BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                                                  SB 1296
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          SENATE THIRD READING
          SB 1296 (Correa)
          As Amended  April 7, 2010
          Majority vote 

           SENATE VOTE  :35-0  
           
           PUBLIC SAFETY       6-0         APPROPRIATIONS      17-0        
           
           ----------------------------------------------------------------- 
          |Ayes:|Ammiano, Hagman, Beall,   |Ayes:|Fuentes, Conway,          |
          |     |Gilmore, Hill, Portantino |     |Bradford,                 |
          |     |                          |     |Huffman, Coto, Davis, De  |
          |     |                          |     |Leon, Gatto, Hall,        |
          |     |                          |     |Harkey, Miller, Nielsen,  |
          |     |                          |     |Norby, Skinner, Solorio,  |
          |     |                          |     |Torlakson, Torrico        |
          |-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
          |     |                          |     |                          |
           ----------------------------------------------------------------- 
           SUMMARY  :  Provides for education of law enforcement in the areas  
          of traumatic brain injury (TBI) and post-traumatic stress  
          disorder (PTSD).  Specifically,  this bill  :  

          1)Requires the Commission on Peace Officers Standards and  
            Training (POST) to meet with the Department of Veterans  
            Affairs (DVA) and community, local, or other state  
            organizations and agencies that have expertise in the area of  
            TBI and PTSD in order to assess the training needed by peace  
            officers, who are first responders in emergency situations, on  
            the topic of returning veterans or other persons suffering  
            from TBI or PTSD. 

          2)States that if POST determines that there is an unfulfilled  
            need for training on TBI and PTSD, POST shall determine the  
            training format that is both fiscally responsible and meets  
            the training needs of the greatest number of officers.

          3)States that if POST determines that there is an unfulfilled  
            need for training on TBI and PTSD, POST, upon the next  
            regularly scheduled review of a training module relating to  
            persons with disabilities, shall create and make available on  
            DVD and may distribute electronically, or provide by means of  
            another form or method of training, a course on how to  








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            recognize and interact with returning veterans or other  
            persons suffering from TBI or PTSD.  This course shall be  
            designed for, and made available to, peace officers who are  
            first responders to emergency situations.

          4)Requires the training course to be developed by POST in  
            consultation with DVA and appropriate community, local, or  
            other state organizations and agencies that have expertise in  
            the area of TBI and PTSD.  POST would be required to make the  
            course available to law enforcement agencies in California.

          5)Requires POST to distribute, as necessary, a training bulletin  
            via the Internet to law enforcement agencies participating in  
            POST's program on the topic of TBI and PTSD.

          6)Specifies that POST shall report to the Legislature, no later  
            than June 30, 2012, on the extent to which peace officers are  
            receiving adequate training in how to interact with persons  
            suffering from TBI or PTSD.

          7)Provides that its requirement for submitting a report is  
            inoperative on June 30, 2016, as specified.

          8)Requires that the report is to be submitted as a printed copy  
            to both the Legislative Counsel and the Secretary of the  
            Senate, and as an electronic copy to the Chief Clerk of the  
            Assembly, and made available to the public in compliance with  
            the Government Code, as specified.

           EXISTING LAW  :

          1)States that by July 1, 2006, POST shall establish and keep  
            updated a continuing education classroom training course  
            relating to law enforcement interaction with mentally disabled  
            persons.  The training course shall be developed by POST in  
            consultation with appropriate community, local, and state  
            organizations and agencies that have expertise in the area of  
            mental illness and developmental disability, and with  
            appropriate consumer and family advocate groups.  In  
            developing the course, POST shall also examine existing  
            courses certified by POST that relate to mentally disabled  
            persons.  POST shall make the course available to law  
            enforcement agencies in California.  









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          2)Provides the course shall consist of classroom instruction and  
            shall utilize interactive training methods to ensure that the  
            training is as realistic as possible.  The course shall  
            include, at a minimum, core instruction in all of the  
            following:

             a)   The cause and nature of mental illnesses and  
               developmental disabilities;

             b)   How to identify indicators of mental disability and how  
               to respond appropriately in a variety of common situations;

             c)   Conflict resolution and de-escalation techniques for  
               potentially dangerous situations involving mentally  
               disabled persons;

             d)   Appropriate language usage when interacting with  
               mentally disabled persons;

             e)   Alternatives to lethal force when interacting with  
               potentially dangerous mentally disabled persons;

             f)   Community and state resources available to serve  
               mentally disabled persons and how these resources can be  
               best utilized by law enforcement to benefit the mentally  
               disabled community; and,

             g)   The fact that a crime committed in whole or in part  
               because of an actual or perceived disability of the victim  
               is a specified hate crime.

          3)States POST shall submit a report to the Legislature by  
            October 1, 2004, that shall include all of the following:

             a)   A description of the process by which the course was  
               established, including a list of the agencies and groups  
               that were consulted;

             b)   Information on the number of law enforcement agencies  
               that utilized, and the number of officers that attended,  
               the course or other courses certified by POST relating to  
               mentally disabled persons from July 1, 2001, to July 1,  
               2003, inclusive;









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             c)   Information on the number of law enforcement agencies  
               that utilized, and the number of officers that attended,  
               courses certified by POST relating to mentally disabled  
               persons from July 1, 2000, to July 1, 2001, inclusive; and,

             d)   An analysis of the Police Crisis Intervention Training  
               Program used by the San Francisco and San Jose Police  
               Departments, to assess the training used in these programs  
               and compare it with existing courses offered by POST in  
               order to evaluate the adequacy of mental disability  
               training available to local law enforcement officers.

          4)States the Legislature encourages law enforcement agencies to  
            include the course created in this section, and any other  
            course certified by the commission relating to mentally  
            disabled persons, as part of their advanced officer training  
            program.  

          5)States legislative intent to reevaluate, on the basis of its  
            review of the report, the extent to which law enforcement  
            officers are receiving adequate training in how to interact  
            with mentally disabled persons.  

           FISCAL EFFECT  :   According to the Assembly Appropriations  
          Committee:

          1)One-time special fund costs, in the range of $150,000, should  
            POST opt to develop the DVD training module.  POST indicates  
            these costs would be absorbable as the proposed review and  
            module are consistent with POST's existing mission (Peace  
            Officer Training Fund).

          2)Minor absorbable special fund costs to POST for meeting with  
            outside parties, developing and disseminating a training  
            bulletin, and reporting to the Legislature.

           COMMENTS  :   According to the author, "TBI and PTSD have been  
          identified as the 'signature injuries' and 'silent epidemics'  
          affecting an increasing number of veterans returning from recent  
          military conflicts.  It has been estimated that 300,000 Iraq and  
          Afghanistan war veterans are afflicted with PTSD.  Persons with  
          TBI are often referred to as the 'walking wounded.'  Their  
          injuries, mostly unnoticeable at first sight, pose certain  
          challenges to those who come in contact with them.  TBI and PTSD  








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          symptoms can sometimes include behaviors of anger, hostility,  
          and aggression.

           "SB 1296 will provide the necessary tools for peace officers  
          who are first responders to emergency situations to recognize  
          and interact with returning veterans or other persons suffering  
          from TBI and PTSD." 

          Please see the policy committee for a full discussion of this  
          bill.
           

          Analysis Prepared by  :    Gabriel Caswell / PUB. S. / (916)  
          319-3744 


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