As Introduced

136th General Assembly

Regular Session S. B. No. 169

2025-2026

To amend sections 109.71 and 109.79 and to enact section 109.7413 of the Revised Code to require training on emotional intelligence for peace officers.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:

Section 1. That sections 109.71 and 109.79 be amended and section 109.7413 of the Revised Code be enacted to read as follows:

Sec. 109.71. There is hereby created in the office of the attorney general the Ohio peace officer training commission. The commission shall consist of ten members appointed by the governor with the advice and consent of the senate and selected as follows: one member representing the public; one member who represents a fraternal organization representing law enforcement officers; two members who are incumbent sheriffs; two members who are incumbent chiefs of police; one member from the bureau of criminal identification and investigation; one member from the state highway patrol; one member who is the special agent in charge of a field office of the federal bureau of investigation in this state; and one member from the department of education and workforce, trade and industrial education services, law enforcement training.

This section does not confer any arrest authority or any ability or authority to detain a person, write or issue any citation, or provide any disposition alternative, as granted under Chapter 2935. of the Revised Code.

Pursuant to division (A)(9) of section 101.82 of the Revised Code, the commission is exempt from the requirements of sections 101.82 to 101.87 of the Revised Code.

As used in sections 109.71 to 109.801 of the Revised Code:

(A) "Peace officer" means:

(1) A deputy sheriff, marshal, deputy marshal, member of the organized police department of a township or municipal corporation, member of a township police district or joint police district police force, member of a police force employed by a metropolitan housing authority under division (D) of section 3735.31 of the Revised Code, or township constable, who is commissioned and employed as a peace officer by a political subdivision of this state or by a metropolitan housing authority, and whose primary duties are to preserve the peace, to protect life and property, and to enforce the laws of this state, ordinances of a municipal corporation, resolutions of a township, or regulations of a board of county commissioners or board of township trustees, or any of those laws, ordinances, resolutions, or regulations;

(2) A police officer who is employed by a railroad company and appointed and commissioned by the secretary of state pursuant to sections 4973.17 to 4973.22 of the Revised Code;

(3) Employees of the department of taxation engaged in the enforcement of Chapter 5743. of the Revised Code and designated by the tax commissioner for peace officer training for purposes of the delegation of investigation powers under section 5743.45 of the Revised Code;

(4) An undercover drug agent;

(5) Enforcement agents of the department of public safety whom the director of public safety designates under section 5502.14 of the Revised Code;

(6) An employee of the department of natural resources who is a natural resources law enforcement staff officer designated pursuant to section 1501.013, a natural resources officer appointed pursuant to section 1501.24, a forest-fire investigator appointed pursuant to section 1503.09, or a wildlife officer designated pursuant to section 1531.13 of the Revised Code;

(7) An employee of a park district who is designated pursuant to section 511.232 or 1545.13 of the Revised Code;

(8) An employee of a conservancy district who is designated pursuant to section 6101.75 of the Revised Code;

(9) A police officer who is employed by a hospital that employs and maintains its own proprietary police department or security department, and who is appointed and commissioned by the secretary of state pursuant to sections 4973.17 to 4973.22 of the Revised Code;

(10) Veterans' homes police officers designated under section 5907.02 of the Revised Code;

(11) A police officer who is employed by a qualified nonprofit corporation police department pursuant to section 1702.80 of the Revised Code;

(12) A state university law enforcement officer appointed under section 3345.04 of the Revised Code or a person serving as a state university law enforcement officer on a permanent basis on June 19, 1978, who has been awarded a certificate by the executive director of the Ohio peace officer training commission attesting to the person's satisfactory completion of an approved state, county, municipal, or department of natural resources peace officer basic training program;

(13) A special police officer employed by the department of mental health and addiction services pursuant to section 5119.08 of the Revised Code or the department of developmental disabilities pursuant to section 5123.13 of the Revised Code;

(14) A member of a campus police department appointed under section 1713.50 of the Revised Code;

(15) A member of a police force employed by a regional transit authority under division (Y) of section 306.35 of the Revised Code;

(16) Investigators appointed by the auditor of state pursuant to section 117.091 of the Revised Code and engaged in the enforcement of Chapter 117. of the Revised Code;

(17) A special police officer designated by the superintendent of the state highway patrol pursuant to section 5503.09 of the Revised Code or a person who was serving as a special police officer pursuant to that section on a permanent basis on October 21, 1997, and who has been awarded a certificate by the executive director of the Ohio peace officer training commission attesting to the person's satisfactory completion of an approved state, county, municipal, or department of natural resources peace officer basic training program;

(18) A special police officer employed by a port authority under section 4582.04 or 4582.28 of the Revised Code or a person serving as a special police officer employed by a port authority on a permanent basis on May 17, 2000, who has been awarded a certificate by the executive director of the Ohio peace officer training commission attesting to the person's satisfactory completion of an approved state, county, municipal, or department of natural resources peace officer basic training program;

(19) A special police officer employed by a municipal corporation who has been awarded a certificate by the executive director of the Ohio peace officer training commission for satisfactory completion of an approved peace officer basic training program and who is employed on a permanent basis on or after March 19, 2003, at a municipal airport, or other municipal air navigation facility, that has scheduled operations, as defined in section 119.3 of Title 14 of the Code of Federal Regulations, 14 C.F.R. 119.3, as amended, and that is required to be under a security program and is governed by aviation security rules of the transportation security administration of the United States department of transportation as provided in Parts 1542. and 1544. of Title 49 of the Code of Federal Regulations, as amended;

(20) A police officer who is employed by an owner or operator of an amusement park that has an average yearly attendance in excess of six hundred thousand guests and that employs and maintains its own proprietary police department or security department, and who is appointed and commissioned by a judge of the appropriate municipal court or county court pursuant to section 4973.17 of the Revised Code;

(21) A police officer who is employed by a bank, savings and loan association, savings bank, credit union, or association of banks, savings and loan associations, savings banks, or credit unions, who has been appointed and commissioned by the secretary of state pursuant to sections 4973.17 to 4973.22 of the Revised Code, and who has been awarded a certificate by the executive director of the Ohio peace officer training commission attesting to the person's satisfactory completion of a state, county, municipal, or department of natural resources peace officer basic training program;

(22) An investigator, as defined in section 109.541 of the Revised Code, of the bureau of criminal identification and investigation who is commissioned by the superintendent of the bureau as a special agent for the purpose of assisting law enforcement officers or providing emergency assistance to peace officers pursuant to authority granted under that section;

(23) A state fire marshal law enforcement officer appointed under section 3737.22 of the Revised Code or a person serving as a state fire marshal law enforcement officer on a permanent basis on or after July 1, 1982, who has been awarded a certificate by the executive director of the Ohio peace officer training commission attesting to the person's satisfactory completion of an approved state, county, municipal, or department of natural resources peace officer basic training program;

(24) A gaming agent employed under section 3772.03 of the Revised Code;

(25) An employee of the state board of pharmacy designated by the executive director of the board pursuant to section 4729.04 of the Revised Code to investigate violations of Chapters 2925., 3715., 3719., 3796., 4729., and 4752. of the Revised Code and rules adopted thereunder.

(B) "Undercover drug agent" has the same meaning as in division (B)(2) of section 109.79 of the Revised Code.

(C) "Crisis intervention training" means training in the use of interpersonal and communication skills to most effectively and sensitively interview victims of rape.

(D) "Missing children" has the same meaning as in section 2901.30 of the Revised Code.

(E) "Tactical medical professional" means an EMT, EMT-basic, AEMT, EMT-I, paramedic, nurse, or physician who is trained and certified in a nationally recognized tactical medical training program that is equivalent to "tactical combat casualty care" (TCCC) and "tactical emergency medical support" (TEMS) and who functions in the tactical or austere environment while attached to a law enforcement agency of either this state or a political subdivision of this state.

(F) "EMT-basic," "EMT-I," and "paramedic" have the same meanings as in section 4765.01 of the Revised Code and "EMT" and "AEMT" have the same meanings as in section 4765.011 of the Revised Code.

(G) "Nurse" means any of the following:

(1) Any person who is licensed to practice nursing as a registered nurse by the board of nursing;

(2) Any certified nurse practitioner, clinical nurse specialist, certified registered nurse anesthetist, or certified nurse-midwife who holds a certificate of authority issued by the board of nursing under Chapter 4723. of the Revised Code;

(3) Any person who is licensed to practice nursing as a licensed practical nurse by the board of nursing pursuant to Chapter 4723. of the Revised Code.

(H) "Physician" means a person who is licensed pursuant to Chapter 4731. of the Revised Code to practice medicine and surgery or osteopathic medicine and surgery.

(I) "County correctional officer" has the same meaning as in section 341.41 of the Revised Code.

(J)(1) "Fire investigator" means an employee of a fire department charged with investigating fires and explosions who has been authorized, in accordance with sections 737.27 and 3737.24 of the Revised Code, to perform the duties of investigating the origin and cause of fires and explosions using the scientific method to investigate elements of the event including the circumstances, actions, persons, means, and motives that resulted in the fire or explosion or the report of a fire or explosion within this state.

(2) "Fire investigator" does not include a person who is acting as a fire investigator on behalf of an insurance company or any other privately owned or operated enterprise.

(K) "Fire department" means a fire department of the state or an instrumentality of the state or of a municipal corporation, township, joint fire district, or other political subdivision.

(L) "At-risk youth" means an individual who is all of the following:

(1) Under twenty-one years of age;

(2) One of the following:

(a) At risk of becoming an abused, neglected, or dependent child, delinquent or unruly child, or juvenile traffic offender;

(b) An abused, neglected, or dependent child, delinquent or unruly child, or juvenile traffic offender.

(3) Residing in a state correctional institution, a department of youth services institution, or a residential facility.

(M) "Residential facility" has the same meaning as in section 2151.46 of the Revised Code.

(N) "Emotional intelligence" means the ability to identify and manage a person's own emotions, as well as the emotions of others, and includes self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, and relationship management.

Sec. 109.7413. The attorney general shall adopt, in accordance with Chapter 119. or pursuant to section 109.74 of the Revised Code, rules governing the training of peace officers on emotional intelligence. The rules shall specify the amount of training necessary for the satisfactory completion of basic training programs at approved peace officer training schools, other than the Ohio peace officer training academy and the time within which a peace officer is required to receive that training, if the peace officer is appointed as a peace officer before receiving that training.

Sec. 109.79. (A) The Ohio peace officer training commission shall establish and conduct a training school for law enforcement officers of any political subdivision of the state or of the state public defender's office. The school shall be known as the Ohio peace officer training academy. No bailiff or deputy bailiff of a court of record of this state and no criminal investigator employed by the state public defender shall be permitted to attend the academy for training unless the employing court of the bailiff or deputy bailiff or the state public defender, whichever is applicable, has authorized the bailiff, deputy bailiff, or investigator to attend the academy.

The Ohio peace officer training commission shall develop the training program, which shall include courses in both the civil and criminal functions of law enforcement officers, a course in crisis intervention with six or more hours of training, training in the handling of missing children and child abuse and neglect cases, training on emotional intelligence, and training on companion animal encounters and companion animal behavior, and shall establish rules governing qualifications for admission to the academy. The commission may require competitive examinations to determine fitness of prospective trainees, so long as the examinations or other criteria for admission to the academy are consistent with the provisions of Chapter 124. of the Revised Code.

The Ohio peace officer training commission shall determine tuition costs sufficient in the aggregate to pay the costs of operating the academy. Tuition paid by a political subdivision of the state or by the state public defender's office shall be deposited into the state treasury to the credit of the peace officer training academy fee fund, which is hereby established. The attorney general shall use money in the fund to pay costs associated with operation of the academy. The costs of acquiring and equipping the academy shall be paid from appropriations made by the general assembly to the Ohio peace officer training commission for that purpose, from gifts or grants received for that purpose, or from fees for goods related to the academy.

The Ohio peace officer training commission shall create a gaming-related curriculum for gaming agents. The Ohio peace officer training commission shall use money distributed to the Ohio peace officer training academy from the Ohio law enforcement training fund to first support the academy's training programs for gaming agents and gaming-related curriculum. The Ohio peace officer training commission may utilize existing training programs in other states that specialize in training gaming agents.

The law enforcement officers, during the period of their training, shall receive compensation as determined by the political subdivision that sponsors them or, if the officer is a criminal investigator employed by the state public defender, as determined by the state public defender. The political subdivision may pay the tuition costs of the law enforcement officers they sponsor and the state public defender may pay the tuition costs of criminal investigators of that office who attend the academy.

If trainee vacancies exist, the academy may train and issue certificates of satisfactory completion to peace officers who are employed by a campus police department pursuant to section 1713.50 of the Revised Code, by a qualified nonprofit corporation police department pursuant to section 1702.80 of the Revised Code, or by a railroad company, who are amusement park police officers appointed and commissioned by a judge of the appropriate municipal court or county court pursuant to section 4973.17 of the Revised Code, or who are bank, savings and loan association, savings bank, credit union, or association of banks, savings and loan associations, savings banks, or credit unions, or hospital police officers appointed and commissioned by the secretary of state pursuant to sections 4973.17 to 4973.22 of the Revised Code, provided that no such officer shall be trained at the academy unless the officer meets the qualifications established for admission to the academy and the qualified nonprofit corporation police department; bank, savings and loan association, savings bank, credit union, or association of banks, savings and loan associations, savings banks, or credit unions; railroad company; hospital; or amusement park or the private college or university that established the campus police department prepays the entire cost of the training. A qualified nonprofit corporation police department; bank, savings and loan association, savings bank, credit union, or association of banks, savings and loan associations, savings banks, or credit unions; railroad company; hospital; or amusement park or a private college or university that has established a campus police department is not entitled to reimbursement from the state for any amount paid for the cost of training the bank, savings and loan association, savings bank, credit union, or association of banks, savings and loan associations, savings banks, or credit unions peace officers; the railroad company's peace officers; or the peace officers of the qualified nonprofit corporation police department, campus police department, hospital, or amusement park.

The academy shall permit investigators employed by the state medical board to take selected courses that the board determines are consistent with its responsibilities for initial and continuing training of investigators as required under sections 4730.26 and 4731.05 of the Revised Code. The board shall pay the entire cost of training that investigators receive at the academy.

The academy shall permit tactical medical professionals and fire investigators to attend training courses at the academy that are designed to qualify the professionals and investigators to carry firearms while on duty under sections 109.771 and 109.774 of the Revised Code and that provide training comparable to training mandated under the rules required by division (A) of section 109.748 and division (A) of section 109.7481 of the Revised Code. The executive director of the Ohio peace officer training commission may certify tactical medical professionals and fire investigators who satisfactorily complete the training courses. The law enforcement agency served by a tactical medical professional or the political subdivision served by a fire investigator who attends the academy may pay the tuition costs of the professional or investigator.

The academy shall permit county correctional officers to attend training courses at the academy that are designed to qualify the county correctional officers to carry firearms while on duty under section 109.772 of the Revised Code and that provide training mandated under the rules required by section 109.773 of the Revised Code. The executive director of the Ohio peace officer training commission may certify county correctional officers who satisfactorily complete the training courses. The county jail, county workhouse, minimum security jail, joint city and county workhouse, municipal-county correctional center, multicounty-municipal correctional center, municipal-county jail or workhouse, or multicounty-municipal jail or workhouse served by the county correctional officer who attends the academy may pay the tuition costs of the county correctional officer.

(B) As used in this section:

(1) "Law enforcement officers" include any undercover drug agent, any bailiff or deputy bailiff of a court of record, and any criminal investigator who is employed by the state public defender.

(2) "Undercover drug agent" means any person who:

(a) Is employed by a county, township, or municipal corporation for the purposes set forth in division (B)(2)(b) of this section but who is not an employee of a county sheriff's department, of a township constable, or of the police department of a municipal corporation or township;

(b) In the course of the person's employment by a county, township, or municipal corporation, investigates and gathers information pertaining to persons who are suspected of violating Chapter 2925. or 3719. of the Revised Code, and generally does not wear a uniform in the performance of the person's duties.

(3) "Crisis intervention training" has the same meaning as in section 109.71 of the Revised Code.

(4) "Missing children" has the same meaning as in section 2901.30 of the Revised Code.

(5) "Companion animal" has the same meaning as in section 959.131 of the Revised Code.

Section 2. That existing sections 109.71 and 109.79 of the Revised Code are hereby repealed.