Effective: September 10, 2012
Latest Legislation: House Bill 487 - 129th General Assembly
(A) The person serving as the senate sergeant at arms or employed as an assistant senate sergeant at arms has all of the authority of a peace officer as specified in division (B) of this section, and one of the following shall apply to that person:
(1) The person is serving as the senate sergeant at arms or is employed as an assistant senate sergeant at arms on the effective date of this section and previously had 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.
(2) 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, the person previously has been employed as a peace officer, the prior employment of the person as a peace officer contains no breaks in service that would require the person to receive updated training by the Ohio peace officer training academy, and the person has successfully completed a firearms requalification program under section 109.801 of the Revised Code.
(3) 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, the person previously has been employed as a peace officer, the prior employment of the person as a peace officer contains a break in service of one year or more but not more than four years that would require the person to receive updated training under state law, the person has received all updated training required by law, and the person has successfully completed a firearms requalification program under section 109.801 of the Revised Code.
(4) The person previously has been employed as a trooper of the state highway patrol, within one year prior to employment as the senate sergeant at arms the person had arrest authority as a trooper of the state highway patrol, and the person has successfully completed a firearms requalification program under section 109.801 of the Revised Code.
(5) The person previously has been employed as a trooper of the state highway patrol, the prior employment as a trooper of the state highway patrol contains a break in service of one year or more but not more than four years that would require the person to receive updated training under state law, the person has received all updated training required by law, and the person has successfully completed a firearms requalification program under section 109.801 of the Revised Code.
(B) The senate sergeant at arms and an assistant senate sergeant at arms have the authority specified under section 2935.03 of the Revised Code for peace officers to enforce all state laws, municipal ordinances, and township resolutions and to make arrests for any violation of those laws, ordinances, and resolutions in the statehouse or anywhere in the state where the senate sergeant at arms or the assistant sergeant at arms is engaged in the performance of the senate sergeant at arms's or assistant sergeant at arms's official duties. The jurisdiction of the senate sergeant at arms and of an assistant senate sergeant at arms is concurrent with that of peace officers of the county, township, or municipal corporation in which the violation occurs and with the state highway patrol.
(C) Upon receiving a written recommendation from the clerk of the senate, the president of the senate may issue to the senate sergeant at arms a commission indicating the sergeant at arms's authority to make arrests as provided in this section. The president of the senate, upon the recommendation of the senate sergeant at arms, may issue to each assistant senate sergeant at arms a commission indicating the assistant sergeant at arms's authority to make arrests as provided in this section. The president of the senate shall furnish a suitable badge to the senate sergeant at arms and to each commissioned assistant senate sergeant at arms as evidence of the senate sergeant at arms's or assistant senate sergeant at arms's authority.
(D) In order to maintain employment as the senate sergeant at arms or to be an assistant sergeant at arms with all of the authority of a peace officer, the sergeant at arms or assistant shall comply with all continuing professional training requirements for peace officers established in rules that the attorney general adopts under section 109.74 of the Revised Code and shall comply with firearms requalification requirements established under section 109.801 of the Revised Code. The senate sergeant at arms or assistant sergeant at arms shall provide appropriate proof of the sergeant at arms's or assistant's compliance with the continuing professional training requirements and firearms requalification requirements to the clerk of the senate. The Ohio peace officer training academy, a state, county, municipal, or department of natural resources training program, or any other program offering continuing training of that nature shall admit the senate sergeant at arms or an assistant senate sergeant at arms to all necessary continuing training programs.
(E) This section does not affect or abridge the authority or responsibility of the state highway patrol.