Directs the president of the state civil service commission to conduct a study on job vacancies across state agencies

• Democratic7

◆ The sponsor's argument

Why Robert Jackson says this is needed

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. Indeep, constituents have even reported making weekly phone calls to agendisqor months at a time with- out any sort of response. Without adequate staffing, our State agencies cannot fulfill the crucial responsibilities they have in serving New Yorkers, and without data as to these vacancies, we cannot successfully 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

This is the sponsor's own case for the bill, quoted from their memorandum. It is not Agora's description of what the bill does.