§ 7. Organization of department of corrections and community
supervision; officers and employees; delegation by commissioner. 1. The
commissioner of corrections and community supervision may, from time to
time, create, abolish, transfer and consolidate divisions, bureaus and
other units within the department not expressly established by law as he
or she may determine necessary for the efficient operation of the
department, subject to the approval of the director of the budget.

2. The commissioner of corrections and community supervision may
appoint such deputies, directors, assistants and other officers and
employees as may be needed for the performance of his or her duties and
may prescribe their powers and duties and fix their compensation within
the amounts appropriated therefor.

3. The commissioner may by order filed in the department of
corrections and community supervision delegate any of his or her powers
to or direct any of his or her duties to be performed by a deputy
commissioner or a head of a division or bureau of such department.

4. (a) The commissioner shall not appoint any person as a correction
officer or parole officer, unless such person has attained their
twenty-first birthday, except as provided in paragraph (b) of this
subdivision.

(b)(i) The commissioner may appoint a person as a correction officer
after such person has attained their eighteenth birthday but before such
person has attained their twenty-first birthday if such person has taken
the civil service examination to become a correction officer on or
before the sixtieth day following the day the commissioner first reports
a staffing capacity of ninety percent or more after the effective date
of this paragraph. This subparagraph shall not be construed to prevent
any person appointed pursuant to this paragraph from continuing to serve
as a correction officer after such date, subject to the restrictions in
subparagraph (ii) of this paragraph.

(ii) A person serving as a correction officer prior to their
twenty-first birthday shall not:

(1) obtain or use a firearm as a peace officer or as any part of their
employment duties;

(2) conduct outside transport of incarcerated individuals, perform
wall tower and arsenal duties, or any other role that requires a
firearm;

(3) perform contact roles with incarcerated individuals without
supervision in their first eighteen months of service as a correction
officer;

(4) provide outside hospital coverage; or

(5) supervise outside work crews or community crews.

(iii) The department shall provide enhanced training and mentorship
programs for correction officers under the age of twenty-one.

(iv) Nothing in this paragraph shall be construed to interfere with or
conflict with the collective bargaining agreement with respect to the
process of bidding on posts, provided that no correction officer may bid
on a post for which they are not eligible pursuant to subparagraph (ii)
of this paragraph.

(c) Within ninety days of the effective date of this paragraph and
quarterly thereafter until the commissioner reports a staffing capacity
of ninety percent or more, the commissioner shall review department
staffing levels and report the department's staffing capacity to the
governor, the temporary president of the senate, the speaker of the
assembly, the minority leader of the senate, and the minority leader of
the assembly and shall post such report on its website.