BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    




                    Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
          
                                           1923 (Lowenthal)
          
          Hearing Date:  8/12/2004        Amended: 6/29/2004
          Consultant:  Nora Lynn          Policy Vote: Labor & IR 5-2
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          BILL SUMMARY: 
          
          AB 1923 requires employers of emergency response personnel  
          to make counseling services available to those employees  
          who have been exposed to a critical incident, as defined,  
          in the line of duty.
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                          Fiscal Impact (in thousands)

           Major Provisions             2004-05             2005-06          
               2006-07            Fund
           Regulations       $25                               General
          Stress programs   Unknown costs likely in excess             
                     Various/local
                            of $1,000 annually*

          * Potentially offset by grants to local fire departments  
          from the Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program,  
          administered by the United States Office for Domestic  
          Preparedness
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          STAFF COMMENTS:  
          
          SUSPENSE FILE

          Many state agencies, including the California Highway  
          Patrol (CHP) and Department of Forestry and Fire Protection  
          (CDF), currently offer counseling services programs to  
          address the needs of employees who may be experiencing  
          stress as a result of exposure to critical incidents, as  
          defined, on the job. Costs for these programs vary - CHP  
          spends in the range of $100,000 annually to provide  
          services to some 8,000 uniformed and dispatch personnel,  
          while CDF's critical incident stress debriefing process  
          runs $6,000 per year. 











          Local agency costs are likely to be significant, with the  
          City of Los Angeles alone employing approximately 9,000  
          people who could be eligible for services pursuant to AB  
          1923.