BILL NUMBER: S4819     Revised 2/5/24

SPONSOR: JACKSON
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the retirement and social security law, in relation to
waiving the earning limitations for retired sworn officers employed by a
district attorney as investigators

 
PURPOSE:

The purpose of this bill is to allow retired former sworn police detec-
tives and investigators to become employed by a District Attorney as
sworn police detective and investigator within a district attorney's
office without requiring a 211 waiver.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1 adds a new subdivision 4 to Section 212 of the Retirement and
Social

Security Law that waives the earnings limitation for retired sworn offi-
              

cers employed by a district attorney as investigators.

Section 2 is the effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

During the COVID-19 pandemic, our courts have struggled to adjudicate
cases in a timely manner creating a significant backlog. Given this
fact, more than ever, it is important that our District Attorneys

(DAs) have all the personnel and resources they need to carry out the
charge of their offices. Key to this endeavor are District Attorney
Investigators. These investigators play a critical role in enabling DAs
to bring cases to court and administer justice on behalf of their commu-
nities. These investigators are unique in that they must perform the
duties of a detective investigator immediately after being appointed.

This is unlike traditional police departments in that in most cases,
detectives in other departments obtain their experience from working on
patrol in uniform. District Attorney Investigators are employed because
they already possess the experience and skills needed to perform the
job. Since prior investigative experience is required, the candidate
pool for this job is vastly limited.

Currently, most qualified candidates for the job need to obtain a 211
waiver, which can be an onerous and burdensome process. Moreover, this
requirement often impedes District Attorney's offices ability to recruit
and retain investigators. If this bill is enacted, District Attorneys
would have the ability to hire these uniquely qualified candidates with-
out having to wait for a 211 waiver, which would allow them to start
handling cases immediately and would also prevent impeding ongoing
investigations by a particular detective awaiting approval.

Do to the unique requirements to be a District Attorney Investigator you
would to have completed the NYS requirements of a Prior Police Officer
and Investigator. These requirements consist of over 390 hours of train-
ing and over 40 topics. The proposed minimum training standards would
apply to all DA investigators hired on or after March 9, 2022. The
majority of DA investigators hired possess a valid Basic Course for
Police Officer Certification which exceeds the Specialized Police Inves-
tigator Course minimum training. Therefore this is of no cost to New
York State.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

2021-2022: S.9329 - Referred to Civil Service and Pensions/A.10423
Referred to Governmental Employees

 
STATE AND LOCAL FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

There is no cost to the New York State.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.