BILL NUMBER:  S288

 TITLE OF BILL :

An act to amend the civil service law, in relation to reporting the
findings of the commission on increasing diversity in the state
government workforce to the governor and the legislature

 PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF THE BILL :

This legislation requires the commission to report findings on
increasing diversity in the state government workforce to the governor
and the legislature.

 SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS :

Section 1: Paragraph (k) of subdivision 3 of section 7-a of the civil
service law, as added by chapter 705 of the laws of 2006, is amended
to read as follows:

(k) (1) shall, on or before April first, two thousand seven, report to
the governor and the legislature its findings, conclusions and
recommendations,

(2) shall, on or before May first, two thousand sixteen, report to the
governor and the legislature on the status of and any actions taken on
              

the recommendations made pursuant to subparagraph one of this
paragraph (k-1), and

(3) shall, on or before December thirty-first. Two thousand seventeen,
report to the governor and the legislature on the status of and any
actions taken on the recommendations made pursuant to subparagraph one
of this paragraph, and which actions have and have not been taken to
provide for diversity in the state government workforce.

 JUSTIFICATION :

A 2005 report by the New York State Assembly Puerto Rican/Hispanic
Task Force, a subsequent public hearing and other meetings with
minority workers has yielded valuable suggestion that need legislative
action to remedy what the 2005 report called, an appalling
under-representation of minorities in civil service and policy making
positions in State government. This is one of 7 proposals put forward
by task force to address the problems.

In 2006, legislation was signed into law creating the Commission on
Increasing Diversity in the State Government Workforce. The Commission
was mandated to produce three reports to detail findings of problems,
outline possible solutions and recommendations and subsequent reports
were to examine of the proposals and recommendations for improvements
were acted upon by the Executive branch and the Department of Civil
Service.

After the initial commission report, there was a change in governors
in New York and the new appointees needed to continue the work of the
commission were never selected by the Executive. This created the
inability for the Commission to carry out its mandated duties as
required by law and the two other reports it was to complete were
never developed.

The first report was instrumental in highlighting the obstacles in
diversifying the state government workforce and led to the creation of
the Chief Diversity Officer in the Executive Chamber. This legislation
intends to ensure that the 2006 Law is followed through and the
Commission completes its work by having the Governor name his

appointees, name the chair and convene the Commission. It is the law
and it should be adhered too.

*In 2005, Hispanics made up over 16% of the entire state population
but accounted for only 3.8 percent or 6.515 of the 169.571 jobs in the
state government workforce. In real terms, this is a decline in close
to 1,000 jobs since 1991 or a 12.2% reduction in the number of
Hispanic state workers. This reduction came during a period when the
Hispanic population in New York grew by 33%.

*In 2015 Hispanics make up almost 19% of the entire state population
but account for 400 less jobs than they had in State government or
6,142 jobs out of 131,800.

*Since 1991, the African-American civil service workforce has seen a
dramatic decline. The 8,836 jobs lost by this group represent a 26.7%
decline in the African-American state workforce. This reduction came
during a period when the African-American population in New York grew
by 13.1%.

*For African-Americans, the loss of the 8,836 jobs at the average
state salary of $53,000 translates into a loss of over $468 million
dollars in annual salaries. For Hispanics their under-representation
translates into a loss of over $860 million in annual salaries.

 PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY :

New legislation. Priority Legislation for the Assembly PR/H Task Force

 FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT :

NONE

 EFFECTIVE DATE :
This act shall take effect immediately.