Section 21 Promotion of Uniformed Members of the State Police 3

Said chapter 22C, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out section 26 and inserting in place thereof the following 2 sections:-
Section 26. (a) The colonel may promote uniformed members of the state police who are deemed eligible for promotion by the colonel to the title of noncommissioned officer or lieutenant. Promotional examinations to the title of noncommissioned officer or lieutenant shall include a written test and may include an assessment process designed to evaluate a member's knowledge, skills, and abilities related to the position. The assessment process, if utilized, and the written test shall be developed in consultation with, and validated by, a certified organizational psychologist. A total promotional score shall be based on the uniformed member's promotional examination score and a longevity score. The colonel shall promulgate regulations relative to the validation of promotional examinations, the specific components of promotional examinations, the weighting of such components, and the calculation and weighting of longevity scores.
(b) For a uniformed member who is a veteran, the regulations shall provide for the uniformed member's promotional score on the written examination to be increased by 2 per cent, and may provide for veteran status to be recognized in other ways in the promotional examination process.
(c) The colonel may promulgate regulations providing for minimum scores on the promotional examination, or portions thereof, to be met by uniformed members to be eligible for promotion. Such minimum scores must be set in consultation with a certified organizational psychologist before or after administration of the relevant examination.
(d) To be eligible to participate in a promotional examination for the title of noncommissioned officer, a uniformed member must, at a minimum, have completed not less than 5 years of service as a uniformed member immediately before the final date for the filing of applications for such examination and have completed, in the immediately preceding year, 1 full year of service in the next lower rank or title. To be eligible to participate in a promotional examination for the title of lieutenant, a uniformed member must at a minimum have completed at least 1 year of service in the next lower rank or title immediately before the final date for the filing of applications for such examination and have completed not less than 8 years of service as a uniformed member prior to the final date for filing applications for such examination.
(e) Prior to making any promotions under this section, the colonel shall publish and distribute in the orders of the department for each title in the department a list of the members who are eligible for promotion to each such title. Each eligible list for promotion shall be used by the colonel to fill vacancies for a period of not less than 2 years and in no circumstances more than 5 years from the initial date of publication; provided, however, that the colonel may shorten the period to less than 2 years if the colonel reasonably determines that termination of the eligible list is required to avoid a violation of law.
(f) The colonel shall promulgate regulations detailing how selections for promotion are to be made from the list of eligible members. The regulations may allow for the grouping of the eligibility list into bands, based on promotional scores.
Section 26A. (a) Promotions to the title of captain shall be authorized by the colonel. To be eligible for promotion to the title of captain, a uniformed member must: (i) successfully pass a promotional examination which may include a written test, an assessment process designed to evaluate a member's knowledge, skills, and abilities related to the position, or some combination of the two; (ii) have at least 2 cumulative years of service in the title of lieutenant or detective lieutenant before the final date for the filing of applications for the promotional examination; and (iii) have at least 15 years of service as a uniformed member before the final date for the filing of applications for the promotional examination. The assessment process, if utilized, and the written test, if utilized, shall be developed in consultation with, and validated by, a certified organizational psychologist.
(b) The colonel may promulgate regulations providing additional promotional criteria for the title of captain, which may include demonstration of leadership attributes, employment history inside and outside of the department, disciplinary history, professional development, or other criteria the colonel reasonably concludes are related to the performance of the job of captain.

This section, along with other related sections, modernizes the promotional examination process for uniformed members of the State Police by eliminating the requirement that the colonel proceed only by written examinations and permitting use of validated assessment processes designed to evaluate members' relevant knowledge, skills, and abilities.