BILL ANALYSIS
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|Hearing Date:June 23, |Bill No:AB |
|2003 |1669 |
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SENATE COMMITTEE ON BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONS
Senator Liz Figueroa, Chair
Bill No: AB 1669Author:Chu
As Amended: May 13, 2003Fiscal: Yes
SUBJECT: Peace officers: psychological evaluations.
SUMMARY: Revises, effective January 1, 2005,
qualifications for physicians and psychologists who
evaluate the mental and emotional fitness of peace officer
recruits and peace officers for duty, and provides that
only physicians and psychologists so qualified may perform
these evaluations.
Existing law:
1)Provides for the licensing and regulation of physicians
by the Medical Board of California (Medical Board).
2)Provides that the Medical Board's Division of Medical
Quality shall take action against any licensee who is
charged with unprofessional conduct. Provides that
unprofessional conduct includes (but is not limited to)
violating or attempting to violate, directly or
indirectly, assisting in or abetting the violation of, or
conspiring to violate any provision of the Medical
Practice Act.
3)Provides for the licensing and regulation of
psychologists by the Board of Psychology.
4)Provides that the Board of Psychology may refuse to issue
any license, or may issue a license with terms and
conditions, or may suspend or revoke the license of any
licensee if the licensee has been guilty of
unprofessional conduct. Provides that unprofessional
conduct includes (but is not limited to) violating any of
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the provisions of the Psychology Licensing Law or
regulations duly adopted thereunder.
5)Requires peace officer applicants to meet certain minimum
requirements, including but not limited to being found to
be free from any physical, emotional or mental condition,
which might adversely affect the exercise of the powers
of a peace officer.
6)Requires a peace officer applicant's emotional and mental
condition to be evaluated by a licensed physician or by a
licensed psychologist who has a doctoral degree in
psychology and at least five years of postgraduate
experience in the diagnosis and treatment of emotional
and mental disorders.
7)Provides that for the purpose of raising the level of
competence of local law enforcement officers, the
California Commission on Peace Officer Standards and
Training (POST) shall establish, and amend from time to
time, minimum standards for relating to physical, mental
and moral fitness for law enforcement officers. Requires
POST to conduct research concerning job-related
educational standards and job-related selection standards
including vision, hearing, physical ability, and
emotional stability.
This bill:
1)Provides, as of January 1, 2005, that a peace officer
applicant's emotional and mental condition shall be
evaluated by either:
a) A licensed physician who is board certified in
psychiatry by the American Board of Psychiatry and
Neurology and has at least five years of postgraduate
experience in the diagnosis and treatment of emotional
and mental disorders, with at least three of these
years accrued after psychiatric residency; or
b) A licensed psychologist who has a doctoral degree
in psychology and at least five years of postgraduate
experience in the diagnosis and treatment of emotional
and mental disorders, with at least three of these
years accrued postdoctorate.
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1)Provides, as of January 1, 2005, that prior to performing
either (a) an evaluation of a peace officer applicant's
emotional and mental condition or (b) an evaluation of a
peace officer's fitness for duty, a physician shall be
board certified in psychiatry by the American Board of
Psychiatry and Neurology and have at least five years of
postgraduate experience in the diagnosis and treatment of
emotional and mental disorders, with at least three of
these years accrued after psychiatric residency.
2)Allows the Medical Board to suspend, revoke, or refuse to
renew the license of a physician that is a board
certified psychiatrist if that physician performs
evaluations of a peace officer applicant's emotional and
mental condition, or performs an evaluation of a peace
officer's fitness for duty, without meeting the specified
requirements for conducting an emotional and mental
evaluation.
3)Provides, as of January 1, 2005, that it is
unprofessional conduct for a licensed psychologist to
perform evaluations of a peace officer applicant's
emotional and mental condition or perform an evaluation
of a peace officer's fitness for duty unless the licensed
psychologist has a doctoral degree in psychology and at
least five years of postgraduate experience in the
diagnosis and treatment of emotional and mental
disorders, with at least three of these years accrued
postdoctorate.
4)Provides, as of January 1, 2005, that each department or
agency in California that employs peace officers shall
utilize a person meeting the specified requirements
applicable to emotional and mental examinations, for any
emotional and mental evaluation done in the course of the
department or agency's screening of peace officer
recruits or the evaluation of peace officers to determine
their fitness for duty.
FISCAL EFFECT: "Negligible nonreimbursable local costs for
prosecuting violations," according to the May 21, 2003,
Assembly Appropriations Committee analysis.
COMMENTS:
1.Purpose. According to information provided by the
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Author's office, peace officers perform a very difficult
and stressful job that presents many unique psychological
issues and the specialization of police psychology is a
relatively new and evolving field. Under existing law
any physician may perform these crucial peace officer
evaluations and there is currently no training or
education requirements for physicians/psychologists that
could help ensure these evaluations are being performed
by competent professionals. Those psychologists who
screen and evaluate officers should themselves be
specially trained to address police specific issues in
the most professional manner available to them.
The Author's office indicates that this legislation is
necessary to ensure that mental health professionals who
are performing fitness for duty evaluations and
pre-employment screening for peace officers are qualified
to do so.
AB 1669 allows peace officers to feel certain that the
professionals who are evaluating their mental and
emotional condition, as it relates to a peace officer's
capacity to do his/her job, have the special expertise
necessary to make that determination. Also, this
legislation provides the general public with the
assurance that the peace officers who are patrolling
their neighborhoods have been properly screened for
mental and emotional conditions that could make them
unfit for duty as an officer.
2.Background.
a) Emotional and mental evaluations. Under existing
law, a peace officer recruit's emotional and mental
condition are evaluated by either a licensed physician
(no additional requirements) or a licensed
psychologist who has a doctoral degree in psychology
and at least five years of postgraduate experience in
the diagnosis and treatment of emotional and mental
disorders. This measure would require the licensed
physician to be board certified in psychiatry by the
American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology and have at
least five years of postgraduate experience in the
diagnosis and treatment of emotional and mental
disorders, with at least three of these years accrued
after psychiatric residency. In addition to a
doctoral degree in psychology and at least five years
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of postgraduate experience, the licensed psychologist
would have to have at least three of these years
accrued postdoctorate. This measure also extends
these standards to licensed physicians and licensed
psychologists that perform emotional and mental
evaluations to determine an officer's fitness for
duty.
b) Speaker's Commission on Police Conduct. In
response to the videotape of the beating of a
handcuffed youth by Inglewood police officers on July
2, 2002, Assembly Speaker Wesson created the Speaker's
Commission on Police Conduct. The Commission is
composed of key members of the Assembly, experts from
law enforcement, civil rights advocates and community
activists. The Commission's purpose is to examine the
use of force by California police agencies with the
aim of improving policies and procedures to ensure the
safety and civil rights of those who are arrested.
The Commission examines the current training police
officers receive and methods to eliminate the use of
unnecessary force.
c) The Commission's Subcommittee on Police Psychology
and the Use of Force. The Subcommittee examines what
role psychological factors play in how peace officers
determine when, and to what magnitude, the use of
force is necessary. Members review current
psychological support resources available to peace
officers after they join the force, and make
recommendations on whether those resources are
sufficient for peace officers to deal with the
difficulties they face on the job.
According to information provided by the Author's
office, this bill is the result of a recommendation
that was made by the Subcommittee. Practicing police
psychologists on the Commission recommended this
legislation to establish a level of training
consistency within their profession and to help mental
health professionals successfully perform the
specialized and challenging task of evaluating a peace
officer's fitness for duty.
1.Drafting Concerns and Recommended Amendments. It should
be noted that because this measure has been double
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referred to the Public Safety Committee, this analysis
and the proposed amendments are focused on the Business
and Professions Code Sections. The Business and
Professions Code Sections provide specific discipline
authority for the Medical Board and the Board of
Psychology, while the other provisions (Penal Code and
Government Code) deal with the evaluation standards.
Suggested amendments a) and d) are technical and b) and
c), while substantive, are intended to meet the Author's
intent of enabling the boards to discipline licensees
when appropriate.
a) On page 3, line 1 and line 3, strike "2093" and
insert "2247".
b) On page 3, strike lines 10-20.
c) On page 3, strike line 21. Strike pages 5-7. On
page 8, strike lines 1-12 and insert: "Section 2960.6
of the Business and Professions Code is added to read:
A licensee shall meet the requirements set forth in
subdivision (f) of Section 1031 of the Government Code
prior to performing either: (a) An evaluation of a
peace officer applicant's emotional and mental
condition. (b) An evaluation of a peace officer's
fitness for duty. (c) This section shall become
operative on January 1, 2005."
d) On page 11, lines 34-35, strike "Business and
Professions" and insert "Penal".
SUPPORT AND OPPOSITION:
Support : None reported to Committee as of June 18, 2003.
Opposition : None reported to Committee as of June 18,
2003.
Consultant: Kristin J. Triepke