State Representatives Gerald Stebelton (R-Lancaster) and Danny Bubp (R-West Union) have announced that the Ohio House of Representatives passed House Bill 162, legislation to allow all military veterans to receive the veterans’ preference on civil service examinations.

Specifically, House Bill 162 will amend sections of the Ohio Revised Code to provide certain professional licensing and certification rights to service members, spouses of service members, and veterans, and to eliminate the requirement that a veteran be a resident of Ohio to qualify to receive the veterans preference on civil service examinations.

“Only a handful of states have a residency requirement for their veterans’ preference on these exams, and none of our neighbor states require residency,” said Stebelton. “These changes address issues our service members and their families face due to situations out of their control.”

Currently, veterans may receive a 20 percent additional credit to their total grade scored on the regular civil service examination only if they are also a resident of Ohio. This condition hinders former residents of Ohio who have left for their military service and taken up residency where they are stationed from returning to Ohio to live and work in the civil service sector.

“By extending the military service credit to all honorably discharged veterans, Ohio will be encouraging well-qualified service members to come work in our great state,” Bubp said.

The Veterans Affairs committee amended H.B. 162 to include provisions allowing for service members and their spouses to obtain temporary professional licenses when they relocate to Ohio due to their military service. For example, a wife of a soldier who is relocated to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base who has a cosmetology license currently would be unemployable until she would get her Ohio license. Under the bill, she would get a six-month temporary license so she could start working when she arrives in Ohio.

House Bill 162 passed with unanimous support and will now move to the Ohio Senate for further consideration.