PURSUANT TO THE PROVISIONS OF THE State Administrative Procedure Act, NOTICE is hereby given of the following proposed rule:
Proposed Action:
Amendment of Appendix 1 of Title 4 NYCRR.
Statutory authority:
Civil Service Law, section 6(1)
Subject:
Jurisdictional Classification.
Purpose:
To classify a position in the exempt class.
Text of proposed rule:
Amend Appendix 1 of the Rules for the Classified Service, listing positions in the exempt class, in the Department of Family Assistance under the subheading "Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance," by adding thereto the position of Chief Information Officer.
Text of proposed rule and any required statements and analyses may be obtained from:
Shirley LaPlante, NYS Department of Civil Service, AESSOB, Albany, NY 12239, (518) 473-6598, email: shirley.laplante@cs.state.ny.us
Data, views or arguments may be submitted to:
Mark Worden, Associate Attorney, NYS Department of Civil Service, AESSOB, Albany, NY 12239, (518) 473-2624, email: mark.worden@cs.state.ny.us
Public comment will be received until:
45 days after publication of this notice.
Consolidated Regulatory Impact Statement
1. Statutory authority: The New York State Civil Service Commission is authorized to promulgate rules for the jurisdictional classification of offices within the classified service of the State by Section 6 of the Civil Service Law. In so doing, it is guided by the requirements of Sections 41, 42 and 43 of this same law.
2. Legislative objectives: These rule changes are in accord with the statutory authority delegated to the Civil Service Commission to prescribe rules for the jurisdictional classification of the offices and positions in the classified service of the State.
3. Needs and benefits: Article V, Section 6, of the New York State Constitution requires that, wherever practicable, appointments and promotions in the civil service of the State, including all its civil divisions, are to be made according to merit and fitness. It also requires that competitive examinations be used, as far as practicable, as a basis for establishing this eligibility. This requirement is intended to provide protection for those individuals appointed or seeking appointment to civil service positions while, at the same time, protecting the public by securing for it the services of employees with greater merit and ability. However, as the language suggests, the framers of the Constitution realized it would not always be possible, nor indeed feasible, to fill every position through the competitive process. This point was also recognized by the Legislature for, when it enacted the Civil Service Law to implement this constitutional mandate, it provided basic guidelines for determining which positions were to be outside of the competitive class. These guidelines are contained in Section 41, which provides for the exempt class; 42, the non-competitive class and 43, the labor class. Thus, there are four jurisdictional classes within the classified service of the civil service and any movement between them is termed a jurisdictional reclassification.
The Legislature further established a Civil Service Department to administer this Law and a Civil Service Commission to serve primarily as an appellant body. The Commission has also been given rulemaking responsibility in such areas as the jurisdictional classification of offices within the classified service of the State (Civil Service Law Section 6). In exercising this rule-making responsibility, the Commission has chosen to provide appendices to its rules, known as Rules for the Classified Service, to list those positions in the classified service which are in the exempt class (Appendix 1), non-competitive class (Appendix 2), and labor class (Appendix 3).
In effect, all positions, upon creation at least, are, by constitutional mandate, a part of the competitive class and remain so until removed by the Civil Service Commission, through an amendment of its rules upon showing of impracticability in accordance with the guidelines provided by the Legislature. The guidelines are as follows. The exempt class is to include those positions specifically placed there by the Legislature, together with all other subordinate positions for which there is no requirement that the person appointed pass a civil service examination. Instead, appointments rest in the discretion of the person who, by law, has determined the position's qualifications and whether the persons to be appointed possess those qualifications. The non-competitive class is to be comprised of those positions which are not in the exempt or labor classes and for which the Civil Service Commission has found it impracticable to determine an applicant's merit and fitness through a competitive examination. The qualifications of those candidates selected are to be determined by an examination which is sufficient to insure selection of proper and competent employees. The labor class is to be made up of all unskilled laborers in the service of the State and its civil divisions, except those which can be examined for competitively.
4. Costs: The removal of a position from one jurisdictional class and placement in another is descriptive of the proper placement of the position in question in the classified service, and has no appreciable economic impact for the State or local governments.
5. Local government mandates: These amendments have no impact on local governments. They pertain only to the jurisdictional classification of positions in the State service.
6. Paperwork: There are no new reporting requirements imposed on applicants by these rules.
7. Duplication: These rules are not duplicative of State or Federal requirements.
8. Alternatives: Within the statutory constraints of the New York State Civil Service Commission, it is not believed there is a viable alternative to the jurisdictional classification chosen.
9. Federal standards: There are no parallel Federal standards and, therefore, this is not applicable.
10. Compliance schedule: No action is required by the subject State agencies and, therefore, no estimated time period is required.
Consolidated Regulatory Flexibility Analysis
The proposal does not affect or impact upon small businesses or local governments, as defined by Section 102(8) of the State Administrative Procedure Act, and, therefore, a regulatory flexibility analysis for small businesses is not required by Section 202-b of such act. In light of the fact that this proposal only affects jurisdictional classifications of State employees, it will not have any adverse impact on small businesses or local governments.
Consolidated Rural Area Flexibility Analysis
The proposal does not affect or impact upon rural areas as defined by Section 102(13) of the State Administrative Procedure Act and Section 481(7) of the Executive Law, and, therefore, a rural area flexibility analysis is not required by Section 202-bb of such act. In light of the fact that this proposal only affects jurisdictional classifications of State employees, it will not have any adverse impact on rural areas.
Consolidated Job Impact Statement
The proposal has no impact on jobs and employment opportunities. This proposal only affects the jurisdictional classification of positions in the Classified Civil Service.
