S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K
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1868
2009-2010 Regular Sessions
I N A S S E M B L Y
January 12, 2009
___________
Introduced by M. of A. O'DONNELL -- read once and referred to the
Committee on Cities
AN ACT to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in
relation to removing citizenship from the required qualifications of
police officers and firefighters
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. Subdivision a of section 14-109 of the administrative code
of the city of New York, as amended by local law number 23 of the city
of New York for the year 1998, is amended to read as follows:
a. Only persons shall be appointed or reappointed to membership in the
police force or continue to hold membership therein, who are citizens of
the United States and who have never been convicted of a felony, and who
can read and write understandably the English language; PROVIDED, HOWEV-
ER, THAT THE CITIZENSHIP REQUIREMENT SHALL BE WAIVED FOR PERSONS WHO
HAVE SERVED IN THE ARMED FORCES OF THE UNITED STATES. Skilled officers
of experience may be appointed for temporary detective duty who are not
residents of the city. Only persons shall be appointed police officers
who shall be at the date of THE filing of an application for civil
service examination less than thirty-five years of age, except, that
every person who, as of the fifteenth day of April 1997, satisfied all
other requirements for admission to the New York city police department
academy shall be admitted to such academy and shall be eligible for
appointment as a police officer, subject to the provisions of the civil
service law and any applicable provisions of the charter, notwithstand-
ing that such person was thirty-five years of age or older on the
fifteenth day of April 1997. Persons who shall have been members of the
force, and shall have been dismissed therefrom, shall not be reap-
pointed. Persons who are appointed as police trainees, after examination
in accordance with the civil service law and the rules of the commis-
sioner of citywide administrative services and who have satisfactorily
EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD05522-01-9
A. 1868 2
completed service as such trainees, may likewise be appointed as police
officers without further written examination, provided that they shall
have passed a medical examination at the end of their required trainee
period. Persons appointed as police trainees shall not be considered
members of the uniformed force of the department.
S 2. Subdivision a of section 15-103 of the administrative code of the
city of New York is amended to read as follows:
a. To qualify for membership in the department a person shall be:
1. A citizen of the United States; PROVIDED, HOWEVER, THAT THE CITI-
ZENSHIP REQUIREMENT SHALL BE WAIVED FOR PERSONS WHO HAVE SERVED IN THE
ARMED FORCES OF THE UNITED STATES.
2. Able understandingly to read and write the English language.
3. Shall have passed his or her eighteenth birthday but not his or her
twenty-ninth birthday on the date of the filing of his or her applica-
tion for civil service examination. No person who qualifies under this
requirement shall be disqualified from membership in the department
because of having passed his or her twenty-ninth birthday subsequent to
the filing of his or her application. However no person shall be
appointed unless he or she shall have attained his or her twenty-first
birthday.
S 3. This act shall take effect on the thirtieth day after it shall
have become a law.