§ 59. Placement of county sheriffs' personnel in classified service. 1. The legislature hereby finds that the continued, uninterrupted, adequate and efficient operation of the sheriff's department in counties in New York state outside the city of New York is necessary for the general welfare of the people of such counties; that such adequate operation involves and requires personnel with highly specialized ability, skill, training and knowledge, integrated and unified by practical experience; that the January first, nineteen hundred ninety amendment to subdivision (a) of section thirteen of article thirteen of the New York state constitution brings appointees of a county sheriff into the classified service of the civil service; that to require competitive examination for valid appointment of appointees of the county sheriff within the classified service would irreparably disorganize county sheriffs' departments and endanger the public safety, interrupt the continuance and performance of the important services performed by such sheriff's departments, and place an undue financial burden on their respective counties.

2. Notwithstanding the provisions of this chapter or any provisions to the contrary contained in any general, special, or local laws, all lawful appointees of a county sheriff employed as of the effective date of this section whose employments hereinbefore were considered not to be subject to the civil service law, shall continue to hold their positions without further examination or qualification and shall have all the rights and privileges of the jurisdictional classification to which such positions may be allocated in the classified service of the county in which they are employed.