To amend sections 3517.152 and 4117.01 of the Revised Code to eliminate an exemption from the Public Employees' Collective Bargaining Law for specified educational employees.

Section 1. That sections 3517.152 and 4117.01 of the Revised Code be amended to read as follows:

Sec. 3517.152.  (A)(1) There is hereby created the Ohio elections commission consisting of seven members.

Not later than forty-five days after August 24, 1995, the speaker of the house of representatives and the leader in the senate of the political party of which the speaker is a member shall jointly submit to the governor a list of five persons who are affiliated with that political party. Not later than forty-five days after August 24, 1995, the two legislative leaders in the two houses of the general assembly of the major political party of which the speaker is not a member shall jointly submit to the governor a list of five persons who are affiliated with the major political party of which the speaker is not a member. Not later than fifteen days after receiving each list, the governor shall appoint three persons from each list to the commission. The governor shall appoint one person from each list to a term that ends on December 31, 1996, one person from each list to a term that ends on December 31, 1997, and one person from each list to a term that ends on December 31, 1998.

Not later than thirty days after the governor appoints these six members, they shall, by a majority vote, appoint to the commission a seventh member, who shall not be affiliated with a political party. If the six members fail to appoint the seventh member within this thirty-day period, the chief justice of the supreme court, not later than thirty days after the end of the period during which the six members were required to appoint a member, shall appoint the seventh member, who shall not be affiliated with a political party. The seventh member shall be appointed to a term that ends on December 31, 2001. Terms of the initial members appointed under this division begin on January 1, 1996.

(2) If a vacancy occurs in the position of the seventh member, who is not affiliated with a political party, the six remaining members by a majority vote shall appoint, not later than forty-five days after the date of the vacancy, the seventh member of the commission, who shall not be affiliated with a political party. If these members fail to appoint the seventh member within this forty-five-day period, the chief justice of the supreme court, within fifteen days after the end of this period, shall appoint the seventh member, who shall not be affiliated with a political party. If a vacancy occurs in any of the other six positions on the commission, the legislative leaders of the political party from whose list of persons the member being replaced was appointed shall submit to the governor, not later than thirty days after the date of the vacancy, a list of three persons who are affiliated with that political party. Not later than fifteen days after receiving the list, the governor, with the advice and consent of the senate, shall appoint one person from the list to the commission.

(3) At no time shall more than six members of the commission be affiliated with a political party, and, of these six members, not more than three shall be affiliated with the same political party.

(4) In making appointments to the commission, the governor shall take into consideration the various geographic areas of this state and shall appoint members so that those areas are represented on the commission in a balanced manner, to the extent feasible.

(5) Members of the commission shall be registered electors and shall be of good moral character.

(B) Each member of the commission shall hold office from the date of the member's appointment until the end of the term for which the member was appointed. A member appointed to fill a vacancy occurring prior to the expiration of the term for which the member's predecessor was appointed shall hold office for the remainder of that term. A member shall continue in office subsequent to the expiration date of the member's term until the member's successor takes office or until a period of sixty days has elapsed, whichever occurs first. After the initial terms of office provided for in division (A)(1) of this section, terms of office shall be for five years.

(C) A vacancy in the Ohio elections commission may be caused by death, resignation, or three absences from commission meetings in a calendar year if those absences are caused by reasons declared invalid by a vote of five members of the remaining members of the commission.

(D) Each member of the commission while in the performance of the business of the commission shall be entitled to receive compensation at the rate of twenty-five thousand dollars per year. Members shall be reimbursed for expenses actually and necessarily incurred in the performance of their duties.

(E) No member of the commission shall serve more than one full term unless the terms served are served nonconsecutively.

(F)(1) No member of the commission shall do or be any of the following:

(a) Hold, or be a candidate for, a public office;

(b) Serve on a committee supporting or opposing a candidate or ballot question or issue;

(c) Be an officer of the state central committee, a county central committee, or a district, city, township, or other committee of a political party or an officer of the executive committee of the state central committee, a county central committee, or a district, city, township, or other committee of a political party;

(d) Be a legislative agent as defined in section 101.70 of the Revised Code or an executive agency lobbyist as defined in section 121.60 of the Revised Code;

(e) Solicit or be involved in soliciting contributions on behalf of a candidate, campaign committee, political party, political action committee, or political contributing entity;

(f) Be in the unclassified service under section 124.11 of the Revised Code;

(g) Be a person or employee described in divisions (C)(1) to (15)(17) of section 4117.01 of the Revised Code.

(2) No member or employee of the commission shall make a contribution to, or for the benefit of, a campaign committee or committee in support of or opposition to a ballot question or issue, a political party, a legislative campaign fund, a political action committee, or a political contributing entity.

(G)(1) The members of the commission shall elect a chairperson and a vice-chairperson. At no time shall the chairperson and vice-chairperson be affiliated with the same political party. The chairperson shall serve in that capacity for one year and shall not serve as chairperson more than twice during a term as a member of the commission. No two successive chairpersons shall be affiliated with the same political party.

(2) The commission shall meet at the call of the chairperson or upon the written request of a majority of the members. The meetings and hearings of the commission or a panel of the commission under sections 3517.153 to 3517.157 of the Revised Code are subject to section 121.22 of the Revised Code.

(3) The commission shall adopt rules for its procedures in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code. Five of the seven members constitute a quorum. Except as otherwise provided in this section and in sections 3517.154 to 3517.157 of the Revised Code, no action shall be taken without the concurrence of a majority of the members.

(H)(1) The commission shall employ the technical, professional, and clerical employees that are necessary for it to carry out its duties.

(2)(a) Notwithstanding section 109.02 of the Revised Code, the commission shall employ a full-time attorney, and, as needed, one or more investigatory attorneys to conduct investigations for the commission or a panel of the commission. The commission may employ or contract for the services of additional attorneys, as needed. The full-time attorney shall do all of the following:

(i) Serve as the commission's attorney in regard to all legal matters, including representing the commission at appeals from a final determination of the commission, except that the full-time attorney shall not perform the duties that an investigatory attorney is required or requested to perform or that another attorney the commission employs or contracts with for services is required or requested to perform, and shall not represent the commission in any legal proceeding in which the commission is a named party;

(ii) At the request of the commission or a panel of the commission, be present at a hearing held under sections 3517.154 to 3517.156 of the Revised Code to rule on the admissibility of evidence and to advise on the conduct of procedure;

(iii) Perform other duties as required by rule of the commission.

(b) An attorney employed by or under contract with the commission shall be licensed to practice law in this state.

(3)(a) Except as otherwise provided in division (H)(3)(b) of this section, at least five members of the commission shall agree on the employment of a person, a majority of the members shall agree on the discharge of an employee, and a person employed by the commission shall serve at the pleasure of the commission.

(b) At least five of the seven members shall agree on the discharge of an investigatory attorney.

Sec. 4117.01.  As used in this chapter:

(A) "Person," in addition to those included in division (C) of section 1.59 of the Revised Code, includes employee organizations, public employees, and public employers.

(B) "Public employer" means the state or any political subdivision of the state located entirely within the state, including, without limitation, any municipal corporation with a population of at least five thousand according to the most recent federal decennial census; county; township with a population of at least five thousand in the unincorporated area of the township according to the most recent federal decennial census; school district; governing authority of a community school established under Chapter 3314. of the Revised Code; state institution of higher learning; public or special district; state agency, authority, commission, or board; or other branch of public employment.

(C) "Public employee" means any person holding a position by appointment or employment in the service of a public employer, including any person working pursuant to a contract between a public employer and a private employer and over whom the national labor relations board has declined jurisdiction on the basis that the involved employees are employees of a public employer, except:

(1) Persons holding elective office;

(2) Employees of the general assembly and employees of any other legislative body of the public employer whose principal duties are directly related to the legislative functions of the body;

(3) Employees on the staff of the governor or the chief executive of the public employer whose principal duties are directly related to the performance of the executive functions of the governor or the chief executive;

(4) Persons who are members of the Ohio organized militia, while training or performing duty under section 5919.29 or 5923.12 of the Revised Code;

(5) Employees of the state employment relations board;

(6) Confidential employees;

(7) Management level employees;

(8) Employees and officers of the courts, assistants to the attorney general, assistant prosecuting attorneys, and employees of the clerks of courts who perform a judicial function;

(9) Employees of a public official who act in a fiduciary capacity, appointed pursuant to section 124.11 of the Revised Code;

(10) Supervisors;

(11) Students whose primary purpose is educational training, including graduate assistants or associates, residents, interns, or other students working as part-time public employees less than fifty per cent of the normal year in the employee's bargaining unit;

(12) Employees of county boards of election;

(13)(12) Seasonal and casual employees as determined by the state employment relations board;

(14) Part-time faculty members of an institution of higher education;

(15)(13) Employees of the state personnel board of review;

(16)(14) Employees of the board of directors of the Ohio low-level radioactive waste facility development authority created in section 3747.05 of the Revised Code;

(17)(15) Participants in a work activity, developmental activity, or alternative work activity under sections 5107.40 to 5107.69 of the Revised Code who perform a service for a public employer that the public employer needs but is not performed by an employee of the public employer if the participant is not engaged in paid employment or subsidized employment pursuant to the activity;

(18)(16) Employees included in the career professional service of the department of transportation under section 5501.20 of the Revised Code;

(19)(17) Employees who must be licensed to practice law in this state to perform their duties as employees.

(D) "Employee organization" means any labor or bona fide organization in which public employees participate and that exists for the purpose, in whole or in part, of dealing with public employers concerning grievances, labor disputes, wages, hours, terms, and other conditions of employment.

(E) "Exclusive representative" means the employee organization certified or recognized as an exclusive representative under section 4117.05 of the Revised Code.

(F) "Supervisor" means any individual who has authority, in the interest of the public employer, to hire, transfer, suspend, lay off, recall, promote, discharge, assign, reward, or discipline other public employees; to responsibly direct them; to adjust their grievances; or to effectively recommend such action, if the exercise of that authority is not of a merely routine or clerical nature, but requires the use of independent judgment, provided that:

(1) Employees of school districts who are department chairpersons or consulting teachers shall not be deemed supervisors;

(2) With respect to members of a police or fire department, no person shall be deemed a supervisor except the chief of the department or those individuals who, in the absence of the chief, are authorized to exercise the authority and perform the duties of the chief of the department. Where prior to June 1, 1982, a public employer pursuant to a judicial decision, rendered in litigation to which the public employer was a party, has declined to engage in collective bargaining with members of a police or fire department on the basis that those members are supervisors, those members of a police or fire department do not have the rights specified in this chapter for the purposes of future collective bargaining. The state employment relations board shall decide all disputes concerning the application of division (F)(2) of this section.

(3) With respect to faculty members of a state institution of higher education, heads of departments or divisions are supervisors; however, no other faculty member or group of faculty members is a supervisor solely because the faculty member or group of faculty members participate in decisions with respect to courses, curriculum, personnel, or other matters of academic policy;

(4) No teacher as defined in section 3319.09 of the Revised Code shall be designated as a supervisor or a management level employee unless the teacher is employed under a contract governed by section 3319.01, 3319.011, or 3319.02 of the Revised Code and is assigned to a position for which a license deemed to be for administrators under state board rules is required pursuant to section 3319.22 of the Revised Code.

(G) "To bargain collectively" means to perform the mutual obligation of the public employer, by its representatives, and the representatives of its employees to negotiate in good faith at reasonable times and places with respect to wages, hours, terms, and other conditions of employment and the continuation, modification, or deletion of an existing provision of a collective bargaining agreement, with the intention of reaching an agreement, or to resolve questions arising under the agreement. "To bargain collectively" includes executing a written contract incorporating the terms of any agreement reached. The obligation to bargain collectively does not mean that either party is compelled to agree to a proposal nor does it require the making of a concession.

(H) "Strike" means continuous concerted action in failing to report to duty; willful absence from one's position; or stoppage of work in whole from the full, faithful, and proper performance of the duties of employment, for the purpose of inducing, influencing, or coercing a change in wages, hours, terms, and other conditions of employment. "Strike" does not include a stoppage of work by employees in good faith because of dangerous or unhealthful working conditions at the place of employment that are abnormal to the place of employment.

(I) "Unauthorized strike" includes, but is not limited to, concerted action during the term or extended term of a collective bargaining agreement or during the pendency of the settlement procedures set forth in section 4117.14 of the Revised Code in failing to report to duty; willful absence from one's position; stoppage of work; slowdown, or abstinence in whole or in part from the full, faithful, and proper performance of the duties of employment for the purpose of inducing, influencing, or coercing a change in wages, hours, terms, and other conditions of employment. "Unauthorized strike" includes any such action, absence, stoppage, slowdown, or abstinence when done partially or intermittently, whether during or after the expiration of the term or extended term of a collective bargaining agreement or during or after the pendency of the settlement procedures set forth in section 4117.14 of the Revised Code.

(J) "Professional employee" means any employee engaged in work that is predominantly intellectual, involving the consistent exercise of discretion and judgment in its performance and requiring knowledge of an advanced type in a field of science or learning customarily acquired by a prolonged course in an institution of higher learning or a hospital, as distinguished from a general academic education or from an apprenticeship; or an employee who has completed the courses of specialized intellectual instruction and is performing related work under the supervision of a professional person to become qualified as a professional employee.

(K) "Confidential employee" means any employee who works in the personnel offices of a public employer and deals with information to be used by the public employer in collective bargaining; or any employee who works in a close continuing relationship with public officers or representatives directly participating in collective bargaining on behalf of the employer.

(L) "Management level employee" means an individual who formulates policy on behalf of the public employer, who responsibly directs the implementation of policy, or who may reasonably be required on behalf of the public employer to assist in the preparation for the conduct of collective negotiations, administer collectively negotiated agreements, or have a major role in personnel administration. Assistant superintendents, principals, and assistant principals whose employment is governed by section 3319.02 of the Revised Code are management level employees. With respect to members of a faculty of a state institution of higher education, no person is a management level employee because of the person's involvement in the formulation or implementation of academic or institution policy.

(M) "Wages" means hourly rates of pay, salaries, or other forms of compensation for services rendered.

(N) "Member of a police department" means a person who is in the employ of a police department of a municipal corporation as a full-time regular police officer as the result of an appointment from a duly established civil service eligibility list or under section 737.15 or 737.16 of the Revised Code, a full-time deputy sheriff appointed under section 311.04 of the Revised Code, a township constable appointed under section 509.01 of the Revised Code, or a member of a township police district police department appointed under section 505.49 of the Revised Code.

(O) "Members of the state highway patrol" means highway patrol troopers and radio operators appointed under section 5503.01 of the Revised Code.

(P) "Member of a fire department" means a person who is in the employ of a fire department of a municipal corporation or a township as a fire cadet, full-time regular firefighter, or promoted rank as the result of an appointment from a duly established civil service eligibility list or under section 505.38, 709.012, or 737.22 of the Revised Code.

(Q) "Day" means calendar day.

Section 2. That existing sections 3517.152 and 4117.01 of the Revised Code are hereby repealed.