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Committee reviews bill to ease lateral police hires and allow municipal cadet training
Summary
House Bill 44 would let statutory cities waive civil-service exams for certain qualified lateral hires and allow municipal chiefs to operate cadet training programs aligned with state standards.
Representatives Joe Miller and Kevin Miller testified in favor of House Bill 44, which would allow police departments in statutory cities to fill some vacancies without a civil-service exam when the department shows the competitive component is unnecessary and the applicant has exceptional qualifications. The bill also would permit municipal police chiefs to run training schools for cadets consistent with Ohio Peace Officer Training Academy standards, allowing graduates to be hired directly if they meet other appointment requirements.
"Filling positions with veteran officers avoids excessive time and money and allows for a trained officer to immediately make an impact," one sponsor said, noting charter cities already have similar authority.
Sponsors said the measure is permissive and aims to align statutory cities with charter cities, reducing months-long delays for lateral transfers. They described the change as focused on bringing already-qualified officers into service without waiting for civil-service postings and testing cycles.
Members asked for detail on scope and safeguards. Representative Brent asked whether specific positions (promotions vs. entry-level officer roles) would be exempt; sponsors clarified the bill targets entry-level and road-patrol officer hires, not promotion processes such as sergeants or lieutenants. Representative Brewer asked how the bill would prevent "bad actors" from moving between jurisdictions; sponsors and proponents said background checks and previous employer checks are commonly performed and would remain part of hiring practice.
Representative Mullins and Ranking Member Thomas said they supported options that help recruitment and noted existing cadet programs in some charter cities and Cincinnati. Members asked for assurances that background checks would be required or encouraged; sponsors said many departments already do such checks and that details could be addressed in committee amendment or by local policy.
No vote was taken. Sponsors said they intended to work with committee members on language about specific exemptions, background-check expectations and bidirectional safeguards to prevent problematic hires.
