What's happening
This bill allows police departments to use alternate hiring lists to promote workforce diversity when their demographics significantly differ from the communities they serve.
Why it matters
Targets underrepresentation. By allowing police departments to hire from alternate lists when their staff demographics differ by 25% or more from the communities they serve, the bill directly addresses significant gaps in racial, ethnic, or gender representation, aiming to make police forces more reflective of their populations.
Broader candidate pools. Departments can use county or neighboring municipal lists, including non-resident minority and women candidates, which could expand the pool of qualified applicants beyond the immediate locality and help overcome barriers to diversity caused by limited local eligible lists.
Temporary but structured approach. The use of alternate lists is only permitted until the department’s demographics are within 25% of the community’s; after that, hiring must return to the department’s own eligible list, ensuring this is a tool for correction, not a permanent bypass of local hiring processes.
Maintains merit standards. Even when using alternate lists, hiring decisions must still be based on merit and fitness, and the “rule of three” (which requires selection from the top three candidates on the list) remains in place, balancing diversity goals with existing civil service hiring protections.
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Who cares
Headline styles
Diversify Police Hiring Lists
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
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History
- Referred to civil service and pensions
- Referred to civil service and pensions
Companion bill
The same bill in the other chamber. A bill becomes law when one version passes both houses and the governor signs it, so either number can carry it.
Diversify Police Department Hiring
In Assembly Committee · Governmental Employees · Sponsor J. Gary Pretlow
Full text
2 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
S. 1648 A. 1432
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
SENATE - ASSEMBLY
January 15, 2019
IN SENATE -- Introduced by Sen. BAILEY -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Civil Service and Pensions
IN ASSEMBLY -- Introduced by M. of A. PRETLOW, WALKER, PICHARDO, STECK, CRESPO, ARROYO, COOK, PEOPLES-STOKES, WRIGHT -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A. BLAKE, SIMON -- read once and referred to the Committee on Governmental Employees
AN ACT to amend the civil service law, in relation to appointments from eligible lists
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Subdivision 4 of section 23 of the civil service law, as amended by chapter 403 of the laws of 2011, is amended and a new subdivision 4-c is added to read as follows:
4. Use of state and county eligible lists, as the source of new hires, by municipal commissions. A municipal commission, in the absence of an eligible list of its own, may request the state civil service department, county civil service commission or county personnel officer to furnish it with the names of persons on an appropriate eligible list established by the department, commission or personnel officer, which, if so requested by the municipal commission, shall be limited to residents of the city, or town or civil division in which appointments are to be made, or to residents of the county or judicial district in which such city, town or civil division is located, or to any reasonable combination of political subdivisions both in and outside of New York state contiguous to the city or civil division in which appointment is to be made or contiguous to the political subdivision in which such city or civil division is located, except for the position of director of facilities I, II, & III of a school district located within the state which shall use the list developed pursuant to subdivision five of
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD05412-01-9
S. 1648 2 A. 1432
section seventeen of this [chapter] title. Such municipal commission may certify such names for appointment to a position under its jurisdiction in the same manner as certifications are made from the eligible lists of such commission. If the state civil service department, county civil service commission or county personnel officer, upon the request of such commission, has certified an appropriate eligible list to fill a particular position, such list shall continue to be used until superseded by an eligible list established by such municipal commission for such position, or until such list expires or is exhausted or is otherwise terminated.
4-c. Alternate lists for police departments. Police departments where a list pursuant to subdivision four of this section does not adequately represent minority populations and the existing police department's ethnic, racial or women composition deviates from the community upon which they serve by twenty-five percent or more, a municipal commission may use alternate lists, including but not limited to the county list, for the filling of vacancies by both resident and non-resident minority group members, as defined by section three hundred ten of the executive law, and women in order to achieve diversity in the workforce. Alternate lists created by police departments in surrounding municipalities shall be provided and police departments shall hire from such alternate lists until such police department's ethnic, racial or women composition no longer deviates from the community upon which they serve by twenty-five percent or more, upon which time the municipal commission shall be required to use its own eligible list. Police departments shall hire candidates from alternate lists based on merit and fitness, further the rule of three shall apply.
§ 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the civil service law, in relation to appointments from eligible lists
Summary of provisions
This bill amends subdivision 4 of section 23 and subdivisions 1 and 2 of section 56 of the civil service law, adding optional alternate list provisions to these sections.
Justification
This legislation seeks to expand the pool of qualified candidates for police officer positions. If enacted, this bill would allow municipal commissions the option to choose the same-level qualified candidates from either a local/resident list or a non-resident list.
Prior legislative history
2017-18: S.3341/A4025(Pretlow)- Referred to Civil Service and Pensions
Fiscal implications
None.
Effective date
This act shall take effect immediately.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.