Bill Text: NY S09548 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Amended

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Bill Title: Removes the citizenship requirement for police officers and firefighters; extends eligibility to those legally authorized to work in the United States under federal law.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-06-17 - PRINT NUMBER 9548A [S09548 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-S09548-Amended.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                         9548--A

                    IN SENATE

                                      May 16, 2024
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  Sen. SALAZAR -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
          printed to be committed  to  the  Committee  on  Local  Government  --
          committee  discharged,  bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and
          recommitted to said committee

        AN ACT to amend the general municipal law and the public  officers  law,
          in  relation  to removing the citizenship requirement for police offi-
          cers and firefighters

          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section  1.  This  act  shall be known and may be cited as the "we too
     2  serve NY act".
     3    § 2.  The general municipal law is amended by  adding  a  new  section
     4  209-h to read as follows:
     5    § 209-h. Citizenship requirements of police officers and firefighters.
     6  Notwithstanding any general, special or local law or administrative code
     7  to  the  contrary,  the  local  governing  bodies of the several cities,
     8  towns, villages, police and fire  districts  of  the  state  are  hereby
     9  authorized  to  remove, by local law, rule or ordinance, any citizenship
    10  requirements from the qualifications of police officers  and  firefight-
    11  ers.
    12    § 3. Subdivision 1 of section 3 of the public officers law, as amended
    13  by chapter 251 of the laws of 2014, is amended to read as follows:
    14    1. No person shall be capable of holding a civil office who shall not,
    15  at  the  time  [he  or  she]  such  person shall be chosen thereto, have
    16  attained the age of eighteen years, except that in  the  case  of  youth
    17  boards,  youth  commissions, recreation commissions, or community boards
    18  in the city of New York only, members of such boards or commissions  may
    19  be  under  the  age of eighteen years, but must have attained the age of
    20  sixteen years on or  before  appointment  to  such  youth  board,  youth
    21  commission, recreation commission, or community board in the city of New
    22  York, be a citizen of the United States or legally authorized to work in
    23  the  United States under federal law, a resident of the state, and if it
    24  be a local office, a resident of the political subdivision or  municipal
    25  corporation  of  the  state  for  which [he or she] such person shall be

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD15580-03-4
        S. 9548--A                          2

     1  chosen, or within which the electors electing [him or her]  such  person
     2  reside,  or  within  which [his or her] such person's official functions
     3  are required to be exercised[, or  who  shall  have  been  or  shall  be
     4  convicted  of  a  violation  of  the  selective  draft act of the United
     5  States, enacted May eighteenth, nineteen hundred seventeen, or the  acts
     6  amendatory or supplemental thereto, or of the federal selective training
     7  and service act of nineteen hundred forty or the acts amendatory thereof
     8  or supplemental thereto].
     9    § 4. Subdivision 1 of section 3-b of the public officers law, as sepa-
    10  rately  amended  by chapters 263 and 371 of the laws of 2021, is amended
    11  to read as follows:
    12    1. No sheriff of a county, mayor of a  city,  or  official,  or  other
    13  persons  authorized  by  law to appoint special deputy sheriffs, special
    14  constables, marshals, police officers, or peace officers in this  state,
    15  to preserve the public peace or quell public disturbance, shall hereaft-
    16  er,  at  the instance of any agent, society, association or corporation,
    17  or  otherwise,  appoint  as  such  special  deputy,  special  constable,
    18  marshal, police officer, or peace officer, any person who shall not be a
    19  citizen of the United States or legally authorized to work in the United
    20  States  under  federal  law and a resident of the state of New York, and
    21  entitled to vote therein at the time of [his] such person's appointment,
    22  and a resident of the same county as the mayor or sheriff or other offi-
    23  cial making such appointment; provided, however, that when, in the judg-
    24  ment of a sheriff of a county except those counties within the  city  of
    25  New  York a situation exists which requires temporary additional assist-
    26  ance, such sheriff may appoint special deputy sheriffs who are non-resi-
    27  dents of the county but residents of the state of  New  York  who  shall
    28  hold  office  until  such time as the appointing sheriff determines that
    29  the situation no longer exists; and no person shall assume  or  exercise
    30  the  functions,  powers,  duties or privileges incident and belonging to
    31  the office of  special  deputy  sheriff,  special  constables,  marshal,
    32  police  officer,  or  peace officer, without having first received [his]
    33  appointment in writing from the authority lawfully appointing [him] such
    34  person.  Nothing herein contained, however, shall apply to the  appoint-
    35  ment  of  a non-resident, as an emergency special deputy sheriff, by the
    36  sheriff of any county to act when such sheriff has declared a  state  of
    37  special  emergency  pursuant  to  the  provisions of section two hundred
    38  nine-f of the general municipal law. Provided further, that  any  person
    39  otherwise  qualified  who  resides in either the county of Nassau or the
    40  county of Suffolk may at the instance of a society for the prevention of
    41  cruelty to animals be appointed as a peace officer  by  the  appropriate
    42  appointing official of either of such counties notwithstanding that such
    43  appointee does not reside in the same county as the appointing official.
    44  Provided,  further,  that  any  person qualified who resides in a county
    45  adjacent to the county of Allegany may at the instance  of  the  society
    46  for  the  prevention of cruelty to animals for the county of Allegany be
    47  appointed as a peace officer by the appropriate appointing  official  of
    48  the county of Allegany. Provided, further, that any person qualified who
    49  resides in a county adjacent to the county of Albany may at the instance
    50  of  the  society for the prevention of cruelty to animals for the county
    51  of Albany be appointed as a peace officer by the appropriate  appointing
    52  official  of  the  county  of Albany. Provided, further, that any person
    53  otherwise qualified who resides in the county of Orange  or  Westchester
    54  may  at  the  instance  of  the society for the prevention of cruelty to
    55  animals for the county of Rockland be appointed as a  peace  officer  by
    56  the appropriate appointing official of the county of Rockland. Provided,
        S. 9548--A                          3

     1  further,  that  any person qualified who resides in a county adjacent to
     2  the county of Putnam  may  at  the  instance  of  the  society  for  the
     3  prevention  of  cruelty to animals for the county of Putnam be appointed
     4  as  a peace officer by the appropriate appointing official in the county
     5  of Putnam. Provided, further, that any person qualified who resides in a
     6  county adjacent to the county of Monroe  may  at  the  instance  of  the
     7  Humane  Society  of  Rochester  and  Monroe County for the Prevention of
     8  Cruelty to Animals, Inc., doing business as Lollypop Farm, be  appointed
     9  as  a peace officer by the appropriate appointing official in the county
    10  of Monroe.
    11    § 5. This act shall take effect immediately.