AN ACT RELATIVE TO THE CIVIL SERVICE RIGHTS OF CERTAIN INTERMITTENT POLICE OFFICERS AND FIREFIGHTERS.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
SECTION 1. Chapter 31 of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting after section 60 the following section:-
Section 60A. (a) Notwithstanding the provisions of section 60 to the contrary, this section shall apply to a city or town that has an intermittent or reserve police or fire force and that accepts this section by majority vote of the selectmen of a town or of the city council of a city, subject to its charter.
(b) A member of an intermittent or reserve police or fire force who, after being duly certified on three occasions, refuses employment on a permanent basis in the regular police or fire force shall not be eligible for further certification for appointment to that force and, notwithstanding sections 41, 43 and 44 or any other law, shall cease to be a member of such intermittent or reserve police or fire force. But no such member shall cease to be such a member as a result of having so refused such employment on three such occasions if he shall have submitted to the appointing authority, in writing, on a form or in such manner to be prescribed by the administrator, not later than such third refusal, an irrevocable request by such member not to be so terminated from the intermittent or reserve police or fire force. No such member who is so exempted from such termination shall be counted for the purpose of determining the size of such intermittent or reserve force. The refusal of any such member to accept appointment to the regular force made while he was serving in the armed forces of the United States shall not be included among the refusals referred to in this paragraph.
(c) The appointing authority shall send to the administrator a notice of termination of service of any such member that occurs pursuant to this paragraph. Such notice shall set forth the occasion of each refusal and the date of termination of service of such member. The appointing authority shall send to the administrator a copy of an irrevocable request by any member not to be terminated from the intermittent or reserve police or fire force indicating the date on which such request was received. The administrator shall deny any request of a member of an intermittent or reserve police or fire force that he not be certified in any instance for appointment to the regular force.
(d) This section shall not prevent the appointment to the regular fire force of a city or town of a call firefighter under any general or special law.
SECTION 2. Any person whose membership as an intermittent or reserve police officer or firefighter was terminated within the two years receding the effective date of this act pursuant to section 60 of chapter 31 of the General Laws as a result of having refused employment on a permanent basis in the regular police or fire force on three such occasions may be restored to such intermittent or reserve position if he submits to the appointing authority, in writing, on a form or in a manner to be prescribed by the administrator, not later than 90 days immediately following the date of acceptance of section 60A of said chapter 31 by the city or town from which such person was so terminated, a request by such member to be so restored. No such member who is so restored shall be counted for the purpose of determining the size of such intermittent or reserve force.
The appointing authority shall send to the administrator a copy of a request by any member to be restored to the intermittent or reserve police or fire force indicating the date on which such request was received.