NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A2439
SPONSOR: Aubry TITLE OF BILL:
An act in relation to directing the president of the state civil service
commission to publish reports relating to diversity within the state
government
PURPOSE:
The purpose of this bill is to direct the state's civil service commis-
sion to publish annually, reports concerning the demographic make-up of
the state's workforce and to furnish the legislative leaders with copies
of such reports.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1: The president of the state civil service commission within
the department of civil service is hereby directed to study and publish
annual reports recording data relating to diversity within the state and
civil divisions thereof as well as appointments to all state agencies,
authorities, boards, bureaus, commissions, departments and divisions.
The president of the state civil service commission shall annually
publish such reports and findings. Such reports shall be sent to the
chair of the senate standing committee on investigations and government
operations and to the chair of the assembly standing committee on
governmental employees no later than the first of February in each year.
Section 2: Sets forth the effective date.
JUSTIFICATION:
In previous years the State civil Service Commission published data
relating to diversity within the state Civil Service system. For reasons
left unexplained, the Commission has stopped publishing such reports,
thereby leaving the State Legislature uninformed regarding the statis-
tical makeup of the Civil service sector.
This legislation also requires, publication of this data in addition to
data previously unrecorded. This bill also requires for the acquisition
and publication of data from all sectors of the State Government,
including appointments. It simply seeks solid data which can be used to
measure minority and women hirings by the New York State Government.
A recent study by the Center for Women in Government, entitled Democracy
Unrealized', has shown that Policy Level appointees within the State of
New York are grossly devoid of both minorities and women. Out of sixty-
three (63) policy level appointees, only eighteen (18) are women and of
that eighteen only three (3) are persons of African-American or Latina
background. Of the remaining forty-five (45) male appointees. Only four
(4) are men of African-American or Latino backgrounds. Conspicuously
absent from these appointments are persons of Asian or Native American
backgrounds. This leaves New York State, one of the most diverse States
in the Nation, with one of the lowest rates of diversity for Policy-Lev-
el appointees.
This legislation seeks not to remedy this gross lack of diversity, but
to obtain data that can be used to study and mediate this problem in the
future.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2019-2020: Referred to Governmental Employees in 2019 and Referred to
Governmental Employees in 2020.
2017-2018: Referred to Governmental Employees in 2017 and Referred to
Governmental Employees in 2018.
2015-2016: Referred to Governmental Employees in 2015 and Referred to
Governmental Employees in 2016.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
To be determined.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.
