BILL ANALYSIS Ó Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary Senator Kevin de León, Chair AB 602 (Yamada) - Residents of state hospitals and developmental centers: peace officer training and mandated reporters. Amended: August 12, 2013 Policy Vote: PS 6-0, HS 6-0 Urgency: No Mandate: Yes Hearing Date: August 12, 2013 Consultant: Jolie Onodera This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File. Bill Summary: AB 602 would require the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) to, by July 1, 2015, establish and maintain an updated training course relating to law enforcement interaction with mentally disabled and developmentally disabled residents of state mental hospitals and developmental centers, as specified. In addition, this bill: Provides that the course shall be required for law enforcement personnel serving in law enforcement agencies with jurisdiction over state mental hospitals and state developmental centers as part of the agency's officer training program. Requires mandated reporters to report specified forms of serious abuse or neglect in state mental hospitals or developmental centers to both local law enforcement and state investigators within two hours. For reports of serious abuse or neglect, requires local law enforcement agencies to coordinate efforts with the designated investigators of the Department of State Hospitals (DSH) or the Department of Developmental Services (DDS) to provide the most immediate and appropriate response warranted to investigate the mandated report. The designated investigators of the DSH or the DDS and local law enforcement agencies may collaborate to develop protocols to implement this section. Fiscal Impact: One-time costs of $125,000 and ongoing minor costs of less than $25,000 (Special Fund*) for POST to develop and maintain the training course. The provisions of the bill authorize video-based instruction, which POST has indicated it intends to utilize. Ongoing state-reimbursable costs potentially in the AB 602 (Yamada) Page 1 hundreds of thousands of dollars (General Fund) for mandated training of local law enforcement officers serving in agencies with geographic jurisdiction over state mental hospitals and developmental centers. One-time costs in the range of $62,000 to $125,000 (General Fund) for 700 DSH officers to complete the training course. This estimate assumes a two- to four-hour video-based training course developed by POST. Estimated costs of $45,000 to $90,000 (General Fund) for 500 DDS officers to complete the same training course. One-time minor costs (General Fund) for the DSH and DDS to develop instructions to implement the revised reporting requirements. Ongoing potentially significant state-reimbursable costs potentially in excess of $150,000 (General Fund) statewide, for local law enforcement to coordinate efforts with designated investigators of DSH and DDS. Ongoing costs to the Judicial Branch, potentially in the range of $25,000 to $50,000 (General Fund**) for additional misdemeanor and felony court filings. Non-reimbursable local enforcement costs offset to a degree by fine revenue to the extent the provisions of this bill result in additional violations of the misdemeanor offense of failure to report Potential ongoing increased local and state incarceration costs in excess of $100,000 statewide to the extent the provisions of this bill result in a significant increase in reports to law enforcement and subsequent prosecutions. *Peace Officers Training Fund **Trial Court Trust Fund Background: Under existing law, the DDS is responsible for operating state-owned developmental centers (DCs) which house and care for individuals with significant developmental disabilities. DCs are staffed with nurses, psychiatric technicians, and other health care professionals who support the ongoing health and safety of the residents who live there. Current law provides that a DC shall immediately report all deaths and serious injuries of unknown origin to the appropriate local law enforcement agency, which may, at its discretion, conduct an independent investigation (regardless of whether the Office of Protective Services (OPS) has investigated the incident). These reporting requirements are in addition to the reporting requirements of mandated reporters. AB 602 (Yamada) Page 2 On July 9, 2013, the Bureau of State Audits (BSA) released its report on resident safety at the DDS DCs, highlighting that DDS health care staff do not always provide timely notification of incidents to its OPS, and that OPS did not routinely follow its investigation procedures of alleged resident abuse. OPS law enforcement officers are on-site at each DC, and in addition to general patrol and traffic enforcement duties, respond to alleged abuse of residents. The Department of State Hospitals (DSH) operates five state hospitals (Metropolitan, Patton, Napa, Atascadero, and Coalinga) and three psychiatric programs statewide, providing in-patient mental health treatment services to over 6,500 patients annually. A federal Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act (CRIPA) investigation and correction plan has been underway at the state hospitals since 2006 due to reports of patient abuse and neglect. Existing law under the Elder Abuse and Dependent Adult Civil Protection Act establishes procedures for the reporting, investigation, and prosecution of elder and dependent adult abuse. The act requires mandated reporters to report known or suspected instances of elder or dependent adult abuse or neglect that has occurred in a state DC or state mental health hospital to either the designated investigators of the DSH or DDS or to the local law enforcement agency. Failure to report physical abuse or neglect or financial abuse of an elder or dependent adult under the act, with specified exceptions, is a misdemeanor. In response to several incidents at DSH and DDS facilities, proposals have been made to remove law enforcement officers entirely from DDS and DSH facilities and instead rely on local law enforcement agencies to conduct investigations. This bill specifies reporting requirements for mandated reporters in DCs and state hospitals intended to mirror those enacted under AB 40 (Yamada) Chapter 659/2012 that directed the actions of mandated reporters in long-term care facilities to require that reporting be done in specified cases "immediately, and no later than within two hours." Proposed Law: This bill would require the POST to, by July 1, 2015, establish and maintain an updated training course relating AB 602 (Yamada) Page 3 to law enforcement interaction with mentally disabled and developmentally disabled residents of state mental hospitals and developmental centers, as specified. In addition, this bill: Provides that the course shall be required for law enforcement personnel serving in law enforcement agencies with jurisdiction over state mental hospitals and state developmental centers as part of the agency's officer training program. Requires mandated reporters to report specified forms of serious abuse or neglect in state mental hospitals or developmental centers to both local law enforcement and state investigators within two hours. For reports of serious abuse or neglect, requires local law enforcement agency to coordinate efforts with the designated investigators of the DSH or the DDS to provide the most immediate and appropriate response warranted to investigate the mandated report. The designated investigators of the DSH or the DDS and local law enforcement agencies may collaborate to develop protocols to implement this clause. Prior Legislation: SB 1051 (Liu) Chapter 660/2012 required mandated reporters in the DDS to immediately report suspected abuse to the Office of Protective Services or to the local law enforcement agency. SB 1522 (Leno) Chapter 666/2012 required a state developmental center to report to local law enforcement all deaths, sexual assaults with a deadly weapon or force likely to produce great bodily injury, and other specified incidents. AB 40 (Yamada) Chapter 659/2012 required mandated reporters of elder or dependent adult abuse to report suspected or known instances of physical abuse occurring in long-term care facilities to both the long-term care ombudsman and local law enforcement. Staff Comments: The Commission on POST has indicated one-time costs of $125,000 to develop the training course, and minor ongoing costs to maintain the training course. The provisions of the bill authorize video-based instruction, which POST has indicated it intends to utilize. By requiring the training course for law enforcement personnel serving in law enforcement agencies with jurisdiction over state AB 602 (Yamada) Page 4 mental hospitals and state DCs as part of the agency's officer training program, this bill could result in unknown but potentially significant state-reimbursable costs in the hundreds of thousands of dollars (General Fund) for mandated training of the specified local law enforcement officers. Specific examples of local costs for law enforcement training requirements that the Commission on State Mandates has historically determined to be state-reimbursable include sexual harassment ($2.5 million), racial profiling ($9.2 million), and elder abuse ($1.6 million). Assuming approximately 2,000 law enforcement officers would be impacted by the training requirements of this bill, costs are estimated to be in the range of $180,000 to $350,000 (General Fund). The DSH has estimated one-time costs in the range of $62,000 to $125,000 (General Fund) for 700 DSH officers to complete the training course. This estimate assumes overtime pay for officers to complete a two- to four-hour video-based training course developed by POST. The estimated cost for 500 DDS law enforcement officers to complete the same video-based training course is $40,000 to $90,000 (General Fund). Both the DSH and DDS have indicates one-time minor costs (General Fund) to develop instructions to implement the revised reporting requirements for mandated reporters. By mandating that local law enforcement, upon initial receipt within two hours of an incident, coordinate efforts with the designated investigators of the DSH or DDS to provide the most immediate and appropriate response warranted, the provisions of this bill could result in unknown, but potentially significant state-reimbursable costs. Staff notes that existing statute related to local law enforcement coordination with local ombudsmen in response to incidents in long-term care facilities is authorized but not mandated. To the extent the provisions of this bill result in additional violations of the misdemeanor offense of failure of a mandated reporter to report, this bill could result in additional non-reimbursable local enforcement costs offset to a degree by fine revenue. In addition, ongoing costs to the Judicial Branch in the range of $25,000 to $50,000 for additional court filings could be incurred. Because the provisions of this bill will likely increase the AB 602 (Yamada) Page 5 number of reports to local law enforcement, there will be increased non-reimbursable costs for enforcement and investigation. To the extent the provisions of this bill result in additional criminal prosecutions could result in increased state and local incarceration costs of an unknown amount, but potentially in excess of $100,000 annually.