BILL NUMBER: AB 1669 CHAPTERED 10/11/03 CHAPTER 777 FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE OCTOBER 11, 2003 APPROVED BY GOVERNOR OCTOBER 10, 2003 PASSED THE ASSEMBLY SEPTEMBER 10, 2003 PASSED THE SENATE SEPTEMBER 4, 2003 AMENDED IN SENATE JULY 2, 2003 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 13, 2003 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 28, 2003 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 10, 2003 INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Chu FEBRUARY 21, 2003 An act to add Sections 2247 and 2960.2 to the Business and Professions Code, to amend, repeal, and add Section 1031 of the Government Code, and to add Section 832.05 to the Penal Code, relating to peace officers. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST AB 1669, Chu. Peace officers: psychological evaluations. (1) Existing law requires that public officers or employees declared by law to be peace officers meet certain minimum standards, including being found free from any emotional or mental condition that might adversely affect the exercise of the powers of a peace officer. Existing law requires that the person's emotional and mental condition be evaluated by a licensed physician and surgeon or by a licensed psychologist who has a doctoral degree in psychology and at least 5 years of postgraduate experience in the diagnosis and treatment of emotional and mental disorders. Existing law regulates the professions of physicians and surgeons and psychologists, and makes a violation of the provisions regulating psychologists a misdemeanor. This bill would, on and after January 1, 2005, instead require that the evaluation be done by a physician and surgeon who has completed specified residency and experience requirements or by a licensed psychologist who has at least 5 full-time years of postgraduate experience in the diagnosis and treatment of emotional and mental disorders, with at least 3 of these years accrued postdoctorate, and would require the physician and surgeon or psychologist to meet certain other educational and training standards. This bill, on and after January 1, 2005, would require a state or local department or agency employing peace officers to utilize a physician and surgeon or a psychologist meeting these requirements in conducting a peace officer recruit's emotional and mental screening evaluation or in conducting the evaluation of a peace officer to determine fitness for duty. The bill would also, on or after January 1, 2005, prohibit a physician and surgeon or a psychologist from performing such evaluations unless he or she meets the licensing, education, and training requirements. Because this bill would create prohibitions applicable to psychologists, the violation of which would be a crime, it would impose a state-mandated local program. (2) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement, including the creation of a State Mandates Claims Fund to pay the costs of mandates that do not exceed $1,000,000 statewide and other procedures for claims whose statewide costs exceed $1,000,000. This bill would provide that with regard to certain mandates no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason. With regard to any other mandates, this bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs so mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. Section 2247 is added to the Business and Professions Code, to read: 2247. (a) A licensee shall meet the requirements set forth in subdivision (f) of Section 1031 of the Government Code prior to performing either of the following: (1) An evaluation of a peace officer applicant's emotional and mental condition. (2) An evaluation of a peace officer's fitness for duty. (b) This section shall become operative on January 1, 2005. SEC. 2. Section 2960.2 is added to the Business and Professions Code, to read: 2960.2. (a) A licensee shall meet the requirements set forth in subdivision (f) of Section 1031 of the Government Code prior to performing either of the following: (1) An evaluation of a peace officer applicant's emotional and mental condition. (2) An evaluation of a peace officer's fitness for duty. (b) This section shall become operative on January 1, 2005. SEC. 3. Section 1031 of the Government Code is amended to read: 1031. Each class of public officers or employees declared by law to be peace officers shall meet all of the following minimum standards: (a) Be a citizen of the United States or a permanent resident alien who is eligible for and has applied for citizenship, except as provided in Section 2267 of the Vehicle Code. (b) Be at least 18 years of age. (c) Be fingerprinted for purposes of search of local, state, and national fingerprint files to disclose any criminal record. (d) Be of good moral character, as determined by a thorough background investigation. (e) Be a high school graduate, pass the General Education Development Test indicating high school graduation level, pass the California High School Proficiency Examination, or have attained a two-year or four-year degree from an accredited college or university. The high school shall be either a United States public school meeting the high school standards set by the state in which it is located, an accredited United States Department of Defense high school, or an accredited nonpublic high school. Any accreditation required by this paragraph shall be from an accrediting association recognized by the Secretary of the United States Department of Education. This subdivision shall not apply to any public officer or employee who was employed, prior to the effective date of the amendment of this section made at the 1971 Regular Session of the Legislature, in any position declared by law prior to the effective date of that amendment to be peace officer positions. (f) Be found to be free from any physical, emotional, or mental condition which might adversely affect the exercise of the powers of a peace officer. Physical condition shall be evaluated by a licensed physician and surgeon. Emotional and mental condition shall be evaluated by a licensed physician and surgeon or by a licensed psychologist who has a doctoral degree in psychology and at least five years of postgraduate experience in the diagnosis and treatment of emotional and mental disorders. This section shall not be construed to preclude the adoption of additional or higher standards, including age. (g) This section shall become inoperative on January 1, 2005, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute, which is enacted before January 1, 2005, deletes or extends the dates on which it becomes inoperative and is repealed. SEC. 4. Section 1031 is added to the Government Code, to read: 1031. Each class of public officers or employees declared by law to be peace officers shall meet all of the following minimum standards: (a) Be a citizen of the United States or a permanent resident alien who is eligible for and has applied for citizenship, except as provided in Section 2267 of the Vehicle Code. (b) Be at least 18 years of age. (c) Be fingerprinted for purposes of search of local, state, and national fingerprint files to disclose a criminal record. (d) Be of good moral character, as determined by a thorough background investigation. (e) Be a high school graduate, pass the General Education Development Test indicating high school graduation level, pass the California High School Proficiency Examination, or have attained a two-year or four-year degree from an accredited college or university. The high school shall be either a United States public school meeting the high school standards set by the state in which it is located, an accredited United States Department of Defense high school, or an accredited nonpublic high school. Any accreditation required by this paragraph shall be from an accrediting association recognized by the Secretary of the United States Department of Education. This subdivision shall not apply to a public officer or employee who was employed, prior to the effective date of the amendment of this section made at the 1971 Regular Session of the Legislature, in any position declared by law prior to the effective date of that amendment to be peace officer positions. (f) Be found to be free from any physical, emotional, or mental condition that might adversely affect the exercise of the powers of a peace officer. (1) Physical condition shall be evaluated by a licensed physician and surgeon. (2) Emotional and mental condition shall be evaluated by either of the following: (A) A physician and surgeon who holds a valid California license to practice medicine, has successfully completed a postgraduate medical residency education program in psychiatry accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education, and has at least the equivalent of five full-time years of experience in the diagnosis and treatment of emotional and mental disorders, including the equivalent of three full-time years accrued after completion of the psychiatric residency program. (B) A psychologist licensed by the California Board of Psychology who has at least the equivalent of five full-time years of experience in the diagnosis and treatment of emotional and mental disorders, including the equivalent of three full-time years accrued postdoctorate. The physician and surgeon or psychologist shall also have met any applicable education and training procedures set forth by the California Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training designed for the conduct of preemployment psychological screening of peace officers. (g) This section shall not be construed to preclude the adoption of additional or higher standards, including age. (h) This section shall become operative on January 1, 2005. SEC. 5. Section 832.05 is added to the Penal Code, to read: 832.05. (a) Each state or local department or agency that employs peace officers shall utilize a person meeting the requirements set forth in subdivision (f) of Section 1031 of the Government Code, applicable to emotional and mental examinations, for any emotional and mental evaluation done in the course of the department or agency' s screening of peace officer recruits or the evaluation of peace officers to determine their fitness for duty. (b) This section shall become operative on January 1, 2005. SEC. 6. No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution for certain costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school district because in that regard this act creates a new crime or infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution. However, notwithstanding Section 17610 of the Government Code, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that this act contains other costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Government Code. If the statewide cost of the claim for reimbursement does not exceed one million dollars ($1,000,000), reimbursement shall be made from the State Mandates Claims Fund.