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A448Assembly2025-2026 Session

Require Rochester Police Residency

Official title

“Authorizes the city of Rochester to adopt a local law requiring police officers in such city to be residents of Rochester”

Sponsor Sarah ClarkAD-136+1 co-sponsor
Status
In Assembly Committee
Governmental Operations
Impact
6/10
Moderate
Passage
0%

Bill progress

Step 2 of 7

In committee · Governmental Operations

What's happening

This bill allows Rochester to require newly hired police officers to live within the city during their employment.

Why it matters

  1. Could increase police engagement and accountability. Requiring officers to live in Rochester may strengthen their investment in the community, potentially improving trust and responsiveness between police and residents.

  2. May affect recruitment and retention. The residency requirement could limit the pool of eligible applicants, making it harder (or easier, if it appeals to some) for the city to hire and keep qualified officers, which could impact public safety staffing.

  3. Exempts current officers from new rule. Only officers hired after the law goes into effect would be required to live in Rochester, so existing police personnel would not be affected, avoiding potential legal or morale issues for current staff.

  4. Gives local government more control. The bill specifically empowers Rochester to decide its own police residency policy, reflecting a shift toward local autonomy over police workforce regulations.

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Who cares

Headline styles

Require Rochester Police Residency

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

Sponsors

Primary sponsor
Sarah Clark

Assembly Member · Assembly District 136

1 Co-sponsor

History

  1. Referred to governmental operations
  2. Referred to governmental operations

Full text

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

STATE OF NEW YORK

448

2025-2026 Regular Sessions

IN ASSEMBLY (Prefiled)

January 8, 2025

Introduced by M. of A. CLARK, MEEKS -- read once and referred to the Committee on Governmental Operations

AN ACT to amend the public officers law, in relation to authorizing the city of Rochester to adopt a local law requiring police officers to be residents of Rochester

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

Section 1. Section 3 of the public officers law is amended by adding a new subdivision 76 to read as follows:

76. Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision two of this section, or any provision of any general, special or local law, charter, code, ordinance, resolution, rule or regulation to the contrary, the city of Rochester, as of the effective date of this subdivision, shall have the authority to enact a local law subsequent to the effective date of this subdivision requiring any person who is appointed as a member of the police force of such city to be a resident of such a city during their employment as a member of such police force; provided however, that nothing in this subdivision shall authorize such local law to affect any person who entered such city service as a police officer prior to thirty days subsequent to the effective date of such local law.

§ 2. This act shall take effect immediately.

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

[ ] is old law to be omitted.

LBD02556-01-5

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.