As Introduced

136th General Assembly

Regular Session S. B. No. 350

2025-2026

Senator Patton


To amend sections 109.71, 109.77, 121.483, and 2935.01 of the Revised Code to add the Inspector General and a deputy Inspector General to the definition of "peace officer" while either official is engaged in the scope of the official's duties.

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

Section 1. That sections 109.71, 109.77, 121.483, and 2935.01 of the Revised Code be amended 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.

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 behavioral health 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;

(26) The inspector general or a deputy inspector general appointed pursuant to section 121.48 of the Revised Code 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, while the inspector general or deputy inspector general is engaged in the scope of the inspector general's or deputy inspector general's duties under sections 121.42 to 121.52 of the Revised Code.

(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.

Sec. 109.77. (A) As used in this section:

(1) "Felony" has the same meaning as in section 109.511 of the Revised Code.

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

(B)(1) Notwithstanding any general, special, or local law or charter to the contrary, and except as otherwise provided in this section, no person shall receive an original appointment on a permanent basis as any of the following unless the person previously 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:

(a) A peace officer of any county, township, municipal corporation, regional transit authority, or metropolitan housing authority;

(b) A natural resources law enforcement staff officer, forest-fire investigator, wildlife officer, or natural resources officer of the department of natural resources;

(c) An employee of a park district under section 511.232 or 1545.13 of the Revised Code;

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

(e) A state university law enforcement officer;

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

(g) An enforcement agent of the department of public safety whom the director of public safety designates under section 5502.14 of the Revised Code;

(h) A special police officer employed by a port authority under section 4582.04 or 4582.28 of the Revised Code;

(i) A special police officer employed by a municipal corporation 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;

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

(k) The inspector general or a deputy inspector general appointed pursuant to section 121.48 of the Revised Code.

(2) Every person who is appointed on a temporary basis or for a probationary term or on other than a permanent basis as any of the following shall forfeit the appointed position unless the person previously has completed satisfactorily or, within the time prescribed by rules adopted by the attorney general pursuant to section 109.74 of the Revised Code, satisfactorily completes a state, county, municipal, or department of natural resources peace officer basic training program for temporary or probationary officers and is awarded a certificate by the director attesting to the satisfactory completion of the program:

(a) A peace officer of any county, township, municipal corporation, regional transit authority, or metropolitan housing authority;

(b) A natural resources law enforcement staff officer, park officer, forest officer, preserve officer, wildlife officer, or state watercraft officer of the department of natural resources;

(c) An employee of a park district under section 511.232 or 1545.13 of the Revised Code;

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

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

(f) An enforcement agent of the department of public safety whom the director of public safety designates under section 5502.14 of the Revised Code;

(g) A special police officer employed by a port authority under section 4582.04 or 4582.28 of the Revised Code;

(h) A special police officer employed by a municipal corporation 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.

(3) For purposes of division (B) of this section, a state, county, municipal, or department of natural resources peace officer basic training program, regardless of whether the program is to be completed by peace officers appointed on a permanent or temporary, probationary, or other nonpermanent basis, shall include training in the handling of the offense of domestic violence, other types of domestic violence-related offenses and incidents, protection orders and consent agreements issued or approved under section 2919.26 or 3113.31 of the Revised Code, crisis intervention training, and training on companion animal encounters and companion animal behavior. The requirement to complete training in the handling of the offense of domestic violence, other types of domestic violence-related offenses and incidents, and protection orders and consent agreements issued or approved under section 2919.26 or 3113.31 of the Revised Code does not apply to any person serving as a peace officer on March 27, 1979, and the requirement to complete training in crisis intervention does not apply to any person serving as a peace officer on April 4, 1985. Any person who is serving as a peace officer on April 4, 1985, who terminates that employment after that date, and who subsequently is hired as a peace officer by the same or another law enforcement agency shall complete training in crisis intervention as prescribed by rules adopted by the attorney general pursuant to section 109.742 of the Revised Code. No peace officer shall have employment as a peace officer terminated and then be reinstated with intent to circumvent this section.

(4) Division (B) of this section does not apply to any person serving on a permanent basis on March 28, 1985, as a park officer, forest officer, preserve officer, wildlife officer, or state watercraft officer of the department of natural resources or as an employee of a park district under section 511.232 or 1545.13 of the Revised Code, to any person serving on a permanent basis on March 6, 1986, as an employee of a conservancy district designated pursuant to section 6101.75 of the Revised Code, to any person serving on a permanent basis on January 10, 1991, as a preserve officer of the department of natural resources, to any person employed on a permanent basis on July 2, 1992, as a special police officer by the department of mental health and addiction services behavioral health pursuant to section 5119.08 of the Revised Code or by the department of developmental disabilities pursuant to section 5123.13 of the Revised Code, to any person serving on a permanent basis on May 17, 2000, as a special police officer employed by a port authority under section 4582.04 or 4582.28 of the Revised Code, to any person serving on a permanent basis on March 19, 2003, as a special police officer employed by a municipal corporation at a municipal airport or other municipal air navigation facility described in division (A)(19) of section 109.71 of the Revised Code, to any person serving on a permanent basis on June 19, 1978, as a state university law enforcement officer pursuant to section 3345.04 of the Revised Code and who, immediately prior to June 19, 1978, was serving as a special police officer designated under authority of that section, or to any person serving on a permanent basis on September 20, 1984, as a liquor control investigator, known after June 30, 1999, as an enforcement agent of the department of public safety, engaged in the enforcement of Chapters 4301. and 4303. of the Revised Code.

(5) Division (B) of this section does not apply to any person who is appointed as a regional transit authority police officer pursuant to division (Y) of section 306.35 of the Revised Code if, on or before July 1, 1996, the person has completed satisfactorily an approved state, county, municipal, or department of natural resources peace officer basic training program and has been awarded a certificate by the executive director of the Ohio peace officer training commission attesting to the person's satisfactory completion of such an approved program and if, on July 1, 1996, the person is performing peace officer functions for a regional transit authority.

(C) No person, after September 20, 1984, shall receive an original appointment on a permanent basis as a veterans' home police officer designated under section 5907.02 of the Revised Code unless the person previously 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 police officer basic training program. Every person who is appointed on a temporary basis or for a probationary term or on other than a permanent basis as a veterans' home police officer designated under section 5907.02 of the Revised Code shall forfeit that position unless the person previously has completed satisfactorily or, within one year from the time of appointment, satisfactorily completes an approved police officer basic training program.

(D) No bailiff or deputy bailiff of a court of record of this state and no criminal investigator who is employed by the state public defender shall carry a firearm, as defined in section 2923.11 of the Revised Code, while on duty unless the bailiff, deputy bailiff, or criminal investigator has done or received one of the following:

(1) Has been awarded a certificate by the executive director of the Ohio peace officer training commission, which certificate attests to satisfactory completion of an approved state, county, or municipal basic training program for bailiffs and deputy bailiffs of courts of record and for criminal investigators employed by the state public defender that has been recommended by the Ohio peace officer training commission;

(2) Has successfully completed a firearms training program approved by the Ohio peace officer training commission prior to employment as a bailiff, deputy bailiff, or criminal investigator;

(3) Prior to June 6, 1986, was authorized to carry a firearm by the court that employed the bailiff or deputy bailiff or, in the case of a criminal investigator, by the state public defender and has received training in the use of firearms that the Ohio peace officer training commission determines is equivalent to the training that otherwise is required by division (D) of this section.

(E)(1) Before a person seeking a certificate completes an approved peace officer basic training program, the executive director of the Ohio peace officer training commission shall request the person to disclose, and the person shall disclose, any previous criminal conviction of or plea of guilty of that person to a felony.

(2) Before a person seeking a certificate completes an approved peace officer basic training program, the executive director shall request a criminal history records check on the person. The executive director shall submit the person's fingerprints to the bureau of criminal identification and investigation, which shall submit the fingerprints to the federal bureau of investigation for a national criminal history records check.

Upon receipt of the executive director's request, the bureau of criminal identification and investigation and the federal bureau of investigation shall conduct a criminal history records check on the person and, upon completion of the check, shall provide a copy of the criminal history records check to the executive director. The executive director shall not award any certificate prescribed in this section unless the executive director has received a copy of the criminal history records check on the person to whom the certificate is to be awarded.

(3) The executive director of the commission shall not award a certificate prescribed in this section to a person who has been convicted of or has pleaded guilty to a felony or who fails to disclose any previous criminal conviction of or plea of guilty to a felony as required under division (E)(1) of this section.

(4) The executive director of the commission shall revoke the certificate awarded to a person as prescribed in this section, and that person shall forfeit all of the benefits derived from being certified as a peace officer under this section, if the person, before completion of an approved peace officer basic training program, failed to disclose any previous criminal conviction of or plea of guilty to a felony as required under division (E)(1) of this section.

(F)(1) Regardless of whether the person has been awarded the certificate or has been classified as a peace officer prior to, on, or after October 16, 1996, the executive director of the Ohio peace officer training commission shall revoke any certificate that has been awarded to a person as prescribed in this section if the person does either of the following:

(a) Pleads guilty to a felony committed on or after January 1, 1997;

(b) Pleads guilty to a misdemeanor committed on or after January 1, 1997, pursuant to a negotiated plea agreement as provided in division (D) of section 2929.43 of the Revised Code in which the person agrees to surrender the certificate awarded to the person under this section.

(2) The executive director of the commission shall suspend any certificate that has been awarded to a person as prescribed in this section if the person is convicted, after trial, of a felony committed on or after January 1, 1997. The executive director shall suspend the certificate pursuant to division (F)(2) of this section pending the outcome of an appeal by the person from that conviction to the highest court to which the appeal is taken or until the expiration of the period in which an appeal is required to be filed. If the person files an appeal that results in that person's acquittal of the felony or conviction of a misdemeanor, or in the dismissal of the felony charge against that person, the executive director shall reinstate the certificate awarded to the person under this section. If the person files an appeal from that person's conviction of the felony and the conviction is upheld by the highest court to which the appeal is taken or if the person does not file a timely appeal, the executive director shall revoke the certificate awarded to the person under this section.

(G)(1) If a person is awarded a certificate under this section and the certificate is revoked pursuant to division (E)(4) or (F) of this section, the person shall not be eligible to receive, at any time, a certificate attesting to the person's satisfactory completion of a peace officer basic training program.

(2) The revocation or suspension of a certificate under division (E)(4) or (F) of this section shall be in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code.

(H)(1) A person who was employed as a peace officer of a county, township, or municipal corporation of the state on January 1, 1966, and who has completed at least sixteen years of full-time active service as such a peace officer, or equivalent service as determined by the executive director of the Ohio peace officer training commission, may receive an original appointment on a permanent basis and serve as a peace officer of a county, township, or municipal corporation, or as a state university law enforcement officer, without complying with the requirements of division (B) of this section.

(2) Any person who held an appointment as a state highway trooper on January 1, 1966, may receive an original appointment on a permanent basis and serve as a peace officer of a county, township, or municipal corporation, or as a state university law enforcement officer, without complying with the requirements of division (B) of this section.

(I) No person who is appointed as a peace officer of a county, township, or municipal corporation on or after April 9, 1985, shall serve as a peace officer of that county, township, or municipal corporation unless the person has received training in the handling of missing children and child abuse and neglect cases from an approved state, county, township, or municipal police officer basic training program or receives the training within the time prescribed by rules adopted by the attorney general pursuant to section 109.741 of the Revised Code.

(J) No part of any approved state, county, or municipal basic training program for bailiffs and deputy bailiffs of courts of record and no part of any approved state, county, or municipal basic training program for criminal investigators employed by the state public defender shall be used as credit toward the completion by a peace officer of any part of the approved state, county, or municipal peace officer basic training program that the peace officer is required by this section to complete satisfactorily.

(K) This section does not apply to any member of the police department of a municipal corporation in an adjoining state serving in this state under a contract pursuant to section 737.04 of the Revised Code.

(L) The executive director of the commission shall issue a certificate of completion of a training program required under this section in accordance with Chapter 4796. of the Revised Code to an individual if either of the following applies:

(1) The individual holds a certificate of completion of such a program in another state.

(2) The individual has satisfactory work experience, a government certification, or a private certification as described in that chapter in the same profession, occupation, or occupational activity as the profession, occupation, or occupational activity for which the certificate is required in this state in a state that does not require completion of such a training program.

(M)(1) Except as provided in division (M)(2) of this section, no certificate awarded by the executive director of the Ohio peace officer training commission attesting to a person's satisfactory completion of an approved state, county, municipal, or department of natural resources peace officer basic training program shall be deemed insufficient for an appointment to a position listed in division (B)(1) of this section because of a lapse in the person's service as a peace officer.

(2) The Ohio peace officer training commission shall require a re-appointed peace officer to complete refresher training of the following duration prior to performing the functions of a peace officer, if the peace officer, having previously been awarded a certificate by the executive director of the commission attesting to the person's satisfactory completion of an approved state, county, municipal, or department of natural resources peace officer basic training program or pursuant to Chapter 4796. of the Revised Code, for at least one year prior to an appointment, was not employed as a peace officer:

(a) If the period of lapse was at least one year, but less than four years, up to forty hours;

(b) If the period of lapse was four years or longer, eighty hours.

Sec. 121.483. A The inspector general or a deputy inspector general appointed under section 121.48 of the Revised Code, 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, or municipal, or department of natural resources peace officer basic training program, shall, during the term of the deputy inspector general's appointment, be considered a peace officer for the purpose of maintaining a current and valid basic training certificate pursuant to rules adopted under section 109.74 of the Revised Code under section 109.77 of the Revised Code has the same arrest authority as a peace officer. The inspector general or a deputy inspector general may exercise this arrest authority only while the inspector general or a deputy inspector general is engaged in the scope of the inspector general's or deputy inspector general's duties under sections 121.42 to 121.52 of the Revised Code.

Sec. 2935.01. As used in this chapter:

(A) "Magistrate" has the same meaning as in section 2931.01 of the Revised Code.

(B) "Peace officer" includes, except as provided in section 2935.081 of the Revised Code, a sheriff; deputy sheriff; marshal; deputy marshal; member of the organized police department of any municipal corporation, including a member of the organized police department of a municipal corporation in an adjoining state serving in Ohio under a contract pursuant to section 737.04 of the Revised Code; member of a police force employed by a metropolitan housing authority under division (D) of section 3735.31 of the Revised Code; member of a police force employed by a regional transit authority under division (Y) of section 306.35 of the Revised Code; state university law enforcement officer appointed under section 3345.04 of the Revised Code; enforcement agent of the department of public safety designated under section 5502.14 of the Revised Code; employee of the department of taxation to whom investigation powers have been delegated under section 5743.45 of the Revised Code; employee of the department of natural resources who is a natural resources law enforcement staff officer designated pursuant to section 1501.013 of the Revised Code, a forest-fire investigator appointed pursuant to section 1503.09 of the Revised Code, a natural resources officer appointed pursuant to section 1501.24 of the Revised Code, or a wildlife officer designated pursuant to section 1531.13 of the Revised Code; individual designated to perform law enforcement duties under section 511.232, 1545.13, or 6101.75 of the Revised Code; veterans' home police officer appointed under section 5907.02 of the Revised Code; special police officer employed by a port authority under section 4582.04 or 4582.28 of the Revised Code; police constable of any township; police officer of a township or joint police district; a special police officer employed by a municipal corporation 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; the house of representatives sergeant at arms if the house of representatives sergeant at arms has arrest authority pursuant to division (E)(1) of section 101.311 of the Revised Code; an assistant house of representatives sergeant at arms; the senate sergeant at arms; an assistant senate sergeant at arms; officer or employee of the bureau of criminal identification and investigation established pursuant to section 109.51 of the Revised Code who has been awarded a certificate by the executive director of the Ohio peace officer training commission attesting to the officer's or employee's satisfactory completion of an approved state, county, municipal, or department of natural resources peace officer basic training program and who is providing assistance upon request to a law enforcement officer or emergency assistance to a peace officer pursuant to section 109.54 or 109.541 of the Revised Code; a state fire marshal law enforcement officer described in division (A)(23) of section 109.71 of the Revised Code; a gaming agent, as defined in section 3772.01 of the Revised Code; the inspector general or a deputy inspector general appointed pursuant to section 121.48 of the Revised Code while the inspector general or a deputy inspector general is engaged in the scope of the inspector general's or deputy inspector general's duties under sections 121.42 to 121.52 of the Revised Code; and, for the purpose of arrests within those areas, for the purposes of Chapter 5503. of the Revised Code, and the filing of and service of process relating to those offenses witnessed or investigated by them, the superintendent and troopers of the state highway patrol.

(C) "Prosecutor" includes the county prosecuting attorney and any assistant prosecutor designated to assist the county prosecuting attorney, and, in the case of courts inferior to courts of common pleas, includes the village solicitor, city director of law, or similar chief legal officer of a municipal corporation, any such officer's assistants, or any attorney designated by the prosecuting attorney of the county to appear for the prosecution of a given case.

(D) "Offense," except where the context specifically indicates otherwise, includes felonies, misdemeanors, and violations of ordinances of municipal corporations and other public bodies authorized by law to adopt penal regulations.

(E) "Tier one offense" means a violation of section 2903.01, 2903.02, 2903.03, 2903.04, 2903.06, 2903.11, 2903.12, 2903.21, 2903.211, 2905.01, 2905.02, 2905.32, 2907.02, 2907.03, 2907.04, 2907.05, 2907.321, 2907.322, 2907.323, 2909.02, 2909.03, 2909.24, 2911.01, 2911.02, 2911.11, 2919.25, 2921.34, 2923.161, 2950.04, 2950.041, 2950.05, or 2950.06 of the Revised Code.

Section 2. That existing sections 109.71, 109.77, 121.483, and 2935.01 of the Revised Code are hereby repealed.