House Bill No. 136, introduced by Representative Glorioso, seeks to establish a new competitive position within the fire and police civil service known as the "chief of operations." This position can be created by the governing authority through an ordinance or resolution and must be filled from a competitive list of eligible candidates. The fire chief will have the authority to select, appoint, supervise, and discharge the chief of operations, subject to the approval of the appointing authority. The bill outlines specific qualifications for the chief of operations, requiring at least 25 years of service in fire suppression and one year as a battalion or district chief. Additionally, the chief of operations will have direct supervision over all classified service positions below the rank of fire chief.

The bill also stipulates that the chief of operations will retain their departmental seniority while serving in this role and will be evaluated annually by the fire chief. Following each evaluation, the fire chief can either reconfirm the chief of operations for another year or demote them back to their previous position. Importantly, if the chief of operations is demoted or vacates the position, they will return to their former class without losing accumulated seniority. The bill further clarifies that if the chief of operations faces corrective or disciplinary action, they will have the same rights as other employees in the municipal fire and police civil service.