Session Laws

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:

Notwithstanding the provisions of any general or special law to the contrary, the personnel administrator is hereby authorized to administer a pilot project to determine if alternative methods of certification for employment in the service of the commonwealth are feasible or desirable. Said pilot project shall be developed in accordance with basic merit principles as defined in section one of chapter thirty-one of the General Laws; provided, however, that, except as specifically provided herein, said pilot project shall be administered in accordance with the provisions of said chapter thirty-one. The pilot project shall be based on the eligible list established pursuant to the civil service examination administered April sixteenth, nineteen hundred and eighty-eight for the titles of Accountant I; Accountant II; Accountant III; Accountant IV; Accountant V; Accountant, Bureau of Accounts, D.O.R. I; Accountant, Bureau of Accounts, D.O.R. II; Accountant, Bureau of Accounts, D.O.R. III; Accountant, Bureau of Accounts, D.O.R. IV; Accountant, Bureau of Accounts, D.O.R. V; Auditor I; Auditor II; Auditor III; Auditor IV; Budget Examiner I; Budget Examiner II; Budget Examiner III; Institution Treasurer I and Institution Treasurer II, each of which has been determined by the labor relations commission to bargain collectively with unit one or six.

All appointments pursuant to said pilot project shall be made only after a certification of names of the individuals determined by the said personnel administrator to be eligible for appointment to positions in the pilot project titles listed above; provided, however, that each certification shall be issued in accordance with so much of the provisions of section twenty-six of said chapter thirty-one that allows a preference for disabled veterans and for veterans in competitive examinations with the provisions of sections forty-seven and forty-seven A of said chapter thirty-one that allow a preference for mentally retarded or disadvantaged persons, with the provisions of section twenty-six of chapter seven hundred and sixty-seven of the acts of nineteen hundred and eighty-one, with so much of the provisions of federal law that allows a preference for persons for whom it has been determined that there is a past practice of discrimination on the basis of race, color, sex or national origin and with the provisions of any federal court order or consent decree amending the issuance of certifications. When certifying names of eligible candidates for appointment to a position pursuant to said pilot project, the personnel administrator, after a determination that the nature of the essential functions and duties of the specific position mandates special qualifications in addition to those tested and measured by the multiple-choice test battery, may certify first the names of eligible candidates who have proven they possess such additional qualifications. For the purposes of said pilot project, the personnel administrator shall certify the names of eligible candidates in the following order according to their scores: (1) candidates who are civil service employees in the department as of the date of such examination; (2) candidates who have been provisionally appointed in accordance with the provisions of said chapter thirty-one to a position in the department for at least one year prior to the date of such examination; and (3), all other candidates. For the purpose of certifying names of persons eligible for appointment in accordance with the provisions of said pilot project, when an appointing authority requests the names of individuals to be considered for appointment and the number of appointments actually to be made is n, the appointing authority may select from the first 2n + 1 candidates named in the certification who are willing to accept the appointment; provided, however, that if an appointing authority makes an appointment of any qualified person other than the qualified person willing to accept the appointment whose name appears highest, the appointing authority shall submit a written statement of his reasons for appointing the person whose name was not highest. All appointments from such certification shall be effective only when such statement of reasons has been received and approved by the personnel administrator.

No provision of this act shall be deemed to limit the appeal rights of civil service employees or applicants under the provisions of said chapter thirty-one nor shall it affect the seniority rights of any permanent civil service employee. Nothing in this act shall be deemed to relieve the personnel administrator or any appointing authority of responsibilities under said chapter thirty-one or any other general or special law, except as specifically provided herein.

The personnel administrator shall report to the general court the results of the pilot project and his recommendations, if any, together with drafts of legislation necessary to carry such recommendations into effect, by filing the same with the clerks of the house of representatives and the senate on or before December thirty-first, nineteen hundred and ninety.