BILL NUMBER: S9264

SPONSOR: HARCKHAM
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the general municipal law, in relation to the completion
of training requirements for sheriffs and undersheriffs

 
PURPOSE:

Relates to the completion of training requirements for sheriffs and
undersheriffs

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1 amends section 209-q of the general municipal law to provided
an exemption for an elected or appointer sheriff, or appointed under-
sheriff, shall not be considered a person who receives such an original
appointment on a permanent basis as a police officer and shall not be
subject to the training requirements of this section.

Section two states the effective date.
              

 
JUSTIFICATION:

Historically, those individuals elected to the office of Sheriff were
granted police officer powers by virtue of simply holding the office.
This was the case since the formal inception of the Office of Sheriff
via the New York State Constitution and remained so even after the
adoption of more formal training requirements for police officers as our
bodies of law evolved and modernized throughout the last century.  With-
out apparent explanation or justification, this consideration for the
Office of Sheriff was stricken from the General Municipal Law as part of
the larger Professional Policing Act of 2020. Whether this was the
underlying intention of the original legislation or not, the unique
nature of the Office of Sheriff warrants a return to the former statuto-
ry scheme with regards to inherent police powers that attach to that
position.

The Office of Sheriff is unique among New York State Law enforcement
entities in two respects. First, it is the only elected law enforcement
position in New York, and the only one that is established in our state
Constitution. A Sheriff, and his or her appointed Undersheriff, right-
fully derive their law enforcement authority from the people who have
chosen to elect them and from the Constitution itself which designates
Sheriffs as conservators of the peace.

There is a practical consideration here as well. There is now a distinct
electoral disadvantage for those candidates for the Office of Sheriff
who do not come from a law enforcement background. Those seekers of the
Office, however, qualified they might otherwise be in government admin-
istration, could be depicted by their opponent who come from a police
background as unfit for that role. This will only serve to diminish the
pool of aspiring public servants who could bring diversity and new
perspectives to the Office of Sheriff.

This bill seeks to excluded Sheriffs and Undersheriffs from the training
required under section 209-q of the general municipal law.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

This is a new bill.

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None to the State.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the thirtieth day after it shall 14 have
become a law.