Senate Bill S6052

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   6052
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                               March 5, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  PARKER -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Investigations and Govern-
   ment Operations
 
 AN ACT to amend the  public  officers  law,  in  relation  to  residency
   requirements  for paid firefighters in a city with a population of one
   million or more

   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1.  Subdivision 4 of section 3 of the public officers law, as
 amended by chapter 985 of the laws  of  1965,  is  amended  to  read  as
 follows:
   4.  Except  as otherwise provided in subdivision nine of this section,
 persons heretofore or hereafter employed in the paid fire department  of
 a city, town, village or fire district shall not be deemed to be holding
 a  civil office or a local office within the meaning of this section and
 the provisions of this section shall not apply to  such  persons.  [The]
 EXCEPT  WITHIN  A  CITY  WITH  A  POPULATION  OF  ONE  MILLION  OR MORE,
 provisions of any general, special or local law, city or  village  char-
 ter,  code or ordinance, or any rule or regulation requiring a person to
 be a resident of the political subdivision or municipal  corporation  of
 the  state  for  which  [he] SUCH PERSON shall be chosen or within which
 [his] THEIR official functions are required to be  exercised  shall  not
 apply  to the appointment or continuance in office of any such person so
 employed, if such person resides in the county, or one of the  counties,
 in which such political subdivision or municipal corporation is located.
   § 2. Subdivision 9 of section 3 of the public officers law, as amended
 by chapter 209 of the laws of 2006, is amended to read as follows:
   9. Neither the provisions of this section, nor of any general, special
 or  local law, charter, code, ordinance, resolution, rule or regulation,
 requiring a person to be a resident  of  the  political  subdivision  or
 municipal  corporation  of  the  state for which [he or she] SUCH PERSON
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD10596-01-5
              

 S. 6052                             2
 
 shall be chosen or within which [his or her]  THEIR  official  functions
 are  required  to be exercised, shall apply to the appointment of a paid
 member of the uniformed force of a paid fire  department  OUTSIDE  OF  A
 CITY WITH A POPULATION OF ONE MILLION OR MORE, who, for purposes of this
 section  shall include persons employed as fire alarm dispatchers, or to
 the appointment of any person employed in a department of correction  in
 the  correction  service classification of the classified civil service,
 or to the appointment of officers and inspectors who are employees of  a
 department  of  health  of  any  city of over one million population who
 resides (a) in the county in which such city is located;  or  (b)  in  a
 county  within  the state contiguous to the county in which said city is
 located; or (c) in a county within the state contiguous to such city; or
 (d) in a county within the state which is not more  than  fifteen  miles
 from said city.
   §  3. Subdivision 19 of section 3 of the public officers law, as added
 by chapter 509 of the laws of 1986, is amended to read as follows:
   19. Any person who resides in this state and who is currently employed
 as a member of the police force[, a paid member of the  uniformed  force
 of  a  paid fire department] or department of corrections in the correc-
 tional service classification of the classified civil service, of a city
 of over one million population, shall be exempt from the  provisions  of
 subdivisions  one, two and nine of this section upon compliance with the
 procedure set forth in this subdivision. Any person seeking  to  benefit
 from  the exemption created by this subdivision shall notify [his] THEIR
 respective employer in writing of said intention within thirty days from
 the effective date of this subdivision and  shall  specify  [his]  THEIR
 then  current  residence address. The exemption created by this subdivi-
 sion shall be applicable only to said actual  designated  residence  and
 not  to  any  residence  that  any subject currently employed member may
 thereafter  establish;  provided,  however,  that  any  such   currently
 employed  member who resides outside this state shall have one year from
 the effective date of this subdivision within which to  establish  resi-
 dence  as  required  pursuant  to subdivisions one, two and nine of this
 section and comply with the notice  requirements  of  this  subdivision.
 Said  residence  shall  constitute  a  lawful residence for all purposes
 notwithstanding any provision to the contrary of any general, special or
 local law, charter, code, ordinance, resolution, rule or regulation.
   § 4.  Section 3 of the public officers law is amended by adding a  new
 subdivision 19-a to read as follows:
   19-A.  IN  A CITY WITH A POPULATION OF ONE MILLION OR MORE, ANY PERSON
 APPOINTED AS A PAID MEMBER OF THE UNIFORMED FORCE OF A PAID FIRE DEPART-
 MENT OF SUCH CITY SHALL BECOME A RESIDENT OF ANY  POLITICAL  SUBDIVISION
 OR  MUNICIPAL  CORPORATION  WITHIN  SUCH  CITY  WITHIN ONE YEAR OF THEIR
 APPOINTMENT AND SHALL CONTINUE  TO  RESIDE  WITHIN  ANY  SUCH  POLITICAL
 SUBDIVISION  OR  MUNICIPAL  CORPORATION.  NO  PERSON APPOINTED AS A PAID
 MEMBER OF THE UNIFORMED FORCE OF A PAID FIRE DEPARTMENT OF SUCH CITY MAY
 CONTINUE SUCH EMPLOYMENT UNLESS SUCH PERSON COMPLIES WITH THE PROVISIONS
 OF THIS SUBDIVISION.
   § 5. Subdivision 5-a of section 30 of  the  public  officers  law,  as
 added by chapter 509 of the laws of 1986, is amended to read as follows:
   5-a.  Any  person  who  resides  in  this  state  and who is currently
 employed as a member  of  the  police  force[,  a  paid  member  of  the
 uniformed force of a paid fire department,] or department of corrections
 in  the  correctional  service  classification  of  the classified civil
 service, of a city of over one million population, shall be exempt  from
 the provisions of paragraph (d) of subdivision one and subdivisions four
 S. 6052                             3
 
 and five of this section upon compliance with the procedure set forth in
 this  subdivision.  Any  person  seeking  to  benefit from the exemption
 created by this subdivision shall notify [his] THEIR respective employer
 in  writing of said intention within thirty days from the effective date
 of this subdivision and shall specify [his] THEIR then current residence
 address. The exemption created by this subdivision shall  be  applicable
 only  to  said actual designated residence and not to any residence that
 any  subject  currently  employed  member  may   thereafter   establish;
 provided,  however,  that any such currently employed member who resides
 outside this state shall have one year from the effective date  of  this
 subdivision  within which to establish residence as required pursuant to
 paragraph (d) of subdivision one, and subdivisions four and five of this
 section and comply with the notice  requirements  of  this  subdivision.
 Said  residence  shall  constitute  a  lawful residence for all purposes
 notwithstanding any provision to the contrary of any general, special or
 local law, charter, code, ordinance, resolution, rule or regulation.
   § 6. This act shall take effect immediately.