S 1449: Eliminates the maximum age for taking the civil service examination for appointment as a police officer or as an environmental conservation officer.

  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 1449 2025-2026 Regular Sessions  IN SENATE January 10, 2025 ___________ Introduced by Sens. BORRELLO, HELMING, OBERACKER -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Civil Service and Pensions AN ACT to amend the civil service law and the executive law, in relation to eliminating the maximum age limitation for appointment as a police officer or as an environmental conservation officer The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 1 of section 58 of the civil 2 service law, as amended by chapter 244 of the laws of 2013, is amended 3 to read as follows: 4 (a) [he or she] such person is not less than twenty years of age as of 5 the date of appointment [nor more than thirty-five years of age as of 6 the date when the applicant takes the written examination, provided that 7 the maximum age requirement of thirty-five years of age as set forth in 8 this paragraph shall not apply to eligible lists finalized pursuant to 9 an examination administered prior to May thirty-first, nineteen hundred 10 ninety-nine or a police officer in the department of environmental 11 conservation, provided, however, that: 12 (i) time spent on military duty or on terminal leave, not exceeding a 13 total of six years, shall be subtracted from the age of any applicant 14 who has passed his or her thirty-fifth birthday as provided in subdivi- 15 sion ten-a of section two hundred forty-three of the military law; 16 (ii) such maximum age requirement of thirty-five years shall not apply 17 to any police officer as defined in subdivision thirty-four of section 18 1.20 of the criminal procedure law, who was continuously employed by the 19 Buffalo municipal housing authority between January first, two thousand 20 five and June thirtieth, two thousand five and who takes the next writ- 21 ten exam offered after the effective date of this subparagraph by the 22 city of Buffalo civil service commission for employment as a police EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD04483-01-5 
 S. 1449 2 1 officer in the city of Buffalo police department, or June thirtieth, two 2 thousand six, whichever is later; and 3 (iii) such maximum age requirement of thirty-five years shall not 4 apply to any police officer of any county, town, city or village police 5 force not otherwise provided for in this section if the eligible list 6 has been exhausted and there are no other eligible candidates; provided, 7 however, the police officer themselves are on the eligible list of such 8 county, town, city or village and meet all other requirements of merit 9 and fitness set forth by this chapter and do not exceed the maximum age 10 of thirty-nine]; 11 § 2. Subdivision 2 of section 58 of the civil service law, as amended 12 by chapter 244 of the laws of 2013, is amended to read as follows: 13 2. The provisions of this section shall not prevent any county, city, 14 town, village, housing authority, transit authority, police district or 15 the department of environmental conservation from setting more restric- 16 tive requirements of eligibility for its police officers[, except the 17 maximum age to be a police officer as provided in paragraph (a) of 18 subdivision one of this section]. 19 § 3. Subdivision 4 of section 58 of the civil service law, as sepa- 20 rately amended by chapters 375 and 397 of the laws of 1990, paragraphs 21 (a) and (b) as amended by chapter 561 of the laws of 2015, paragraph (c) 22 as amended by chapter 190 of the laws of 2008 and subparagraphs (ii) and 23 (iv) of paragraph (c) as amended by section 58 of subpart B of part C of 24 chapter 62 of the laws of 2011, is amended to read as follows: 25 4. (a) [Any person who has received provisional or permanent appoint- 26 ment in the competitive class of the civil service as a police officer 27 of the regional state park police, the state university of New York 28 police, the department of environmental conservation or any police force 29 or police department of any county, city, town, village, housing author- 30 ity, transit authority or police district shall be eligible to resign 31 from any police force or police department, and to be appointed as a 32 police officer in the same or any other police force or police depart- 33 ment without satisfying the age requirements set forth in paragraph (a) 34 of subdivision one of this section at the time of such second or subse- 35 quent appointment, provided such second or subsequent appointment occurs 36 within thirty days of the date of resignation. 37 (b) Any person who has received permanent appointment in the compet- 38 itive class of the civil service as a police officer of the regional 39 state park police, the state university of New York police, the depart- 40 ment of environmental conservation or any police force or police depart- 41 ment of any county, city, town, village, housing authority, transit 42 authority or police district shall be eligible to resign from any police 43 force or police department and, subject to such civil service rules as 44 may be applicable, shall be eligible for reinstatement in the same 45 police force or police department or in any other police force or police 46 department to which he or she was eligible for transfer, without satis- 47 fying the age requirements set forth in paragraph (a) of subdivision one 48 of this section at the time of such reinstatement, provided such rein- 49 statement occurs within one year of the date of resignation. 50 (c) (i)] Legislative findings and declaration. The legislature hereby 51 finds and declares that it is frequently impracticable to ascertain 52 fitness for the positions of detective and investigator within various 53 police or sheriffs departments around the state by means of a compet- 54 itive examination due to the unique nature of the duties assigned and 55 the intangible personal qualities needed to perform such duties. The 56 legislature further finds that competitive examination has never been 
 S. 1449 3 1 employed in many police, correction or sheriffs departments, to ascer- 2 tain fitness for the positions of detective and investigator within such 3 police, correction or sheriffs departments; such fitness has always been 4 determined by evaluation of the capabilities of an individual (who has 5 in any case received permanent appointment to the position of police 6 officer, correction officer of any rank or deputy sheriff) by superviso- 7 ry personnel. The legislature further finds that an individual who 8 performs in an investigatory position in a manner sufficiently satisfac- 9 tory to the appropriate supervisors to hold such an assignment for a 10 period of eighteen months, has demonstrated fitness for the position of 11 detective or investigator within such police, correction or sheriffs 12 department at least as sufficiently as could be ascertained by means of 13 a competitive examination. 14 [(ii)] (b) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, in any juris- 15 diction, other than a city with a population of one million or more or 16 the state department of corrections and community supervision, which 17 does not administer examinations for designation to detective or inves- 18 tigator, any person who has received permanent appointment to the posi- 19 tion of police officer, correction officer of any rank or deputy sheriff 20 and is temporarily assigned to perform the duties of detective or inves- 21 tigator shall, whenever such assignment to the duties of a detective or 22 investigator exceeds eighteen months, be permanently designated as a 23 detective or investigator and receive the compensation ordinarily paid 24 to persons in such designation. 25 [(iii)] (c) Nothing contained in [subparagraph (ii)] paragraph (b) of 26 this [paragraph] subdivision shall be construed to limit any jurisdic- 27 tion's ability to administer examinations for appointment to the posi- 28 tions of detective and investigator, provided however that any person 29 temporarily assigned to perform the duties of detective or investigator 30 within the period commencing September twenty-third, nineteen hundred 31 ninety-three through and including the date upon which this paragraph 32 shall have become a law and who has not been designated as a detective 33 or investigator and who has not been subject to an examination for which 34 there is a certified eligible list, shall be permanently designated as a 35 detective or investigator whenever such assignment to the duties of 36 detective or investigator exceeds eighteen months. 37 [(iv)] (d) Detectives and investigators designated since September 38 twenty-third, nineteen hundred ninety and prior to February twenty- 39 fourth, nineteen hundred ninety-five by any state, county, town, village 40 or city (other than a city with a population of one million or more or 41 the state department of corrections and community supervision) police, 42 correction or sheriffs department, pursuant to the provisions of this 43 paragraph in effect during such period, who continue to serve in such 44 positions, shall retain their detective or investigator status without 45 any right to retroactive financial entitlement. 46 § 4. Subdivision 3 of section 215 of the executive law, as amended by 47 chapter 478 of the laws of 2004, is amended to read as follows: 48 3. The sworn members of the New York state police shall be appointed 49 by the superintendent and permanent appointees may be removed by the 50 superintendent only after a hearing. No person shall be appointed to the 51 New York state police force as a sworn member unless [he or she] such 52 person shall be a citizen of the United States, [between the ages of] 53 and at least twenty-one [and twenty-nine years except that in the super- 54 intendent's discretion, the maximum age may be extended to thirty-five 55 years. Notwithstanding any other provision of law or any general or 56 special law to the contrary the time spent on military duty, not exceed- 
 S. 1449 4 1 ing a total of six years, shall be subtracted from the age of any appli- 2 cant who has passed his or her twenty-ninth birthday, solely for the 3 purpose of permitting qualification as to age and for no other purpose. 4 Such limitations as to age however shall not apply to persons appointed 5 to the positions of counsel, first assistant counsel, assistant counsel, 6 and assistant deputy superintendent for employee relations nor to any 7 person appointed to the bureau of criminal investigation pursuant to 8 section two hundred sixteen of this article nor] years of age. Nor shall 9 any person be appointed unless [he or she] such person has fitness and 10 good moral character and shall have passed a physical and mental exam- 11 ination based upon standards provided by the rules and regulations of 12 the superintendent. Appointments shall be made for a probationary period 13 which, in the case of appointees required to attend and complete a basic 14 training program at the state police academy, shall include such time 15 spent attending the basic school and terminate one year after successful 16 completion thereof. All other sworn members shall be subject to a proba- 17 tionary period of one year from the date of appointment. Following 18 satisfactory completion of the probationary period the member shall be a 19 permanent appointee. Voluntary resignation or withdrawal from the New 20 York state police during such appointment shall be submitted to the 21 superintendent for approval. Reasonable time shall be required to 22 account for all equipment issued or for debts or obligations to the 23 state to be satisfied. Resignation or withdrawal from the division 24 during a time of emergency, so declared by the governor, shall not be 25 approved if contrary to the best interest of the state and shall be a 26 misdemeanor. No sworn member removed from the New York state police 27 shall be eligible for reappointment. The superintendent shall make rules 28 and regulations subject to approval by the governor for the discipline 29 and control of the New York state police and for the examination and 30 qualifications of applicants for appointment as members thereto and such 31 examinations shall be held and conducted by the superintendent subject 32 to such rules and regulations. The superintendent is authorized to 33 charge a fee of twenty dollars as an application fee for any person 34 applying to take a competitive examination for the position of trooper, 35 and a fee of five dollars for any competitive examination for a civilian 36 position. The superintendent shall promulgate regulations subject to the 37 approval of the director of the budget, to provide for a waiver of the 38 application fee when the fee would cause an unreasonable hardship on the 39 applicant and to establish a fee schedule and charge fees for the use of 40 state police facilities. 41 § 5. This act shall take effect immediately.