NY State Senate Bill 2025-S8209

Senate Bill S8209

2025-2026 Legislative Session

Directs the president of the state civil service commission to conduct a study on job vacancies across state agencies

download bill text pdf

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Civil Service And Pensions Committee

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

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Actions

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	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
May 21, 2025	referred to civil service and pensions

2025-S8209 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A2633
Current Committee:: Senate Civil Service And Pensions
Law Section:: Civil Service
Versions Introduced in 2023-2024 Legislative Session:: A3236

2025-S8209 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Directs the president of the state civil service commission to conduct a study on job vacancies across state agencies and determine which, if any, state agencies are understaffed.

2025-S8209 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S8209

SPONSOR: JACKSON
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act in relation to directing the president of the state civil service
commission to conduct a study on job vacancies across state agencies

 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:

Directs the president of the state civil service commission to conduct a
study on job vacancies across state agencies.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1 directs the president of the State Civil Service Commission to
conduct a comprehensive study on the number of job vacancies within
state agencies to determine which agencies are currently understaffed.

Section 2 defines the scope of the study.

Section 3 authorizes the president of the State Civil Service Commission

to request, receive, and utilize resources and data from all state agen-
cies as is necessary to conduct this study.

Section 4 requires the president of the State Civil Service Commission
to report the result of this study within one year of the law's effec-
tive date.

Section 5 is the effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

Legislators throughout New York State have heard repeated reports of
agencies being significantly understaffed - from agency employees them-
selves struggling to complete their necessary duties with smaller
numbers of co-workers and from constituents trying desperately to
contact these agencies to discuss vital issues ranging from applying for
licenses, to begin their careers to obtaining financial assistance after
income loss, and everything in between. Indeep, constituents have even
reported making weekly phone calls to agendisqor months at a time with-
out any sort of response. Without adequate staffing, our State agencies
cannot fulfill the crucial responsibilities they have in serving New
Yorkers, and without data as to these vacancies, we cannot successfully
address these substantial shortages.

This study would empirically establish the vacancies in our State agen-
cies as well as make recommendations to more successfully fill these
vacancies. This data is crucial to fix the problem of substantial worker
shortages with which our State agencies are currently struggling.

Despite volumes of anecdotal data, obtaining specific information about
the numbers of unfulfilled positions has been difficult to find. Nota-
bly, the limited data we do have indicates a significant problem. The
FY22-23 Executive Budget estimated 182,230 full-time employees as of
March 31, 2022, but the Department of Budget's Mid-Year Update in Novem-
ber 2022 shows that the actual count was 169,340 - almost 13,000 employ-
ees short. This data appears to be the most specific information avail-
able without tasking each agency head to perform their own internal
assessment. A study led by the president of the State Civil Service
Commission will streamline such inquiry and ensure compliance across all
agencies, which will allow for holistic, universal - and not piecemeal
solutions to the State's worker shortage.

 
PRIOR HISTORY:

2024: Same Bill (A.3236A/Lunsford) Died in Ways & Means

2023: Similar Bill (A.3236/Lunsford) Died in Ways & Means

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

To be determined.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.

2025-S8209 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   8209
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                               May 21, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen. JACKSON -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Civil Service and Pensions
 
 AN ACT in relation to directing the president of the state civil service
   commission to conduct a study on job vacancies across state agencies

   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1.  The president of the state civil service commission shall
 conduct a comprehensive study on the  number  of  job  vacancies  within
 state agencies to determine which agencies are currently understaffed.
   §  2.  1.  Such  study  shall examine how many full-time and part-time
 positions are budgeted for in each agency, how many  of  those  budgeted
 for  positions  remain  vacant,  and  how long those positions have been
 vacant.
   2. Such study shall include recommendations based on the data examined
 as to whether the state can take additional action to market  or  inform
 the  public  of state job opportunities and if so, what specific actions
 should be taken.
   § 3. For the purposes of this section,  the  president  of  the  state
 civil  service commission may conduct such study in conjunction with any
 other department, division, board, bureau, commission, agency, or public
 authority of the state deemed necessary. To the maximum extent feasible,
 the president of the state civil service commission shall be  authorized
 to  request,  receive,  and utilize such resources and data of any other
 department, division,  board,  bureau,  commission,  agency,  or  public
 authority  of  the  state  as  such president of the state civil service
 commission may reasonably request to properly carry  such  president  of
 the  state civil service commission's powers and duties pursuant to this
 act.
   § 4. The president of the state civil service commission shall  report
 on  the  results of the study described in this act within one year from
 the effective date of this act.   Such report  shall  be  made  publicly
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD04251-01-5

 S. 8209                             2
 
 available  online  on  the  New York state department of civil service's
 website and shall be delivered to the governor, the temporary  president
 of the senate, and the speaker of the assembly.
   § 5. This act shall take effect immediately.

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