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

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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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-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          9548

                    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

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

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD15580-02-4
        S. 9548                             2

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

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