§ 59. Placement of county sheriffs' personnel in classified service.
1. The legislature hereby finds that the continued, uninterrupted,
adequate and efficient operation of the sheriff's department in counties
in New York state outside the city of New York is necessary for the
general welfare of the people of such counties; that such adequate
operation involves and requires personnel with highly specialized
ability, skill, training and knowledge, integrated and unified by
practical experience; that the January first, nineteen hundred ninety
amendment to subdivision (a) of section thirteen of article thirteen of
the New York state constitution brings appointees of a county sheriff
into the classified service of the civil service; that to require
competitive examination for valid appointment of appointees of the
county sheriff within the classified service would irreparably
disorganize county sheriffs' departments and endanger the public safety,
interrupt the continuance and performance of the important services
performed by such sheriff's departments, and place an undue financial
burden on their respective counties.

2. Notwithstanding the provisions of this chapter or any provisions to
the contrary contained in any general, special, or local laws, all
lawful appointees of a county sheriff employed as of the effective date
of this section whose employments hereinbefore were considered not to be
subject to the civil service law, shall continue to hold their positions
without further examination or qualification and shall have all the
rights and privileges of the jurisdictional classification to which such
positions may be allocated in the classified service of the county in
which they are employed.