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As Introduced
136th
General Assembly
Regular
Session
H. B. No. 548
2025-2026
Representative Brewer
Cosponsors: Representatives Brent,
Rogers, Lett, Rader
To
amend sections 3701.143 and 4117.10 and to enact section 2935.34 of
the Revised Code
to
require testing for alcohol or drugs of abuse after incidents
involving an officer's use of force.
BE
IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:
Section
1.
That
sections 3701.143 and 4117.10 be amended and section 2935.34 of the
Revised Code be enacted to read as follows:
Sec.
2935.34.
(A)
As used in this section:
(1)
"Controlled substance" has the same meaning as in section
3719.01 of the Revised Code.
(2)
"Corrections officer" means a person employed by a
detention facility as a corrections officer.
(3)
"Detention facility" means any public or private place used
for the confinement of a person charged with or convicted of any
crime in this state or another state or under the laws of the United
States or alleged or found to be a delinquent child or unruly child
in this state or another state or under the laws of the United
States.
(4)
"Drug of abuse" has the same meaning as in section 4506.01
of the Revised Code.
(5)
"Prescription" has the same meaning as in section 4729.01
of the Revised Code.
(6)
"Prohibited concentration of alcohol, a controlled substance, or
a metabolite of a controlled substance" means either of the
following:
(a)
A concentration in the person's whole blood, blood serum or plasma,
breath, or urine that equals or exceeds an amount specified in
division (A)(1) of section 4511.19 of the Revised Code;
(b)
A concentration in the person's whole blood, blood serum or plasma,
breath, or urine that equals or exceeds an amount specified in a
collective bargaining agreement entered into under Chapter 4117. of
the Revised Code, provided the concentration specified in the
agreement is lower than the amount specified in division (A)(1) of
section 4511.19 of the Revised Code.
(7)
"Use of force" means force exerted by a peace officer or
corrections officer in the officer's official capacity that results
in serious physical harm to property, serious physical harm to
persons, or death. "Use of force" includes the discharge of
a firearm or the use of a gas or explosive device, except when it
occurs in a training or routine practice setting or when it does not
cause serious physical harm to persons or property.
(B)
Within three hours after an incident involving use of force, a peace
officer or corrections officer who engaged in the use of force shall
submit to a chemical test to determine the presence and concentration
of alcohol, any controlled substance, or a metabolite of a controlled
substance in the officer's whole blood, blood serum or plasma,
breath, or urine. An officer who was present at the time of the
incident, but not engaged in the use of force, is not required to
submit to a chemical test.
(C)
The bodily substance withdrawn under division (B) of this section
shall be analyzed in accordance with methods approved by the director
of health by an individual possessing a valid permit issued by the
director under section 3701.143 of the Revised Code.
(D)
If a chemical test administered under this section indicates a
prohibited concentration of alcohol, a controlled substance, or a
metabolite of a controlled substance, the officer's employer shall
report the test results to the prosecutor where the employer is
located and to the bureau of criminal identification and
investigation if the bureau is investigating the officer's use of
force. The prosecutor shall consider whether to prosecute the officer
for any offense related to the use of force while under the influence
of alcohol, a drug of abuse, or both.
(E)(1)
In addition to reporting a chemical test indicating a prohibited
concentration of alcohol, a controlled substance, or a metabolite of
a controlled substance to a prosecutor as required by division (D) of
this section, the officer's employer shall take any corrective or
disciplinary action required by an applicable law, ordinance, policy,
or collective bargaining agreement, including requiring the officer
to attend drug and alcohol counseling if appropriate under the
circumstances.
(2)
An officer who refuses to submit to a chemical test as required under
division (B) of this section is subject to corrective or disciplinary
action in accordance with division (E)(1) of this section as though
the officer had submitted to the test and the results indicated a
prohibited concentration of alcohol, a controlled substance, or a
metabolite of a controlled substance.
(F)
Divisions (D) and (E) of this section do not apply to a peace officer
or corrections officer whose chemical test indicates a prohibited
amount of a controlled substance or metabolite of a controlled
substance if both of the following apply:
(1)
The officer obtained the controlled substance pursuant to a
prescription issued by a licensed health professional authorized to
prescribe drugs.
(2)
The officer injected, ingested, or inhaled the controlled substance
in accordance with the health professional's directions.
Sec.
3701.143.
(A)
As used in this section, "drug of abuse" has the same
meaning as in section 4506.01 of the Revised Code.
(B)
For purposes of sections 1547.11,
2935.34,
4511.19, and 4511.194 of the Revised Code, the director of health
shall determine, or cause to be determined, techniques or methods for
chemically analyzing a person's whole blood, blood serum or plasma,
urine, breath, oral fluid, or other bodily substance in order to
ascertain the presence or amount of alcohol, a drug of abuse,
controlled substance, metabolite of a controlled substance, or
combination of them in the person's whole blood, blood serum or
plasma, urine, breath, oral fluid, or other bodily substance. The
director shall approve satisfactory techniques or methods, ascertain
the qualifications of individuals to conduct such analyses, and issue
permits to qualified persons authorizing them to perform such
analyses. Such permits shall be subject to termination or revocation
at the discretion of the director.
Sec.
4117.10.
(A)
An agreement between a public employer and an exclusive
representative entered into pursuant to this chapter governs the
wages, hours, and terms and conditions of public employment covered
by the agreement. If the agreement provides for a final and binding
arbitration of grievances, public employers, employees, and employee
organizations are subject solely to that grievance procedure and the
state personnel board of review or civil service commissions have no
jurisdiction to receive and determine any appeals relating to matters
that were the subject of a final and binding grievance procedure.
Where no agreement exists or where an agreement makes no
specification about a matter, the public employer and public
employees are subject to all applicable state or local laws or
ordinances pertaining to the wages, hours, and terms and conditions
of employment for public employees. All of the following prevail over
conflicting provisions of agreements between employee organizations
and public employers:
(1)
Laws pertaining to any of the following subjects:
(a)
Civil rights;
(b)
Affirmative action;
(c)
Unemployment compensation;
(d)
Workers' compensation;
(e)
The retirement of public employees;
(f)
Residency requirements;
(g)
The minimum educational requirements contained in the Revised Code
pertaining to public education including the requirement of a
certificate by the fiscal officer of a school district pursuant to
section 5705.41 of the Revised Code;
(h)
The provisions of division (A) of section 124.34 of the Revised Code
governing the disciplining of officers and employees who have been
convicted of a felony;
(i)
The minimum standards promulgated by the director of education and
workforce pursuant to division (D) of section 3301.07 of the Revised
Code.
(2)
The law pertaining to the leave of absence and compensation provided
under section 5923.05 of the Revised Code, if the terms of the
agreement contain benefits which are less than those contained in
that section or the agreement contains no such terms and the public
authority is the state or any agency, authority, commission, or board
of the state or if the public authority is another entity listed in
division (B) of section 4117.01 of the Revised Code that elects to
provide leave of absence and compensation as provided in section
5923.05 of the Revised Code;
(3)
The law pertaining to the leave established under section 5906.02 of
the Revised Code, if the terms of the agreement contain benefits that
are less than those contained in section 5906.02 of the Revised Code;
(4)
The law pertaining to excess benefits prohibited under section
3345.311 of the Revised Code with respect to an agreement between an
employee organization and a public employer entered into on or after
September 29, 2015.
(5)
The requirements of section 2935.34 of the Revised Code that a peace
officer or corrections officer submit to a chemical test after an
incident involving the use of force, as defined in that section, and
that the officer's employer report the results and take appropriate
corrective or disciplinary actions.
Except
for sections 306.08, 306.12, 306.35, and 4981.22 of the Revised Code
and arrangements entered into thereunder, and section 4981.21 of the
Revised Code as necessary to comply with section 13(c) of the "Urban
Mass Transportation Act of 1964," 87 Stat. 295, 49 U.S.C.A.
1609(c), as amended, and arrangements entered into thereunder, this
chapter prevails over any and all other conflicting laws,
resolutions, provisions, present or future, except as otherwise
specified in this chapter or as otherwise specified by the general
assembly. Nothing in this section prohibits or shall be construed to
invalidate the provisions of an agreement establishing supplemental
workers' compensation or unemployment compensation benefits or
exceeding minimum requirements contained in the Revised Code
pertaining to public education or the minimum standards promulgated
by the director of education and workforce pursuant to division (D)
of section 3301.07 of the Revised Code.
(B)
The public employer shall submit a request for funds necessary to
implement an agreement and for approval of any other matter requiring
the approval of the appropriate legislative body to the legislative
body within fourteen days of the date on which the parties finalize
the agreement, unless otherwise specified, but if the appropriate
legislative body is not in session at the time, then within fourteen
days after it convenes. The legislative body must approve or reject
the submission as a whole, and the submission is deemed approved if
the legislative body fails to act within thirty days after the public
employer submits the agreement. The parties may specify that those
provisions of the agreement not requiring action by a legislative
body are effective and operative in accordance with the terms of the
agreement, provided there has been compliance with division (C) of
this section. If the legislative body rejects the submission of the
public employer, either party may reopen all or part of the entire
agreement.
As
used in this section, "legislative body" includes the
governing board of a municipal corporation, school district, college
or university, village, township, or board of county commissioners or
any other body that has authority to approve the budget of their
public jurisdiction and, with regard to the state, "legislative
body" means the controlling board.
(C)
The chief executive officer, or the chief executive officer's
representative, of each municipal corporation, the designated
representative of the board of education of each school district,
college or university, or any other body that has authority to
approve the budget of their public jurisdiction, the designated
representative of the board of county commissioners and of each
elected officeholder of the county whose employees are covered by the
collective negotiations, and the designated representative of the
village or the board of township trustees of each township is
responsible for negotiations in the collective bargaining process;
except that the legislative body may accept or reject a proposed
collective bargaining agreement. When the matters about which there
is agreement are reduced to writing and approved by the employee
organization and the legislative body, the agreement is binding upon
the legislative body, the employer, and the employee organization and
employees covered by the agreement.
(D)
There is hereby established an office of collective bargaining in the
department of administrative services for the purpose of negotiating
with and entering into written agreements between state agencies,
departments, boards, and commissions and the exclusive representative
on matters of wages, hours, terms and other conditions of employment
and the continuation, modification, or deletion of an existing
provision of a collective bargaining agreement. Nothing in any
provision of law to the contrary shall be interpreted as excluding
the bureau of workers' compensation and the industrial commission
from the preceding sentence. This office shall not negotiate on
behalf of other statewide elected officials or boards of trustees of
state institutions of higher education who shall be considered as
separate public employers for the purposes of this chapter; however,
the office may negotiate on behalf of these officials or trustees
where authorized by the officials or trustees. The staff of the
office of collective bargaining are in the unclassified service. The
director of administrative services shall fix the compensation of the
staff.
The
office of collective bargaining shall:
(1)
Assist the director in formulating management's philosophy for public
collective bargaining as well as planning bargaining strategies;
(2)
Conduct negotiations with the exclusive representatives of each
employee organization;
(3)
Coordinate the state's resources in all mediation, fact-finding, and
arbitration cases as well as in all labor disputes;
(4)
Conduct systematic reviews of collective bargaining agreements for
the purpose of contract negotiations;
(5)
Coordinate the systematic compilation of data by all agencies that is
required for negotiating purposes;
(6)
Prepare and submit an annual report and other reports as requested to
the governor and the general assembly on the implementation of this
chapter and its impact upon state government.
Section
2.
That
existing sections 3701.143 and 4117.10 of the Revised Code are hereby
repealed.
Section
3.
Section
1 of this act applies to collective bargaining agreements entered
into on or after the effective date of this section.
Section
4.
Section
3701.143 of the Revised Code is presented in this act as a composite
of the section as amended by both H.B. 37 and S.B. 100 of the 135th
General Assembly. The General Assembly, applying the principle stated
in division (B) of section 1.52 of the Revised Code that amendments
are to be harmonized and reconciled if reasonably capable of
simultaneous operation, finds that the composite is the resulting
version of the section in effect prior to the effective date of the
section as presented in this act.