As Introduced
136th General Assembly
Regular Session H. B. No. 44
2025-2026
Representatives Miller, J., Miller, K.
A B I L L
To amend sections 124.11 and 124.30 and to enact
section 737.061 of the Revised Code regarding
training schools for prospective law enforcement
officers and filling a vacant police department
position without a competitive examination.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:
Section 1. That sections 124.11 and 124.30 be amended and
section 737.061 of the Revised Code be enacted to read as
follows:
Sec. 124.11. The civil service of the state and the
several counties, cities, civil service townships, city health
districts, general health districts, and city school districts
of the state shall be divided into the unclassified service and
the classified service.
(A) The unclassified service shall comprise the following
positions, which shall not be included in the classified
service, and which shall be exempt from all examinations
required by this chapter:
(1) All officers elected by popular vote or persons
appointed to fill vacancies in those offices;
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(2) All election officers as defined in section 3501.01 of
the Revised Code;
(3)(a) The members of all boards and commissions, and
heads of principal departments, boards, and commissions
appointed by the governor or by and with the governor's consent;
(b) The heads of all departments appointed by a board of
county commissioners;
(c) The members of all boards and commissions and all
heads of departments appointed by the mayor, or, if there is no
mayor, such other similar chief appointing authority of any city
or city school district;
Except as otherwise provided in division (A)(17) or (C) of
this section, this chapter does not exempt the chiefs of police
departments and chiefs of fire departments of cities or civil
service townships from the competitive classified service.
(4) The members of county or district licensing boards or
commissions and boards of revision, and not more than five
deputy county auditors;
(5) All officers and employees elected or appointed by
either or both branches of the general assembly, and employees
of the city legislative authority engaged in legislative duties;
(6) All commissioned, warrant, and noncommissioned
officers and enlisted persons in the Ohio organized militia,
including military appointees in the adjutant general's
department;
(7)(a) All presidents, business managers, administrative
officers, superintendents, assistant superintendents,
principals, deans, assistant deans, instructors, teachers, and
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such employees as are engaged in educational or research duties
connected with the public school system, colleges, and
universities, as determined by the governing body of the public
school system, colleges, and universities;
(b) The library staff of any library in the state
supported wholly or in part at public expense.
(8) Four clerical and administrative support employees for
each of the elective state officers, four clerical and
administrative support employees for each board of county
commissioners and one such employee for each county
commissioner, and four clerical and administrative support
employees for other elective officers and each of the principal
appointive executive officers, boards, or commissions, except
for civil service commissions, that are authorized to appoint
such clerical and administrative support employees;
(9) The deputies and assistants of state agencies
authorized to act for and on behalf of the agency, or holding a
fiduciary or administrative relation to that agency and those
persons employed by and directly responsible to elected county
officials or a county administrator and holding a fiduciary or
administrative relationship to such elected county officials or
county administrator, and the employees of such county officials
whose fitness would be impracticable to determine by competitive
examination, provided that division (A)(9) of this section shall
not affect those persons in county employment in the classified
service as of September 19, 1961. Nothing in division (A)(9) of
this section applies to any position in a county department of
job and family services created pursuant to Chapter 329. of the
Revised Code.
(10) Bailiffs, constables, official stenographers, and
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commissioners of courts of record, deputies of clerks of the
courts of common pleas who supervise or who handle public moneys
or secured documents, and such officers and employees of courts
of record and such deputies of clerks of the courts of common
pleas as the appointing authority finds it impracticable to
determine their fitness by competitive examination;
(11) Assistants to the attorney general, special counsel
appointed or employed by the attorney general, assistants to
county prosecuting attorneys, and assistants to city directors
of law;
(12) Such teachers and employees in the agricultural
experiment stations; such students in normal schools, colleges,
and universities of the state who are employed by the state or a
political subdivision of the state in student or intern
classifications; and such unskilled labor positions as the
director of administrative services, with respect to positions
in the service of the state, or any municipal civil service
commission may find it impracticable to include in the
competitive classified service; provided such exemptions shall
be by order of the commission or the director, duly entered on
the record of the commission or the director with the reasons
for each such exemption;
(13) Any physician or dentist who is a full-time employee
of the department of mental health and addiction services, the
department of developmental disabilities, or an institution
under the jurisdiction of either department; and physicians who
are in residency programs at the institutions;
(14) Up to twenty positions at each institution under the
jurisdiction of the department of mental health and addiction
services or the department of developmental disabilities that
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the department director determines to be primarily
administrative or managerial; and up to fifteen positions in any
division of either department, excluding administrative
assistants to the director and division chiefs, which are within
the immediate staff of a division chief and which the director
determines to be primarily and distinctively administrative and
managerial;
(15) Noncitizens of the United States employed by the
state, or its counties or cities, as physicians or nurses who
are duly licensed to practice their respective professions under
the laws of this state, or medical assistants, in mental or
chronic disease hospitals, or institutions;
(16) Employees of the governor's office;
(17) Fire chiefs and chiefs of police in civil service
townships appointed by boards of township trustees under section
505.38 or 505.49 of the Revised Code;
(18) Executive directors, deputy directors, and program
directors employed by boards of alcohol, drug addiction, and
mental health services under Chapter 340. of the Revised Code,
and secretaries of the executive directors, deputy directors,
and program directors;
(19) Superintendents, and management employees as defined
in section 5126.20 of the Revised Code, of county boards of
developmental disabilities;
(20) Physicians, nurses, and other employees of a county
hospital who are appointed pursuant to sections 339.03 and
339.06 of the Revised Code;
(21) The executive director of the state medical board,
who is appointed pursuant to division (B) of section 4731.05 of
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the Revised Code;
(22) County directors of job and family services as
provided in section 329.02 of the Revised Code and
administrators appointed under section 329.021 of the Revised
Code;
(23) A director of economic development who is hired
pursuant to division (A) of section 307.07 of the Revised Code;
(24) Chiefs of construction and compliance, of operations
and maintenance, of worker protection, and of licensing and
certification in the division of industrial compliance in the
department of commerce;
(25) The executive director of a county transit system
appointed under division (A) of section 306.04 of the Revised
Code;
(26) Up to five positions at each of the administrative
departments listed in section 121.02 of the Revised Code and at
the department of taxation, department of the adjutant general,
department of education, Ohio board of regents, bureau of
workers' compensation, industrial commission, state lottery
commission, opportunities for Ohioans with disabilities agency,
and public utilities commission of Ohio that the head of that
administrative department or of that other state agency
determines to be involved in policy development and
implementation. The head of the administrative department or
other state agency shall set the compensation for employees in
these positions at a rate that is not less than the minimum
compensation specified in pay range 41 but not more than the
maximum compensation specified in pay range 47 of salary
schedule E-2 in section 124.152 of the Revised Code. The
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authority to establish positions in the unclassified service
under division (A)(26) of this section is in addition to and
does not limit any other authority that an administrative
department or state agency has under the Revised Code to
establish positions, appoint employees, or set compensation.
(27) Employees of the department of agriculture employed
under section 901.09 of the Revised Code;
(28) For cities, counties, civil service townships, city
health districts, general health districts, and city school
districts, the deputies and assistants of elective or principal
executive officers authorized to act for and in the place of
their principals or holding a fiduciary relation to their
principals;
(29) Employees who receive intermittent or temporary
appointments under division (B) (C) of section 124.30 of the
Revised Code;
(30) Employees appointed to administrative staff positions
for which an appointing authority is given specific statutory
authority to set compensation;
(31) Employees appointed to highway patrol cadet or
highway patrol cadet candidate classifications;
(32) Employees appointed to participate in a prospective
law enforcement training school under section 737.061 of the
Revised Code;
(33) Employees placed in the unclassified service by
another section of the Revised Code.
(B) The classified service shall comprise all persons in
the employ of the state and the several counties, cities, city
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health districts, general health districts, and city school
districts of the state, not specifically included in the
unclassified service. Upon the creation by the board of trustees
of a civil service township civil service commission, the
classified service shall also comprise, except as otherwise
provided in division (A)(17) or (C) of this section, all persons
in the employ of a civil service township police or fire
department having ten or more full-time paid employees. The
classified service consists of two classes, which shall be
designated as the competitive class and the unskilled labor
class.
(1) The competitive class shall include all positions and
employments in the state and the counties, cities, city health
districts, general health districts, and city school districts
of the state, and, upon the creation by the board of trustees of
a civil service township of a township civil service commission,
all positions in a civil service township police or fire
department having ten or more full-time paid employees, for
which it is practicable to determine the merit and fitness of
applicants by competitive examinations. Appointments shall be
made to, or employment shall be given in, all positions in the
competitive class that are not filled by promotion,
reinstatement, transfer, or reduction, as provided in this
chapter, and the rules of the director of administrative
services, by appointment from those certified to the appointing
officer in accordance with this chapter.
(2) The unskilled labor class shall include ordinary
unskilled laborers. Vacancies in the labor class for positions
in service of the state shall be filled by appointment from
lists of applicants registered by the director or the director's
designee. Vacancies in the labor class for all other positions
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shall be filled by appointment from lists of applicants
registered by a commission. The director or the commission, as
applicable, by rule, shall require an applicant for registration
in the labor class to furnish evidence or take tests as the
director or commission considers proper with respect to age,
residence, physical condition, ability to labor, honesty,
sobriety, industry, capacity, and experience in the work or
employment for which application is made. Laborers who fulfill
the requirements shall be placed on the eligible list for the
kind of labor or employment sought, and preference shall be
given in employment in accordance with the rating received from
that evidence or in those tests. Upon the request of an
appointing officer, stating the kind of labor needed, the pay
and probable length of employment, and the number to be
employed, the director or commission, as applicable, shall
certify from the highest on the list double the number to be
employed; from this number, the appointing officer shall appoint
the number actually needed for the particular work. If more than
one applicant receives the same rating, priority in time of
application shall determine the order in which their names shall
be certified for appointment.
(C) A municipal or civil service township civil service
commission may place volunteer firefighters who are paid on a
fee-for-service basis in either the classified or the
unclassified civil service.
(D)(1) This division does not apply to persons in the
unclassified service who have the right to resume positions in
the classified service under sections 4121.121, 5119.18,
5120.38, 5120.381, 5120.382, 5123.08, and 5139.02 of the Revised
Code or to cities, counties, or political subdivisions of the
state.
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(2) A person who holds a position in the classified
service of the state and who is appointed to a position in the
unclassified service shall retain the right to resume the
position and status held by the person in the classified service
immediately prior to the person's appointment to the position in
the unclassified service, regardless of the number of positions
the person held in the unclassified service. An employee's right
to resume a position in the classified service may only be
exercised when an appointing authority demotes the employee to a
pay range lower than the employee's current pay range or revokes
the employee's appointment to the unclassified service and any
of the following apply:
(a) That person held a certified position prior to July 1,
2007, in the classified service within the appointing
authority's agency;
(b) That person held a permanent position on or after July
1, 2007, in the classified service within the appointing
authority's agency, and was appointed to the position in the
unclassified service prior to January 1, 2016;
(c) That person held a permanent position on or after
January 1, 2016, in the classified service within the appointing
authority's agency, and is within five years from the effective
date of the person's appointment in the unclassified service.
(3) An employee forfeits the right to resume a position in
the classified service when:
(a) The employee is removed from the position in the
unclassified service due to incompetence, inefficiency,
dishonesty, drunkenness, immoral conduct, insubordination,
discourteous treatment of the public, neglect of duty, violation
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of this chapter or the rules of the director of administrative
services, any other failure of good behavior, any other acts of
misfeasance, malfeasance, or nonfeasance in office, or
conviction of a felony while employed in the civil service; or
(b) Upon transfer to a different agency.
(4) Reinstatement to a position in the classified service
shall be to a position substantially equal to that position in
the classified service held previously, as certified by the
director of administrative services. If the position the person
previously held in the classified service has been placed in the
unclassified service or is otherwise unavailable, the person
shall be appointed to a position in the classified service
within the appointing authority's agency that the director of
administrative services certifies is comparable in compensation
to the position the person previously held in the classified
service. Service in the position in the unclassified service
shall be counted as service in the position in the classified
service held by the person immediately prior to the person's
appointment to the position in the unclassified service. When a
person is reinstated to a position in the classified service as
provided in this division, the person is entitled to all rights,
status, and benefits accruing to the position in the classified
service during the person's time of service in the position in
the unclassified service.
Sec. 124.30. (A) Classified positions in the civil service
may be filled without competition as follows:
(1) Whenever there are urgent reasons for filling a
vacancy in any position in the classified civil service and the
director of administrative services is unable to certify to the
appointing authority, upon its request, a list of persons
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eligible for appointment to the position after a competitive
examination, the appointing authority may fill the position by
noncompetitive examination.
A temporary appointment may be made without regard to the
rules of sections 124.01 to 124.64 of the Revised Code. Except
as otherwise provided in this division, the temporary
appointment may not continue longer than one hundred twenty
days, and in no case shall successive temporary appointments be
made. A temporary appointment longer than one hundred twenty
days may be made if necessary by reason of sickness, disability,
or other approved leave of absence of regular officers or
employees, in which case it may continue during the period of
sickness, disability, or other approved leave of absence,
subject to the rules of the director.
(2) In case of a vacancy in a position in the classified
civil service where peculiar and exceptional qualifications of a
scientific, managerial, professional, or educational character
are required, and upon satisfactory evidence that for specified
reasons competition in this special case is impracticable and
that the position can best be filled by a selection of some
designated person of high and recognized attainments in those
qualities, the director may suspend the provisions of sections
124.01 to 124.64 of the Revised Code that require competition in
this special case, but no suspension shall be general in its
application. All such cases of suspension shall be reported in
the annual report of the director with the reasons for each
suspension. The director shall suspend the provisions when
either of the following applies:
(a) The director of job and family services provides the
certification under section 5101.051 of the Revised Code that a
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position with the department of job and family services can best
be filled if the provisions are suspended;
(b) The medicaid director provides the certification under
section 5160.051 of the Revised Code that a position with the
department of medicaid can best be filled if the provisions are
suspended.
(3) Except as provided in division (D) of this section, in
case of a vacancy in a position in the classified civil service
in a police department, on satisfactory evidence that for
specified reasons competition in this special case is
impracticable and that the position can best be filled by a
selection of some designated person holding a specialized
certification, possessing peculiar and exceptional
qualifications, or having completed a police cadet training
program through the police department, the director of
administrative services may suspend the provisions of sections
124.01 to 124.64 of the Revised Code that require competition in
this special case, but no suspension shall be general in its
application.
(B) The acceptance or refusal by an eligible person of a
temporary appointment under division (A)(1) of this section
shall not affect the person's standing on the eligible list for
permanent appointment, nor shall the period of temporary service
be counted as a part of the probationary service in case of
subsequent appointment to a permanent position.
(B) (C) Persons who receive temporary or intermittent
appointments under division (A)(1) of this section are in the
unclassified civil service and serve at the pleasure of their
appointing authority.
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(D) Division (A)(3) of this section does not apply to a
vacancy in a position in the classified civil service in a
police department that must be filled by promotion as prescribed
in section 124.44 of the Revised Code.
Sec. 737.061. (A) The chief of police of a municipal
corporation may conduct training schools for prospective law
enforcement officers. The training school programs shall align
with Ohio peace officer training academy standards and cadet
qualifications. The prospective officers, during the period of
training and as members of the training school, may be paid a
reasonable salary. The chief of police may furnish the necessary
supplies and equipment for the use of the prospective officers
during the training period.
(B) The chief of police may establish rules governing the
qualifications for admission to training schools for prospective
officers and provide for competitive examinations to determine
the fitness of the students and prospective officers, not
inconsistent with the rules of the director of administrative
services.
(C) Upon completion of a training school program
established under this section, a program graduate may be hired
directly by the relevant department, provided the graduate also
satisfies the requirements for original appointment under
section 109.77 of the Revised Code.
Section 2. That existing sections 124.11 and 124.30 of the
Revised Code are hereby repealed.
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