BILL ANALYSIS Ó SB 1221 Page 1 Date of Hearing: June 29, 2016 ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS Lorena Gonzalez, Chair SB 1221 (Hertzberg) - As Amended June 8, 2016 ----------------------------------------------------------------- |Policy |Public Safety |Vote:|7 - 0 | |Committee: | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: NoReimbursable: No SUMMARY: This bill directs the Commission on Peace Officers Standards and Training (POST) to make the existing continuing education classroom training course related to law enforcement interaction with mentally disabled persons available to the State Fire Marshal, who may revise the course as appropriate for firefighters. FISCAL EFFECT: No cost to POST, and minor absorbable to the State Fire Marshal. SB 1221 Page 2 COMMENTS: 1) Background/Purpose. POST currently provides a continuing education course on interacting with individuals with developmental disabilities or mental health issues. Students are instructed on conflict resolution and de-escalation techniques for potentially dangerous situations involving mentally disabled persons and appropriate language use when interacting with mentally disabled persons. Individuals receiving instruction are also told about community and state resources available to serve mentally disabled persons. SB 1221 authorizes POST to share their course on interaction with mentally disabled persons with the State Fire Marshal. Many times firefighters, not law enforcement, are the first responders to an emergency scene. To the extent firefighters have a better understanding of mental health issues, those contacts are going to result in better outcomes. This training will ensure that firefighters can respond to mental health emergencies appropriately, and will help protect the safety of mentally-ill individuals and firefighters. 2) Related Legislation: 1) SB 29 (Beall), Chapter 469, Statutes of 2015, requires law enforcement field training officers to have at least 8 hours of crisis intervention behavioral health SB 1221 Page 3 training. 2) SB 11 (Beall), Chapter 468, Statutes of 2015, requires POST to update its basic training course related to law enforcement interaction with persons with mental illness to include at least 15 hours. 1) Prior Legislation: AB 1718 (Hertzberg), Chapter 95, Statutes of 2000, required that POST establish and keep updated a continuing education classroom training course relating 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 Reyes / APPR. / (916) 319-2081