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F I S C A L I M P A C T R E P O R T

SPONSOR	Lopez		DATE TYPED	1/26/04		HB
SHORT TITLE		Law Enforcement Training In Mental Illness				SB	134
					ANALYST		Dunbar

APPROPRIATION

Appropriation Contained		Estimated Additional Impact		Recurring or Non-Rec	Fund Affected
FY04	FY05	FY04	FY05
$60.0				Recurring	General Fund

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

Responses Received From

Department of Health (DOH)

Health Policy Commission (HPC)

SUMMARY

Synopsis of Bill

Senate Bill 134 appropriates $60,000 from the General Fund to the Department of Health (DOH) for expenditure in FY 04 and FY 05 for the purpose of providing crisis intervention training for law enforcement agencies serving rural areas. The training would include modules for culturally sensitive application in all areas of study, including but not limited to: professional law enforcement trainers, forensic medical professionals, consumers, family members and special target populations (e.g., addressing the needs of the mentally ill, etc.). The bill contains an emergency clause.

Significant Issues

A recent research summary conducted by Dr. Jeffrey Mitchell from the International Critical Incident Stress Foundation (ICISF) in Ellicott City, Maryland indicated that when performed according to a set protocol, crisis interventions could assist law enforcement officers and other Public Safety Personnel to put the crisis into perspective and continue on in their careers in a healthy and productive manner. According to the Department of Public Safety, the average life expectancy of a law enforcement officer after retirement is five years. They either die from causes related to stress or by suicide.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

The appropriation of $60,000 contained in this bill is a recurring expense to the General Fund. Any unexpended or unencumbered balance remaining at the end of FY 05 shall revert to the General Fund.

TECHNICAL ISSUES

Definition of the term “cooperation with a nonprofit organization dedicated to addressing the needs for the mentally ill” is not clear.

It is not clear what the training modules must address and the populations are diverse as to necessitate different types of training.

Rural is not clearly defined. It may be assumed that rural means communities that meet the census population definition for rural and frontier.

The term “non-profit organization” limits the Department of Health to distribute funds to only non-profit organizations. The DOH would be required to expend these monies through a Request for Proposal (RFP) as procurement regulations do not allow for more than $20,000 to be awarded to an individual provider under the sole source provisions.

OTHER SUBSTANTIVE ISSUES

The Department of Health identifies a need for the proposed activities included in SB 134, based on the success of other crisis intervention teams. DOH would provide support to train law enforcement (LE) peers and mental health professionals, who provide oversight during the interventions. The trained officers and mental health personnel would in turn provide crisis intervention services and training for law enforcement officers that have been impacted by a critical event or that may confront mentally ill individuals while responding to calls. Research supports the fact that LE officers respond to other LE officers far more positively than they respond to civilians or individuals that are not aware of LE culture.

BD/lg