Directs the president of the state civil service commission to conduct a study on job vacancies across state agencies and determine which, if any, state agencies are understaffed.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A2633
SPONSOR: Lunsford TITLE OF BILL:
An act in relation to directing the president of the state civil service
commission to conduct a study on job vacancies across state agencies
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
Directs the president of the state civil service commission to conduct a
study on job vacancies across state agencies.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1 directs the president of the State Civil Service Commission to
conduct a comprehensive study on the number of job vacancies within
state agencies to determine which agencies are currently understaffed.
Section 2 defines the scope of the study.
Section 3 authorizes the president of the State Civil Service Commission
to request, receive, and utilize resources and data from all state agen-
cies as is necessary to conduct this study.
Section 4 requires the president of the State Civil Service Commission
to report the result of this study within one year of the law's effec-
tive date.
Section 5 is the effective date.
JUSTIFICATION:
Legislators throughout New York State have heard repeated reports of
agencies being significantly understaffed - from agency employees them-
selves struggling to complete their necessary duties with smaller
numbers of co-workers and from constituents trying desperately to
contact these agencies to discuss vital issues ranging from applying for
licenses, to begin their careers to obtaining financial assistance after
income loss, and everything in between. Indeed, constituents have even
reported making weekly phone calls to agencies for months at a time
without any sort of response. Without adequate staffing, our State agen-
cies cannot fulfill the crucial responsibilities they have in serving
New Yorkers, and without data as to these vacancies, we cannot success-
fully address these substantial shortages.
This study would empirically establish the vacancies in our State agen-
cies as well as make recommendations to more successfully fill these
vacancies. This data is crucial to fix the problem of substantial worker
shortages with which our State agencies are currently struggling.
Despite volumes of anecdotal data, obtaining specific information about
the numbers of unfulfilled positions has been difficult to find. Nota-
bly, the limited data we do have indicates a significant problem. The
FY22-23 Executive Budget estimated 182,230 full-time employees as of
March 31, 2022, but the Department of Budget's Mid-Year Update in Novem-
ber 2022 shows that the actual count was 169,340 - almost 13,000 employ-
ees short. This data appears to be the most specific information avail-
able without tasking each agency head to perform their own internal
assessment. A study led by the president of the State Civil Service
Commission will streamline such inquiry and ensure compliance across all
agencies, which will allow for holistic, universal - and not piecemeal
solutions to the State's worker shortage.
PRIOR HISTORY:
2024: Same Bill (A,3236A/Lunsford) Died in Ways & Means
2023: Similar Bill (A.3236/Lunsford) Died in Ways & Means
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
To be determined.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
2633
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
January 21, 2025
___________
Introduced by M. of A. LUNSFORD, COLTON -- read once and referred to the
Committee on Governmental Employees
AN ACT in relation to directing the president of the state civil service
commission to conduct a study on job vacancies across state agencies
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. The president of the state civil service commission shall
2 conduct a comprehensive study on the number of job vacancies within
3 state agencies to determine which agencies are currently understaffed.
4 § 2. 1. Such study shall examine how many full-time and part-time
5 positions are budgeted for in each agency, how many of those budgeted
6 for positions remain vacant, and how long those positions have been
7 vacant.
8 2. Such study shall include recommendations based on the data examined
9 as to whether the state can take additional action to market or inform
10 the public of state job opportunities and if so, what specific actions
11 should be taken.
12 § 3. For the purposes of this section, the president of the state
13 civil service commission may conduct such study in conjunction with any
14 other department, division, board, bureau, commission, agency, or public
15 authority of the state deemed necessary. To the maximum extent feasible,
16 the president of the state civil service commission shall be authorized
17 to request, receive, and utilize such resources and data of any other
18 department, division, board, bureau, commission, agency, or public
19 authority of the state as such president of the state civil service
20 commission may reasonably request to properly carry such president of
21 the state civil service commission's powers and duties pursuant to this
22 act.
23 § 4. The president of the state civil service commission shall report
24 on the results of the study described in this act within one year from
25 the effective date of this act. Such report shall be made publicly
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD04251-01-5
A. 2633 2
1 available online on the New York state department of civil service's
2 website and shall be delivered to the governor, the temporary president
3 of the senate, and the speaker of the assembly.
4 § 5. This act shall take effect immediately.
