Senate Bill S4965

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   4965
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             February 14, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  BAILEY -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Civil Service and Pensions
 
 AN ACT to amend the civil service law, in relation to waiving the  state
   application fee for all civil service examinations for all veterans

   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Paragraph (b) of subdivision 5 of section 50 of  the  civil
 service  law,  as  amended  by section 1 of part EE of chapter 55 of the
 laws of 2023, is amended to read as follows:
   (b) Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph (a) of  this  subdivi-
 sion, the state civil service department, subject to the approval of the
 director  of the budget, a municipal commission, subject to the approval
 of the governing board or body of the city or county, as  the  case  may
 be,  or  a regional commission or personnel officer, pursuant to govern-
 mental agreement, may elect to waive application  fees,  or  to  abolish
 fees  for  specific  classes  of  positions  or types of examinations or
 candidates, or to  establish  a  uniform  schedule  of  reasonable  fees
 different  from  those  prescribed in paragraph (a) of this subdivision,
 specifying in such schedule the classes of positions or types  of  exam-
 inations  or candidates to which such fees shall apply; provided, howev-
 er, that fees shall be waived for candidates who certify  to  the  state
 civil  service  department, a municipal commission or a regional commis-
 sion that they are unemployed and primarily responsible for the  support
 of  a  household,  or are receiving public assistance. Provided further,
 the state civil service department shall waive the state application fee
 for ALL  examinations  [for  original  appointment]  for  all  veterans.
 Provided further, the state civil service department shall, and a munic-
 ipal  commission  may, subject to the approval of the governing board or
 body of the city or county, as the case may be, or a regional commission
 or personnel officer, pursuant to governmental agreement, waive applica-
 tion fees for all examinations held between  July  first,  two  thousand
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD09061-01-5
              

 S. 4965                             2
 
 twenty-three   and  December  thirty-first,  two  thousand  twenty-five.
 Notwithstanding any  other  provision  of  law,  for  purposes  of  this
 section,  the  term  "veteran" shall mean a person who has served in the
 armed  forces  of  the  United States or the reserves thereof, or in the
 army national guard, air national guard, New York guard, or the New York
 naval militia, and who (1) has been  honorably  discharged  or  released
 from  such  service  under honorable conditions, or (2) has a qualifying
 condition, as defined in section one of the veterans' services law,  and
 has  received  a  discharge  other than bad conduct or dishonorable from
 such service, or (3) is a discharged LGBT veteran, as defined in section
 one of the veterans' services law, and has received  a  discharge  other
 than  bad  conduct  or  dishonorable  from such service. The term "armed
 forces" shall mean the army, navy, air force, marine  corps,  and  coast
 guard.
   §  2.    Paragraph  (b)  of  subdivision  5 of section 50 of the civil
 service law, as amended by section 35 of part PP of chapter  56  of  the
 laws of 2022, is amended to read as follows:
   (b)  Notwithstanding  the provisions of paragraph (a) of this subdivi-
 sion, the state civil service department, subject to the approval of the
 director of the budget, a municipal commission, subject to the  approval
 of  the  governing  board or body of the city or county, as the case may
 be, or a regional commission or personnel officer, pursuant  to  govern-
 mental  agreement,  may  elect  to waive application fees, or to abolish
 fees for specific classes of  positions  or  types  of  examinations  or
 candidates,  or  to  establish  a  uniform  schedule  of reasonable fees
 different from those prescribed in paragraph (a)  of  this  subdivision,
 specifying  in  such schedule the classes of positions or types of exam-
 inations or candidates to which such fees shall apply; provided,  howev-
 er,  that  fees  shall be waived for candidates who certify to the state
 civil service department, a municipal commission or a  regional  commis-
 sion  that they are unemployed and primarily responsible for the support
 of a household, or are receiving public  assistance.  Provided  further,
 the state civil service department shall waive the state application fee
 for  ALL  examinations  [for  original  appointment]  for  all veterans.
 Notwithstanding any  other  provision  of  law,  for  purposes  of  this
 section,  the  term  "veteran" shall mean a person who has served in the
 armed forces of the United States or the reserves  thereof,  or  in  the
 army national guard, air national guard, New York guard, or the New York
 naval  militia,  and  who  (1) has been honorably discharged or released
 from such service under honorable conditions, or (2)  has  a  qualifying
 condition,  as defined in section one of the veterans' services law, and
 has received a discharge other than bad  conduct  or  dishonorable  from
 such service, or (3) is a discharged LGBT veteran, as defined in section
 one  of  the  veterans' services law, and has received a discharge other
 than bad conduct or dishonorable from  such  service.  The  term  "armed
 forces"  shall  mean  the army, navy, air force, marine corps, and coast
 guard.
   § 3. This act shall take effect immediately; provided,  however,  that
 the  amendments  to  paragraph (b) of subdivision 5 of section 50 of the
 civil service law, made by section one of this act shall be  subject  to
 the  expiration and reversion of such paragraph pursuant to section 2 of
 part EE of chapter 55 of the laws of 2023, when upon such  date  section
 two of this act shall take effect.