012: REFERRED TO FINANCE
• Jan 5, 2011: REFERRED TO FINANCE

S463-2011 Memo

BILL NUMBER:S463

TITLE OF BILL:
An act
to amend the executive law, in relation to the qualifications for
members of the division of state police

PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
This bill eliminates the maximum age for
appointment as a member of the state police and requires retirement
at age 70.

SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
Section 1 amends
subdivision 3 of
section 215 of the executive law to allow for minimum age to be 21
and eliminates the maximum age the officer can be appointed as long
as they meet fitness and good moral character requirements. section 2
makes the law effective immediately.

Under current law, once a part-time police officer reaches the age of
thirty-five he or she is no longer eligible to take the civil service
exam. This means a part-time police officer, with years of experience
can never become a full-time officer once he/she reaches the age of 35.
This limits an officer's ability to be promoted to a supervisory
position, since many of these positions require competitive status.

Local police Forces have invested both time and money training their
part-time officers and have argued that they would like an
opportunity to consider their part-time officers for full-time status
when a vacancy occurs. without an exemption in place to allow
part-time officers over 35 to take the police civil service exam,
mutually beneficial opportunities are lost to both the part-time
officers and their employers.

New York State police holds open testing every three to four years.
This allows for more deserving people to be eligible to become police
officers.

The current maximum age requirement was set during a time when the
average life expectancy for male was 48 years of age and female 51,
days of horse and buggies and is not only restrictive but also
outdated and needs to be changed. Currently life expectancy is at
77.85 years.

Currently New Hampshire, Connecticut, Vermont, Maine, Virginia, West
Virginia, Georgia State police Departments and Florida Highway Patrol
have no maximum age limits for civil service exams.

PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
S.7240 of 2009-1010

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
Not applicable.

EFFECTIVE DATE:


This bill will take effect immediately.

S463-2011 Text

 S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 
 
                                          463
 2011-2012 Regular Sessions
 I N  SENATE
 (PREFILED)
 January 5, 2011
 
 Introduced  by Sen. NOZZOLIO -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
 printed to be committed to the Committee on Finance
 

AN ACT to amend the executive law, in relation to the qualifications for
 members of the division of state police
 THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

 

Section  1.  Subdivision  3  of  section  215 of the executive law, as
 amended by chapter 478 of the laws  of  2004,  is  amended  to  read  as
 follows:

 3.  The  sworn members of the New York state police shall be appointed
 by the superintendent and permanent appointees may  be  removed  by  the
 superintendent only after a hearing. No person shall be appointed to the
 New  York state police force as a sworn member unless he or she shall be
 a citizen of the United States, [between the ages of] AT  LEAST  twenty
 one  [and  twenty-nine]  years  [except  that  in  the  superintendent's
 discretion, the maximum age may be extended  to  thirty-five  years]  OF
 AGE.  [Notwithstanding  any  other  provision  of  law or any general or
 special law to the contrary the time spent on military duty, not exceed-
 ing a total of six years, shall be subtracted from the age of any appli-
 cant who has passed his or her twenty-ninth  birthday,  solely  for  the
 purpose  of permitting qualification as to age and for no other purpose.
 Such limitations as to age however shall not apply to persons  appointed
 to the positions of counsel, first assistant counsel, assistant counsel,
 and  assistant  deputy  superintendent for employee relations nor to any
 person appointed to the bureau of  criminal  investigation  pursuant  to
 section  two  hundred  sixteen  of this article nor shall any] NO person
 SHALL be appointed unless he or she has fitness and good moral character
 and shall have passed a physical and mental examination based upon stan
 dards provided by the  rules  and  regulations  of  the  superintendent.
 Appointments  shall be made for a probationary period which, in the case
 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
 [ ] is old law to be omitted.
 LBD00281-01-1
 
       S. 463                              2
 of appointees required to attend and complete a basic  training  program
 at the state police academy, shall include such time spent attending the
 basic school and terminate one year after successful completion thereof.
 All other sworn members shall be subject to a probationary period of one
 year  from the date of appointment. Following satisfactory completion of
 the probationary period the  member  shall  be  a  permanent  appointee.
 Voluntary  resignation  or  withdrawal  from  the  New York state police
 during such appointment shall be submitted  to  the  superintendent  for
 approval.    Reasonable time shall be required to account for all equip
 ment issued or for debts or obligations to the state  to  be  satisfied.
 Resignation  or withdrawal from the division during a time of emergency,
 so declared by the governor, shall not be approved if  contrary  to  the
 best  interest  of the state and shall be a misdemeanor. No sworn member
 removed from the New York state police shall be eligible for  reappoint
 ment.  The  superintendent  shall  make rules and regulations subject to
 approval by the governor for the discipline and control of the New  York
 state  police  and  for the examination and qualifications of applicants
 for appointment as members thereto and such examinations shall  be  held
 and  conducted  by  the  superintendent  subject to such rules and regu
 lations. The superintendent is authorized to  charge  a  fee  of  twenty
 dollars  as an application fee for any person applying to take a compet
 itive examination for the position of trooper, and a fee of five dollars
 for any competitive examination for a civilian position. The superinten
 dent shall promulgate regulations subject to the approval of the  direc
 tor  of  the budget, to provide for a waiver of the application fee when
 the fee would cause an unreasonable hardship on  the  applicant  and  to
 establish  a  fee  schedule  and charge fees for the use of state police
 facilities. THE SUPERINTENDENT  SHALL  REQUIRE  THE  RETIREMENT  OF  ANY
 MEMBER  OF  THE  NEW YORK STATE POLICE WHO HAS ATTAINED SEVENTY YEARS OF
 AGE.
 

S 2. This act shall take effect immediately.

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