Bill Text: CA AB680 | 2019-2020 | Regular Session | Amended

California Assembly Bill 680 (Prior Session Legislation)

Bill Title: Public safety dispatchers: mental health training.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2019-08-30 - In committee: Held under submission. [AB680 Detail]

Download: California-2019-AB680-Amended.html

Amended IN Senate August 12, 2019

Amended IN Senate June 24, 2019

Amended IN Assembly March 28, 2019

Amended IN Assembly March 14, 2019

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2019–2020 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill

No. 680

Introduced by Assembly Member Chu

February 15, 2019

An act to amend Section 13510 of the Penal Code, relating to public safety dispatchers.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

AB 680, as amended, Chu. Public safety dispatchers: mental health training.

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. Existing law also requires the commission to adopt rules establishing minimum standards relating to the recruitment and training of local public safety dispatchers having a primary responsibility for providing dispatching services for local law enforcement agencies. Existing law requires the commission to adopt certain mental health training to better prepare law enforcement officers to recognize, deescalate, and appropriately respond to persons with mental illness, intellectual disabilities, or substance use disorders, consisting of 15 hours, and a continuing training course, consisting of 3 consecutive hours, relating to behavioral health and law enforcement interaction with those persons.

This bill would additionally require the commission, on or before January 1, 2021, to develop mental health training courses for state and local public safety dispatchers, incorporated in the dispatchers’ basic training course and as a continuing training course, that cover specified topics, including recognizing indicators of mental illness, intellectual disabilities, or substance use disorders, and conflict resolution and deescalation techniques. The bill would require the commission to develop these courses in consultation with specified groups and individuals.

Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: NO

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.

Section 13510 of the Penal Code is amended to read:

13510.

(a) (1) For the purpose of raising the level of competence of local law enforcement officers, the commission shall adopt, and may from time to time amend, rules establishing minimum standards relating to physical, mental, and moral fitness that shall govern the recruitment of any city police officers, peace officer members of a county sheriff’s office, marshals or deputy marshals, peace officer members of a county coroner’s office notwithstanding Section 13526, reserve officers, as defined in subdivision (a) of Section 830.6, police officers of a district authorized by statute to maintain a police department, peace officer members of a police department operated by a joint powers agency established by Article 1 (commencing with Section 6500) of Chapter 5 of Division 7 of Title 1 of the Government Code, regularly employed and paid inspectors and investigators of a district attorney’s office, as defined in Section 830.1, who conduct criminal investigations, peace officer members of a district, safety police officers and park rangers of the County of Los Angeles, as defined in subdivisions (a) and (b) of Section 830.31, or housing authority police departments.

(2) The commission also shall adopt, and may from time to time amend, rules establishing minimum standards for training of city police officers, peace officer members of county sheriff’s offices, marshals or deputy marshals, peace officer members of a county coroner’s office notwithstanding Section 13526, reserve officers, as defined in subdivision (a) of Section 830.6, police officers of a district authorized by statute to maintain a police department, peace officer members of a police department operated by a joint powers agency established by Article 1 (commencing with Section 6500) of Chapter 5 of Division 7 of Title 1 of the Government Code, regularly employed and paid inspectors and investigators of a district attorney’s office, as defined in Section 830.1, who conduct criminal investigations, peace officer members of a district, safety police officers and park rangers of the County of Los Angeles, as defined in subdivisions (a) and (b) of Section 830.31, and housing authority police departments.

(3) These rules shall apply to those cities, counties, cities and counties, and districts receiving state aid pursuant to this chapter and shall be adopted and amended pursuant to Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code.

(b) The commission shall conduct research concerning job-related educational standards and job-related selection standards to include vision, hearing, physical ability, and emotional stability. Job-related standards that are supported by this research shall be adopted by the commission prior to January 1, 1985, and shall apply to those peace officer classes identified in subdivision (a). The commission shall consult with local entities during the conducting of related research into job-related selection standards.

(c) (1) For the purpose of raising the level of competence of local public safety dispatchers, the commission shall adopt, and may from time to time amend, rules establishing minimum standards relating to the recruitment and training of local public safety dispatchers having a primary responsibility for providing dispatching services for local law enforcement agencies described in subdivision (a), which standards shall apply to those cities, counties, cities and counties, and districts receiving state aid pursuant to this chapter. These standards also shall apply to consolidated dispatch centers operated by an independent public joint powers agency established pursuant to Article 1 (commencing with Section 6500) of Chapter 5 of Division 7 of Title 1 of the Government Code when providing dispatch services to the law enforcement personnel listed in subdivision (a). Those rules shall be adopted and amended pursuant to Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code. As used in this section, “primary responsibility” refers to the performance of law enforcement dispatching duties for a minimum of 50 percent of the time worked within a pay period.

(2) The commission shall, on or before January 1, 2021, also develop mental health training courses for state and local public safety ~~dispatchers, as described in paragraph (1),~~ dispatchers as follows:

(A) The Public Safety Dispatchers’ Basic Course shall incorporate topics listed in subdivision (c) of Section 13515.26, to the extent they are relevant to the duties of a public safety dispatcher. Learning objectives for the required mental health topics shall be indicated as learning objectives for each relevant learning domain in the commission’s Public Safety Dispatchers’ Basic Course.

(B) A continuing training course that covers the topics listed in subdivision (b) of Section 13515.27, to the extent they are relevant to the duties of a public safety dispatcher. Learning objectives for the required mental health topics shall be listed for each relevant course in the commission’s public safety dispatchers’ continuing training courses.

(3) (A) The courses of instruction for the topics outlined in paragraph (2), the learning and performance objectives, and the standards for the training shall be developed by the commission in consultation with appropriate groups and individuals having required expertise in the field of mental health. The groups and individuals shall include, but not be limited to, law enforcement agencies, dispatchers, dispatcher academy instructors, subject matter experts, and members of the public.

(B) The commission, in consultation with the groups and individuals in subparagraph (A), shall review existing training programs, as needed, to determine the ways in which mental illness may be included as part of ongoing programs.

(d) Nothing in this section shall prohibit a local agency from establishing selection and training standards that exceed the minimum standards established by the commission.