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Committee advances bill to let police chiefs set testing dates and increase hiring flexibility
Summary
The committee passed Senate Bill 374 after proponents said the bill updates civil service rules to allow police chiefs to set testing dates and frequency to help address hiring shortages; proponents said civil service retains oversight of testing methods.
Senator Brianne Davis introduced Senate Bill 374 to the City, County & Local Affairs Committee and called Chief David Ewing of the Russellville Police Department and Gary Sykes, director of the Arkansas Association of Chiefs of Police, to explain the measure.
Senator Brianne Davis (State Senate, District 25) said the bill updates antiquated civil service procedures to ease hiring for law enforcement agencies across the state. "Our laws have been antiquated for quite some time, and we're just trying to update for ease of hiring purposes," Davis said.
Chief David Ewing testified to operational challenges under the current civil service process, saying the law historically scheduled testing only at prescribed times and required commission approval for testing dates, which can delay hires. "When you have to go to a commission to set dates for testing ... it creates challenges when you only have a few applicants show up for your testing," Ewing said, describing how short applicant pools and monthly commission calendars can slow hiring and delay sending recruits to the state academy.
Gary Sykes said the Arkansas Association of Chiefs of Police generally supports the proposal and noted most of the state's police chiefs favor allowing departments more discretion to schedule testing while retaining civil service oversight of testing methods. "We're just wanting more control over when and how and how often we test because ... it hampers my ability to exercise that flexibility in the hiring process," Ewing added.
Committee members asked no substantive follow-up questions and no public witnesses spoke for or against the bill. Senator Davis closed debate, moved to pass Senate Bill 374, and the committee approved the motion by voice vote; the transcript records a voice vote and does not include a roll-call tally.
The bill, as described in committee, would shift the operational authority to set testing dates, times and frequency to the police chief while maintaining civil service oversight of testing methodology. Committee proponents said the change is aimed at addressing current statewide law-enforcement hiring shortages.
