BILL NUMBER: S1449
SPONSOR: BORRELLO
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the civil service law and the executive law, in relation
to eliminating the maximum age limitation for appointment as a police
officer or as an environmental conservation officer
 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
This bill eliminates the maximum age for taking the civil service exam-
ination for appointment as a police officer.
 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Sections 1-4. This bill amends section 58 of the civil service law and
section 215 of the executive law to provide that municipalities or state
authorities may not restrict the age of police officers, regional state
park police or any police force or police department of any county,
city, town, village, housing authority, transit authority or police
district, including detectives and investigators, as they pertain to
appointment and eligibility requirements.
Section 5. This act shall take effect immediately.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
The maximum age requirement for police officers to take the civil
service exam was set during a time when the average age life expectancy
for males was forty-eight years of age and for females was fifty-one
years of age. This statistic is now outdated and therefore the law needs
to be changed. Currently, life expectancy in New York is seventy-seven
years of age. Due to restrictions in current law, it is an unfortunate
fact that military veterans retiring from the military are excluded from
civil service positions as police officers if they are over the age
limit. Many are excellent candidates for a law enforcement agency to
hire and could be filling positions and using their expertise and expe-
rience of military service to protect civilians in our state. Instead,
many returning veterans have trouble finding jobs that use the skills
and training they gained during service. Also, many part time officers
with years of experience in a police department are excluded from being
promoted to a full-time position or a position of supervision simply
because they are not on the "eligible list" of those who were able to
take the civil service exam. These part-time employees often do an exem-
plary job in their positions and have the judgment that only comes from
time served on the job. Yet, they are precluded from filling full-time
positions due to the state's civil service law age restrictions.
Currently New Hampshire, Connecticut, Vermont, Maine, Virginia, West
Virginia, Georgia State police Departments and Florida Highway Patrol
have no maximum age limits for civil service exams. this bill dbes not
change the minimum age at which exams may be taken which is twenty-five
years of age. However, it does remove the cap of the age of thirty-five
years.
 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2024: S1115/A2422 Referred to Civil Service and Pensions
2023: S1115/A2422 Referred to Civil Service and Pensions
2022: S4617 Referred to Civil Service and Pensions
2020: A5824 Held for Consideration in Governmental Employees
2019: A5824 Referred to Governmental Employees
2018/2017: S526 Referred to Civil Service and Pensions
2016: S3062-A Recommitted to Civil Service and Pensions
2015: S3062 Reported and Committed to Finance
2014: A6016-A Held for Consideration in Governmental Employees
2013: A6016 Referred to Governmental Employees
2012/11: S838 Referred to Civil Service and Pensions
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
None
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
Immediately
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None.
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.

Statutes affected:
S1449: 58 civil service law, 58(1) civil service law, 58(2) civil service law, 215 executive law, 215(3) executive law