Login | April 15, 2025
Bill aims to expedite hiring of police officers by certain municipalities
KEITH ARNOLD
Special to the Legal News
Published: April 10, 2025
Lawmakers have proposed a bipartisan bill that would put statutory municipalities on more equal footing with charter villages and cities when it comes to filling police department vacancies.
Reps. Kevin Miller, R-Newark, and Joe Miller, D-Amherst, debuted House Bill 44––legislation that would allow statutory cities to skip the civil service examination process in certain instances when hiring a qualified police officer––to members of the Public Safety Committee this week.
“As the sponsors of this legislation, we believe the civil service process helps determine qualified candidates and still holds value by curbing nepotism and favoritism, however, it has proven to be impractical when regarding lateral transfers,” the lawmakers said in joint testimony.
They explained that when a department seeks to hire an officer under the civil service process, time is needed to not only post the position but also to schedule a test and wait for results.
While police departments in Ohio’s statutory cities must go through this process, however, a charter city can immediately hire a qualified officer and avoid the civil service process, they added.
A statutory municipality is governed by rules laid out in the Ohio Revised Code while a charter municipality makes its own rules.
According to Ohio Legislative Service Commission analysis of the bill, the state director of Administrative Services may suspend the requirement to conduct a civil service examination to fill a vacant position in the classified civil service in a police department in circumstances in which competition is unachievable.
“To have the examination suspended, the appointing authority must submit satisfactory evidence to the director that competition is impracticable and the position can best be filled by a person who holds a specialized certification, possesses peculiar and exceptional qualifications or has completed a police cadet-training program through the police department,” commission Fellow Racheal Vargo wrote in the analysis. “A suspension cannot be general in its application,” however.
The lawmakers noted that legislation would apply only in circumstances in which the exam process is deemed unnecessary and the applicant has exceptional qualifications.
“Filling positions with veteran officers avoids excess time and money and allows for a trained officer to immediately make an impact,” they said. “It is our goal to help the police force work more effectively for community members and get well-trained officers out into the field.”
HB 44 would also allow municipal police chiefs the ability to conduct training schools that align with Ohio Peace Officer Training Academy standards and cadet qualifications for prospective law enforcement officers.
“Upon completion of a training school program, a graduate may be hired directly by the relevant department, provided the graduate also satisfies the requirements for original appointment,” the sponsors said.
The prospective officers, during the training period and as members of the training school, may be paid a reasonable salary, analysis detailed.
A police chief operating such a training program may establish rules consistent with the director’s rules that govern qualifications for admission to training schools and provide for competitive examinations to determine the fitness of the students and prospective officers.
The police chief also may furnish the necessary supplies and equipment for the prospective officers’ use during the training, analysis noted.
Prospective officers participating in such a program would be placed in unclassified civil service.
HB 44 sponsors noted that the provision is permissive and that it in no way would require a police chief to operate a training school.
The bill awaits further consideration by the committee.
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