A5806

An Act permitting counties to recruit and pre-screen applicants for the civil service county correctional officer title, and supplementing Title 11A of the New Jersey Statues.

Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

1. a. The Civil Service Commission shall permit a county correctional department to recruit and pre-screen applicants for an entry level civil service county correctional officer title. The names of the recruited and pre-screened applicants may be submitted by a single county correctional department or jointly with an adjacent county correctional department. A department may submit a list of applicants no more than twice in a calendar year, and at no time shall the list of applicants be fewer than 20 persons.

b. (1) Upon receipt by the commission of the names of the applicants, the commission shall generate a new list of eligibles if no list has been generated within the previous 12 months and the new list shall include any of the applicants who have taken and received a passing score on the most recent unexpired county correctional officer civil service examination.

(2) If any of the applicants have not previously taken and received a passing score on the appropriate civil service examination, the commission shall, at the request of the department or departments, provide an examination for the applicants. At no time shall an examination be provided for fewer than 20 applicants.

Upon completion of the examination, the applicants who received a passing score shall be added to the list of eligibles according to civil service rules and regulations when the new list of eligibles is generated under paragraph (1). The new list shall only be made available to the requesting department or departments.

c. The cost of the examination shall be paid by the department or departments requesting the examination. The testing application fee shall be paid by the applicant according to civil service rules and regulations.

d. All applicants recruited and pre-screened shall be residents of the county in which they are applying for employment or in an adjacent county.

e. The provisions of this act, P.L. , c. (pending before the Legislature as this bill), shall only apply to county correctional departments and shall only apply to the entry level county correctional officer title. A county correctional department may recruit and pre-screen applicants pursuant to subsection a. of this section upon adoption of a resolution by the governing body authorizing such activity and the adoption of a conflict of interest and nepotism policy.

f. The provisions of this act, P.L. , c. (pending before the Legislature as this bill), shall not alter or supersede the civil service veterans preference under Title 11A of the New Jersey Statutes.

g. The Civil Service Commission shall adopt rules and regulations pursuant to the “Administrative Procedure Act,” P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), to effectuate the purposes of this act.

2. This act shall take effect six months next following enactment, except the Civil Service Commission may take any anticipatory administrative action in advance as shall be necessary for the implementation of this act.

STATEMENT

This bill permits county correctional departments to recruit and pre-screen applicants for an entry level civil service county correctional officer title. All of the applicants must live in the county in which they are applying or in the adjacent county. A department may submit the names of the recruited and pre-screened applicants to the Civil Service Commission as a single department or jointly with an adjacent county’s correctional department. The list of applicants cannot be fewer than 20 and a department may submit a list no more than twice a year.

Upon receipt by the commission of the names of the applicants, the commission will generate a new list of eligibles if no list has been generated within the previous 12 months and will include any of the applicants who have taken and received a passing score on the most recent unexpired county correctional officer civil service examination. If any of the applicants have not previously taken and received a passing score on the appropriate civil service examination, the commission will, at the request of the department, provide an examination for the applicants.

Upon completion of the examination, the applicants who received a passing score will be added to the list of eligibles according to civil service rules and regulations when the new list of eligibles is generated. The new list will follow civil service veterans preference rules and regulations.

The department requesting the examination will pay for the examination and the testing application fee will be paid by the applicant according to civil service rules and regulations.