Bill Text: NJ S4325 | 2026-2027 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Allows certain appointing authorities in Civil Service to hire from or promote within top five eligible candidates for law enforcement officer titles.
Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1)
Status: (Introduced) 2026-05-21 - Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate State Government, Wagering, Tourism & Historic Preservation Committee [S4325 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2026-S4325-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Senator TROY SINGLETON
District 7 (Burlington)
SYNOPSIS
Allows certain appointing authorities in Civil Service to hire from or promote within top five eligible candidates for law enforcement officer titles.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act allowing certain appointing authorities in the Civil Service to hire from or promote within the top five eligible candidates for law enforcement officer titles and amending N.J.S.11A:4-8.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. N.J.S.11A:4-8 is amended to read as follows:
11A:4-8. Certification and appointment. [The] a. Except as provided under subsection b. of this section, the commission shall certify the three eligibles who have received the highest ranking on an open competitive or promotional list against the first provisional or vacancy. For each additional provisional or vacancy against whom a certification is issued at that time, the commission shall certify the next ranked eligible. If more than one eligible has the same score, the tie shall not be broken and they shall have the same rank. If three or more eligibles can be certified as the result of the ranking without resorting to all three highest scores, only those eligibles shall be so certified.
A certification that contains the names of at least three interested eligibles shall be complete and a regular appointment shall be made from among those eligibles. An eligible on an incomplete list shall be entitled to a provisional appointment if a permanent appointment is not made.
Eligibles on any type of reemployment list shall be certified and appointed in the order of their ranking and the certification shall not be considered incomplete.
b. With respect to law enforcement officer titles for positions in a police department of a political subdivision of the State, the commission shall certify the five eligibles who have received the highest ranking on an open competitive or promotional list against the first provisional or vacancy. For each additional provisional or vacancy against whom a certification is issued at that time, the commission shall certify the next ranked eligible. If more than one eligible has the same score, the tie shall not be broken and they shall have the same rank. If five or more eligibles can be certified as the result of the ranking without resorting to all five highest scores, only those eligibles shall be so certified.
A certification that contains the names of at least five interested eligibles shall be complete and a regular appointment shall be made from among those eligibles. An eligible on an incomplete list shall be entitled to a provisional appointment if a permanent appointment is not made.
Eligibles on any type of reemployment list shall be certified and appointed in the order of their ranking and the certification shall not
be considered incomplete.
(cf: P.L.2008, c.29, s.36)
2. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill amends current law to allow certain appointing authorities in Civil Service to hire from or promote within the top five eligible candidates for law enforcement officer titles.
Under current law, appointing authorities regulated by the Civil Service Commission must follow a "rule of three." This rule requires the authority to choose from one of the top three eligible candidates from an open competitive or promotional list, taking into consideration veterans' preference.
This bill amends current law to allow police departments to choose from one of the top five eligible candidates from an open competitive or promotional list for law enforcement titles, taking into consideration veterans' preference. Under the bill, all other appointing authorities regulated by the Civil Service Commission are required to follow the current "rule of three."
