BILL ANALYSIS Ó SB 11 Page 1 Date of Hearing: August 19, 2015 ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS Jimmy Gomez, Chair SB 11 (Beall) - As Amended July 8, 2015 ----------------------------------------------------------------- |Policy |Public Safety |Vote:|7 - 0 | |Committee: | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |-------------+-------------------------------+-----+-------------| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |-------------+-------------------------------+-----+-------------| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: YesReimbursable: Yes SUMMARY: This bill: SB 11 Page 2 1)Requires the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) to establish a training course that is at least 15 hours on law enforcement interaction with persons with mental illness as part of its basic training course. 2)Requires POST to develop and provide a three hour continuing education course on the same subject matter. FISCAL EFFECT: 1)Reimbursable state mandated costs in the $7 million (GF) range for the initial refresher course and in the $2 million (GF) range ongoing for the refresher course every four years. There are currently 482 cities and 58 counties in California employing about 77,000 sworn peace officers. To the extent local agency expenditures qualify as a reimbursable state mandate, agencies could claim reimbursement of those costs for missed work hours for all officers with rank supervisor or below. 2)Course development cost of $350,000 (Post Officer Training Fund) to POST for the refresher course. COMMENTS: 1)Purpose. According to the author, POST training mandates six hours of mental health training, and no ongoing training, yet people with mental illness of intellectual disabilities are involved in almost 50 percent of all police shootings. "SB 11 responds to the public's demand to increase safety by mandating stronger evidence-based behavioral health training SB 11 Page 3 that has proven to reduce volatile confrontations between peace officers and people with mental illnesses or intellectual disabilities. Equally important, SB 11 acknowledges California's diverse populations by requiring training to be culturally appropriate." 2)Background. According to the POST Web site, the Regular Basic Course Training includes 42 separate topics, ranging from juvenile law and procedure to search and seizure. POST introductory training includes a section called, Individuals with Disabilities. It is the segment of academy training focused on police officers' interactions with people with disabilities. These six hours of instruction cover a wide spectrum of disability-related topics, including understanding and identifying various types of disabilities (developmental, physical and psychiatric) and reviewing state and federal disability laws and individuals' rights protections. Also included in the six hours is instruction on interacting with people with mental health disabilities and the involuntary commitment process. While there is no mandatory continuing education requirement, POST offers a variety of courses relating to mental health. According to information provided by POST, there are currently 38 mental health certified courses available to California law enforcement. These courses range in duration from four to 40 hours. 3)Argument in Support: According to California Coalition for Mental Health (CCMH), "As you know, in the course of their duties, law enforcement officers often encounter persons SB 11 Page 4 living with a mental health condition. Unfortunately, new officers are sent into the field with very little training on how best to interact with persons who may be experiencing issues related to their mental health. Of similar concern is the fact that existing officers receive little if any ongoing training in this important skill set after they leave their academies. CCMH believes that mandating increased training for officers is an essential part of a broader strategy to reduce the likelihood of tragic encounters between law enforcement and persons experiencing mental health issues." 4)Argument in Opposition: According to the California State Sheriffs' Association, "Currently, significant training on mental health issues is required of prospective and employed peace officers. The basic POST academy includes mandatory training on mental health issues and includes a scenario-based test that must be passed in order to graduate from academy. Additionally, law enforcement agencies around the state offer ongoing POST-certified crisis intervention training on mental health and require their officers to complete additional mental health training in addition to the state-mandated minimums." 5)Related Legislation: SB 29 (Beall), also on today's agenda, requires eight hours of POST training for field training to deal the individuals with mental health issues. 6)Prior Legislation: AB 1718 (Hertzberg), Chapter 95, Statutes of 2000, required that POST establish, and keep updated, a continuing education classroom training course related to law enforcement intervention with developmentally disabled and mentally ill persons and that the course be developed in consultation with specified groups and entities. Analysis Prepared by:Pedro R. Reyes / APPR. / (916) SB 11 Page 5 319-2081