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A2661Assembly2019-2020 Session

Set Firefighter Age Limit

Official title

“Requires that persons applying for appointment as a civil service fire fighter be not more than 29 years old on the date of the written examination”

Sponsor J. Gary PretlowAD-89Affects Finance
Status
In Assembly Committee
Governmental Employees
Impact
4/10
Low
Passage
0%

Bill progress

Step 2 of 7

In committee · Governmental Employees

What's happening

This bill sets the maximum age for new firefighter applicants at 29, with military service exceptions, in New York State.

Why it matters

  1. Narrows the applicant pool. by setting an upper age limit of 29 for new firefighter candidates, which could impact the diversity and experience level of future fire department hires.

  2. Prioritizes younger recruits. for physically demanding roles, possibly affecting the overall age profile and experience within fire departments statewide.

  3. Includes a military service exemption. , allowing applicants who served in the military to subtract up to six years of service from their age for eligibility purposes—potentially increasing veteran participation in firefighting careers.

  4. May affect career changers and late entrants. by limiting opportunities for older individuals who wish to join the fire service, potentially excluding those with valuable life or professional experience outside the traditional pathway.

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Who cares

  • Prospective civil service firefighters

    Applicants for provisional or permanent competitive-class appointments would have to be no older than 29 on the written examination date, subject to the military-service adjustment.

  • Applicants with military service

    Applicants older than 29 could subtract up to six years spent on military duty or terminal leave when determining age eligibility.

  • Civil service agencies and fire departments

    They would need to apply the new age requirement to eligible lists established on or after the bill’s effective date, 30 days after it becomes law.

Headline styles

Set Firefighter Age Limit

Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.

Sponsors

Primary sponsor
J. Gary Pretlow

Assembly Member · Assembly District 89

Chair, Ways and Means

No co-sponsors yet.

History

  1. Referred to governmental employees
  2. Referred to governmental employees

Full text

1 pageUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗

STATE OF NEW YORK

2661

2019-2020 Regular Sessions

IN ASSEMBLY

January 24, 2019

Introduced by M. of A. PRETLOW -- read once and referred to the Committee on Governmental Employees

AN ACT to amend the civil service law, in relation to the maximum age of certain persons applying for provisional or permanent appointment as fire fighters

The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:

Section 1. Subdivision 1 of section 58-a of the civil service law, as amended by section 1 of part A of chapter 101 of the laws of 2013, is amended to read as follows:

1. Notwithstanding any other provision of this law or any general, special or local law to the contrary, no person shall be eligible for provisional or permanent appointment in the competitive class of the civil service as a fire fighter unless he or she shall:

(a) satisfy the basic requirements for education, health and physical fitness established by the state fire administrator pursuant to section one hundred fifty-eight of the executive law; and

(b) is not more than twenty-nine years of age on the date he or she takes the written competitive examination for such appointment; provided, however, that the time spent on military duty or on terminal leave, not exceeding a total of six years shall be subtracted from the age of any applicant who has passed his or her twenty-ninth birthday as provided in subdivision ten-a of section two hundred forty-three of the military law.

§ 2. This act shall take effect on the thirtieth day after it shall have become a law and shall apply to an eligible list for appointment in the competitive class of civil service as a fire fighter established on or after such date.

EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets

[ ] is old law to be omitted.

LBD04668-01-9

Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.

Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.