Senate Bill S7023

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   7023
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                              March 28, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  GRIFFO -- 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 increasing the age
   of eligibility for provisional or  permanent  appointment  of  certain
   police officers from thirty-five to forty

   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 1 of section 58 of  the  civil
 service  law,  as amended by chapter 244 of the laws of 2013, is amended
 to read as follows:
   (a) [he or she] SUCH 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  thirty-
 first,  nineteen  hundred ninety-nine or a police officer in the depart-
 ment of environmental conservation, provided, however, that:
   (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] THEIR [thirty-fifth]  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 employ-
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD03547-02-5
 S. 7023                             2
              

 
 ment  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  require-
 ments  of  merit and fitness set forth by this chapter and do not exceed
 the maximum age of [thirty-nine] FORTY-FOUR;
   § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
   FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
   This bill would amend the Civil Service Law to  increase  the  maximum
 age  for  appointment  as a police officer of the department of environ-
 mental conservation or of any police force or police department  of  any
 county,  city,  town,  village,  housing authority or police district to
 forty years of age. Currently, the maximum age for appointment is  thir-
 ty-five years.
   If  this  bill  is  enacted during the 2025 Legislative Session, it is
 anticipated that there would be a broader group of eligible police offi-
 cers to become members in the New York State and Local Police  and  Fire
 Retirement  System  (NYSLPFRS). These members would accrue benefits that
 would be funded by the normal employer  contributions,  and  we  do  not
 anticipate  any  increases  in  the  annual  contribution  rates for the
 participating employers in the NYSLPFRS.
   Summary of relevant resources:
   Membership data as of March 31, 2024 was used in measuring the  impact
 of the proposed change, the same data used in the April 1, 2024 actuari-
 al  valuation.  Distributions  and  other statistics can be found in the
 2024 Report of the Actuary and the 2024 Annual  Comprehensive  Financial
 Report.  The actuarial assumptions and methods used are described in the
 2024  Annual Report to the Comptroller on Actuarial Assumptions, and the
 Codes, Rules and Regulations  of  the  State  of  New  York:  Audit  and
 Control.  The  Market Assets and GASB Disclosures are found in the March
 31, 2024 New York State and Local Retirement System Financial Statements
 and Supplementary Information.
   This fiscal note does not constitute a legal opinion on the  viability
 of  the  proposed change nor is it intended to serve as a substitute for
 the professional judgment of an attorney.
   This estimate, dated February 20, 2025,  and  intended  for  use  only
 during  the  2025  Legislative  Session,  is Fiscal Note No. 2025-32. As
 Chief Actuary of the New York State  and  Local  Retirement  System,  I,
 Aaron  Schottin  Young,  hereby certify that this analysis complies with
 applicable Actuarial Standards of  Practice  as  well  as  the  Code  of
 Professional  Conduct  and Qualification Standards for Actuaries Issuing
 Statements of Actuarial Opinion of the American Academy of Actuaries, of
 which I am a member.