BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Senator Ricardo Lara, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular Session
SB 29 (Beall) - Peace officer training: mental health
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|Version: April 15, 2015 |Policy Vote: PUB. S. 7 - 0 |
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|Urgency: No |Mandate: Yes |
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|Hearing Date: May 11, 2015 |Consultant: Jolie Onodera |
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This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File.
Bill
Summary: SB 29 would require the Commission on Peace Officer
Standards and Training (POST) to develop a course on behavioral
health to provide to field training officers, as follows:
Requires field training officers who provide instruction
in the field training program to have 40 hours of
behavioral health training, as specified.
Requires 20 hours of field training to be completed
during field training and probationary period relating to
law enforcement interaction with persons with mental
illness or intellectual disability.
Fiscal
Impact:
Course development: One-time costs to POST of $120,000 to
$350,000 (Special Fund*).
POST training costs : First-year costs of up to $10.4 million
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(Special Fund*); annual costs thereafter of $3.9 million,
broken out as follows:
o Existing field training officers: one-time costs of
up to $6.5 million (Special Fund*) for the 40-hour
course.
o Prospective field training officers: ongoing annual
costs of $2.6 million (Special Fund*).
o 20-hour field training: ongoing costs of up to $1.3
million (Special Fund*)
Local law enforcement costs : Major first-year and ongoing
costs, likely state-reimbursable, to local law enforcement
agencies in the millions of dollars (General Fund). Costs to
backfill for 40 hours of missed work for existing field
training officers could cost in excess of $10 million. Ongoing
costs to backfill for field training officers prospectively
are estimated to be in the low millions of dollars (General
Fund).
*Peace Officers' Training Fund
Background: Existing law requires specified categories of law enforcement
officers to meet training standards pursuant to courses of
training certified by the Commission on Peace Officer Standards
and Training (POST). Existing law requires POST to include in
its basic training course adequate instruction in the handling
of persons with developmental disabilities or mental illness, or
both. Existing law also requires POST to establish and keep
updated a continuing education classroom training course
relating to law enforcement interaction with developmentally
disabled and mentally ill persons.
The current POST training curriculum for prospective officers
mandates 664 hours (16 weeks) of training. Under current law,
officers receive six hours of POST-approved training on how to
interact with persons with mental illness and developmental
disabilities as part of the Regular Basic Training Course, as
required by Penal Code § 13519.2. 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.
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Proposed Law:
This bill requires POST to require the field training officers
who provide instruction in the field training program to have 40
hours of promising or evidence-based behavioral health training
to deescalate a situation where an officer is interacting with
persons with mental illness or intellectual disability.
Additionally, this bill:
Provides that if an officer has completed 40 hours of
behavioral health training, the requirement shall not
apply. Instead, the officer is strongly encouraged to take
a four-hour behavioral health refresher course.
Requires the course to address issues relating to
stigma, shall be culturally relevant and appropriate, and
cover specified topics.
Requires POST, as part of its field training program, to
require 20 hours of field training relating to law
enforcement interaction with persons with mental illness or
intellectual disability, to be completed during the
employing department's field training and probationary
period.
Related
Legislation: SB 11 (Beall) 2015 would require at least 20 hours
of additional training in the academy for behavioral health
classroom training, as well as at least four hours of continuing
behavioral health training every four years for specified peace
officers. This bill is scheduled to be heard today by this
Committee.
Staff
Comments: POST has indicated the provisions of this bill do not
provide supplemental funding for POST to develop the training.
Dependent on the type of training developed by POST to satisfy
the proposed training requirement, the cost to POST could range
from $120,000 to $350,000.
The current average POST reimbursement cost for officers
completing the Field Training Officer Course is $756 per
attendee. Increasing the minimum training hours for field
training officers by 40 hours would double POST reimbursement
costs to $1,512 per attendee. Based on an estimated 8,628 field
training officers, POST reimbursement costs to address the
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additional 40 hours of mental health training would be $756 per
attendee for a total of $6.5 million. POST indicates an average
of 1,726 officers complete the Field Training Officer Course
each year. If this bill is enacted, POST reimbursement costs per
year to train field training officers would be $2.6 million.
POST reimbursement for the 20-hour additional course added to
the Field Training Program would be $378 per attendee. With an
average of 3,500 students per year who complete the Regular
Basic Course and are eligible to enter the Field Training
Program, annual POST reimbursement cost could be as high as $1.3
million.
POST notes additional costs associated with the presentation of
the courses, which vary depending on the mode of instruction,
the facilities required, cost for instructors, and necessary
equipment. POST has indicated concerns due to the continuing
decline in revenue to the State Penalty Fund, which is the
source from which the Peace Officers' Training Fund receives the
funding for POST operations and provides aid to local law
enforcement agencies that participate in the POST Program.
The 2015-16 Governor's Budget includes a reduction of $5.3
million and 36.9 positions beginning in 2015-16 to help with the
long-term solvency of the Peace Officers' Training Fund (POTF).
Staff notes the POTF continues to operate at a deficit, with a
projected year-end balance of $7.1 million in 2014-15, declining
further to $3.6 million in 2015-16.
In addition to the costs to POST, law enforcement agencies would
incur additional costs to backfill for hours that the field
training officers spend in training. Several test claims related
to law enforcement training (elder abuse, racial profiling, and
sexual harassment) have been determined by the Commission on
State Mandates to be reimbursable state mandates, requiring
reimbursement from the state for associated costs. It is
estimated the provisions of this bill would result in major
one-time and ongoing costs likely in the millions of dollars for
these activities.
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