Section 42. Non-competitive class

1. The   non-competitive   class  shall
  include all positions that are not in the  exempt  class  or  the  labor
  class and for which it is found by the commission having jurisdiction to
  be  not  practicable to ascertain the merit and fitness of applicants by
  competitive   examination.      Appointments   to   positions   in   the
  non-competitive   class   shall   be  made  after  such  non-competitive
  examination as is prescribed by the state civil  service  department  or
  municipal  commission  having jurisdiction.  No position shall be deemed
  to be in the non-competitive class unless it is  specifically  named  in
  such  class in the rules. Not more than one appointment shall be made to
  or  under  the  title  of  any  office  or  position   placed   in   the
  non-competitive class pursuant to the provisions of this section, unless
  a  different  or  an  unlimited number is specifically prescribed in the
  rules.
    2. With respect to civil divisions of  the  state  whose  populations,
  according  to  the  latest  federal  decennial  census or latest federal
  special population census, are less than five thousand and, with respect
  to those civil divisions whose populations are not determined as such by
  the federal bureau of the census, whose  populations  are  estimated  by
  their  respective  governing  bodies  to be less than five thousand, the
  state commission shall,  on  or  before  July  first,  nineteen  hundred
  sixty-one,  promulgate  standards  for  determining  the practicality of
  examination, which it may from time to time thereafter amend, and  shall
  also  provide information and advice to municipal commissions, to enable
  such commissions  to  utilize  the  provisions  of  this  section,  when
  appropriate,  in  order to enable such civil subdivisions to recruit and
  retain in their employ competent and qualified persons.
    2-a. The state or municipal civil service  commission  by  appropriate
  amendments   to  its  rules  shall  designate  among  positions  in  the
  non-competitive class in its  jurisdiction  those  positions  which  are
  confidential or require the performance of functions influencing policy.