Raise Police Hiring Age

Section 1. Subdivision 1 of section 58 of the civil service law, as amended by chapter 244 of the laws of 2013, paragraphs (c) and (d) as amended by section 16 of part BBB of chapter 59 of the laws of 2021, 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 police officer of the department of environmental conservation or of any police force or police department of any county, city, town, village, housing authority or police district unless [he or she] such person shall satisfy the following basic requirements:

(a) [he or she] the person is not less than twenty years of age as of the date of appointment nor more than [thirty-five] forty years of age as of the date when the applicant takes the written examination, provided that the maximum age requirement of [thirty-five] forty years of age as set forth in this paragraph shall not apply to eligible lists finalized pursuant to an examination administered prior to May thirtyfirst, nineteen hundred ninety-nine or a police officer in the department of environmental conservation, provided, however, that:

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

[ ] is old law to be omitted.

LBD00324-01-5

(i) 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 thirty-fifth] the applicant's fortieth birthday as provided in subdivision ten-a of section two hundred forty-three of the military law;

(ii) such maximum age requirement of [thirty-five] forty years shall not apply to any police officer as defined in subdivision thirty-four of section 1.20 of the criminal procedure law, who was continuously employed by the Buffalo municipal housing authority between January first, two thousand five and June thirtieth, two thousand five and who takes the next written exam offered after the effective date of this subparagraph by the city of Buffalo civil service commission for employment as a police officer in the city of Buffalo police department, or June thirtieth, two thousand six, whichever is later; and

(iii) such maximum age requirement of [thirty-five] forty years shall not apply to any police officer of any county, town, city or village police force not otherwise provided for in this section if the eligible list has been exhausted and there are no other eligible candidates; provided, however, the police officer themselves are on the eligible list of such county, town, city or village and meet all other requirements of merit and fitness set forth by this chapter and do not exceed the maximum age of [thirty-nine] forty-four;

(b) [he or she] such person is a high school graduate or a holder of a high school equivalency diploma issued by an education department of any of the states of the United States or a holder of a comparable diploma issued by any commonwealth, territory or possession of the United States or by the Canal Zone or a holder of a report from the United States armed forces certifying [his or her] the person's successful completion of the tests of general educational development, high school level;

(c) [he or she] the person satisfies the height, weight, physical and psychological fitness requirements prescribed by the municipal police training council pursuant to the provisions of section eight hundred forty of the executive law; and

(d) [he or she] the person is of good moral character as determined in accordance with the background investigation standards of the municipal police training council pursuant to the provisions of section eight hundred forty of the executive law.

§ 2. This act shall take effect immediately.