Bill Text: IN SB0207 | 2012 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Police hiring age.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2012-01-04 - First reading: referred to Committee on Pensions and Labor [SB0207 Detail]
Download: Indiana-2012-SB0207-Introduced.html
Citations Affected: IC 36-8.
Synopsis: Police hiring age. Increases the maximum age for
appointment as a police officer from 36 to 40 years of age.
Effective: July 1, 2012.
January 4, 2012, read first time and referred to Committee on Pensions and Labor.
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A BILL FOR AN ACT to amend the Indiana Code concerning
public safety.
(1) a citizen of the United States;
(2) a high school graduate or equivalent; and
(3) at least twenty-one (21) years of age, but under:
(A) thirty-six (36) years of age, for appointment to a fire department; or
(B) forty (40) years of age, for appointment to a police department.
However, the age requirements do not apply to a person who has been previously employed as a member of the department.
(b) A person may not be appointed, reappointed, or reinstated if
(c) Applications for appointment or reappointment to the department must be filed with the commission. The applicant must
produce satisfactory proof of the date and place of his birth.
(d) Applicants for appointment or reappointment to the department
must pass the general aptitude test required under IC 36-8-3.2-3 or
IC 36-8-3.2-3.5. The general aptitude test shall:
(1) reflect the essential functions of the job;
(2) be conducted according to procedures adopted by the
commission; and
(3) be administered in a manner that reasonably accommodates
the needs of applicants with a disability.
The results of the general aptitude test shall be filed with the
commission. If the commission finds that the applicant lacks the proper
qualifications, it shall reject the applicant.
(e) The applicants shall then be rated on the selection criteria and
testing methods adopted by the commission, which may include mental
alertness, character, habits, and reputation. The commission shall adopt
rules for grading the applicants, including the establishment of a
passing score. The commission shall place the names of applicants with
passing scores on an eligibility list by the order of their scores and shall
certify the list to the safety board.
(f) If an applicant for original appointment reaches: his
(1) the applicant's thirty-sixth birthday, his for an applicant
seeking appointment to a fire department; or
(2) the applicant's fortieth birthday, for an applicant seeking
appointment to a police department;
the applicant's name shall be removed from the eligibility list.
Applicants remain on the list for two (2) years from the date of
certification. After two (2) years a person may reapply as an applicant.
(g) When a vacancy occurs in the department, the commission, upon
a written request of the chief of the department, shall administer the
physical agility test under IC 36-8-3.2-3 or IC 36-8-3.2-3.5 to the
applicant having the highest score on the eligibility list. If the
appointed applicant successfully completes the physical agility test, the
applicant shall then be enrolled as a member of the department to fill
the vacancy if:
(1) the applicant is still of good character; and
(2) the applicant passes the required examinations identified in
IC 36-8-3.2-6 and IC 36-8-8-19.
(h) All appointments are probationary for a period not to exceed one
(1) year. If the commission finds, upon the recommendation of the
department during the probationary period, that the conduct or capacity
of the probationary member is not satisfactory, the commission shall
notify him the probationary member in writing that he the member:
(1) is being reprimanded; that he
(2) is being suspended; or that he
(3) will not receive a permanent appointment.
If a member is notified that he the member will not receive a
permanent appointment, his the member's employment immediately
ceases. Otherwise, at the expiration of the probationary period the
member is considered regularly employed.
(b) This section does not apply to a fire chief appointed under a waiver under section 6(c) of this chapter or a police chief appointed under a waiver under section 6.5(c) of this chapter.
(c) A person must pass the aptitude, physical agility, and physical examination required by the local board of the fund and by IC 36-8-8-19 to be appointed or reappointed as a member of the department.
(d) A fire chief appointed under a waiver under section 6(c) of this chapter or police chief appointed under a waiver under section 6.5(c) of this chapter who is receiving, or is entitled to receive, benefits from the 1925, 1937, 1953, or 1977 fund may receive those benefits while serving as chief, subject to all normal requirements for receipt of a benefit, including a separation from service.
(1) a police officer who is less than forty (40) years of age; or
(2) a firefighter who is less than thirty-six (36) years of age;
and who passes the baseline statewide physical and mental examinations required under section 19 of this chapter shall be a member of the 1977 fund and is not a member of the 1925 fund, the 1937 fund, or the 1953 fund.
(b) A police officer or firefighter with service before May 1, 1977, who is hired or rehired after April 30, 1977, may receive credit under
this chapter for service as a police officer or firefighter prior to entry
into the 1977 fund if the employer who rehires the police officer or
firefighter chooses to contribute to the 1977 fund the amount necessary
to amortize the police officer's or firefighter's prior service liability over
a period of not more than forty (40) years, the amount and the period
to be determined by the PERF board. If the employer chooses to make
the contributions, the police officer or firefighter is entitled to receive
credit for the police officer's or firefighter's prior years of service
without making contributions to the 1977 fund for that prior service. In
no event may a police officer or firefighter receive credit for prior years
of service if the police officer or firefighter is receiving a benefit or is
entitled to receive a benefit in the future from any other public pension
plan with respect to the prior years of service.
(c) Except as provided in section 18 of this chapter, a police officer
or firefighter is entitled to credit for all years of service after April 30,
1977, with the police or fire department of an employer covered by this
chapter.
(d) A police officer or firefighter with twenty (20) years of service
does not become a member of the 1977 fund and is not covered by this
chapter, if the police officer or firefighter:
(1) was hired before May 1, 1977;
(2) did not convert under IC 19-1-17.8-7 or IC 19-1-36.5-7 (both
of which were repealed September 1, 1981); and
(3) is rehired after April 30, 1977, by the same employer.
(e) A police officer or firefighter does not become a member of the
1977 fund and is not covered by this chapter if the police officer or
firefighter:
(1) was hired before May 1, 1977;
(2) did not convert under IC 19-1-17.8-7 or IC 19-1-36.5-7 (both
of which were repealed September 1, 1981);
(3) was rehired after April 30, 1977, but before February 1, 1979;
and
(4) was made, before February 1, 1979, a member of a 1925,
1937, or 1953 fund.
(f) A police officer or firefighter does not become a member of the
1977 fund and is not covered by this chapter if the police officer or
firefighter:
(1) was hired by the police or fire department of a unit before May
1, 1977;
(2) did not convert under IC 19-1-17.8-7 or IC 19-1-36.5-7 (both
of which were repealed September 1, 1981);
(3) is rehired by the police or fire department of another unit after
December 31, 1981; and
(4) is made, by the fiscal body of the other unit after December
31, 1981, a member of a 1925, 1937, or 1953 fund of the other
unit.
If the police officer or firefighter is made a member of a 1925, 1937, or
1953 fund, the police officer or firefighter is entitled to receive credit
for all the police officer's or firefighter's years of service, including
years before January 1, 1982.
(g) As used in this subsection, "emergency medical services" and
"emergency medical technician" have the meanings set forth in
IC 16-18-2-110 and IC 16-18-2-112. A firefighter who:
(1) is employed by a unit that is participating in the 1977 fund;
(2) was employed as an emergency medical technician by a
political subdivision wholly or partially within the department's
jurisdiction;
(3) was a member of the public employees' retirement fund during
the employment described in subdivision (2); and
(4) ceased employment with the political subdivision and was
hired by the unit's fire department due to the reorganization of
emergency medical services within the department's jurisdiction;
shall participate in the 1977 fund. A firefighter who participates in the
1977 fund under this subsection is subject to sections 18 and 21 of this
chapter.
(h) A police officer or firefighter does not become a member of the
1977 fund and is not covered by this chapter if the individual was
appointed as:
(1) a fire chief under a waiver under IC 36-8-4-6(c); or
(2) a police chief under a waiver under IC 36-8-4-6.5(c);
unless the executive of the unit requests that the 1977 fund accept the
individual in the 1977 fund and the individual previously was a
member of the 1977 fund.
(i) A police matron hired or rehired after April 30, 1977, and before
July 1, 1996, who is a member of a police department in a second or
third class city on March 31, 1996, is a member of the 1977 fund.
(j) A park ranger who:
(1) completed at least the number of weeks of training at the
Indiana law enforcement academy or a comparable law
enforcement academy in another state that were required at the
time the park ranger attended the Indiana law enforcement
academy or the law enforcement academy in another state;
(2) graduated from the Indiana law enforcement academy or a
comparable law enforcement academy in another state; and
(3) is employed by the parks department of a city having a population of more than one hundred twenty thousand (120,000) but less than one hundred fifty thousand (150,000);
is a member of the fund.
(k) Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, a police officer or firefighter:
(1) who is a member of the 1977 fund before a consolidation under IC 36-3-1-5.1 or IC 36-3-1-6.1;
(2) whose employer is consolidated into the consolidated law enforcement department or the fire department of a consolidated city under IC 36-3-1-5.1 or IC 36-3-1-6.1; and
(3) who, after the consolidation, becomes an employee of the consolidated law enforcement department or the consolidated fire department under IC 36-3-1-5.1 or IC 36-3-1-6.1;
is a member of the 1977 fund without meeting the requirements under sections 19 and 21 of this chapter.
(l) Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, if:
(1) before a consolidation under IC 8-22-3-11.6, a police officer or firefighter provides law enforcement services or fire protection services for an entity in a consolidated city;
(2) the provision of those services is consolidated into the law enforcement department or fire department of a consolidated city; and
(3) after the consolidation, the police officer or firefighter becomes an employee of the consolidated law enforcement department or the consolidated fire department under IC 8-22-3-11.6;
the police officer or firefighter is a member of the 1977 fund without meeting the requirements under sections 19 and 21 of this chapter.
(m) A police officer or firefighter who is a member of the 1977 fund under subsection (k) or (l) may not be:
(1) retired for purposes of section 10 of this chapter; or
(2) disabled for purposes of section 12 of this chapter;
solely because of a change in employer under the consolidation.