Bill Text: NH HB1079 | 2024 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Relative to critical incident stress management team members and establishing a rural and underserved area educator incentive program for higher education and making an appropriation therefor.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2024-08-07 - Signed by Governor Sununu 08/02/2024; Chapter 326; Eff. 10/01/2024 House Journal 16 [HB1079 Detail]
Download: New_Hampshire-2024-HB1079-Amended.html
HB 1079 - AS AMENDED BY THE SENATE
28Mar2024... 1096h
05/23/2024 2134s
05/23/2024 2190s
2024 SESSION
24-2349
05/10
HOUSE BILL 1079
SPONSORS: Rep. Proulx, Hills. 15
COMMITTEE: Executive Departments and Administration
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AMENDED ANALYSIS
This bill revises membership of critical incident stress management teams and terminology regarding critical incident intervention and management.
The bill also establishes the rural and underserved area educator incentive program and makes an appropriation therefor.
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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
28Mar2024... 1096h
05/23/2024 2134s
05/23/2024 2190s 24-2349
05/10
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twenty Four
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 Critical Incident Intervention and Management; Definitions. RSA 153-A:17-a, I is repealed and reenacted to read as follows:
I. In this section:
(a) "Critical incident" means an event or events that result in acute or cumulative psychological stress or trauma to an emergency response/public safety worker because of their exposure to the event or events.
(b) "Critical incident stress" means a strong emotional, behavioral, cognitive, or physical reaction that has the potential to interfere with an emergency response/public safety worker's ability to function and that results from the response to a critical incident or long-term occupational exposure to a series of critical incident responses over a period of time that are believed to be causing debilitating stress that is affecting an emergency response/public safety worker and their work performance or personal experiences. This may include, but is not limited to, physical and emotional illness, failure of usual coping mechanisms, loss of interest in the job, personality changes, or loss of ability to function.
(c) "Critical incident stress management" means a process of crisis intervention designed to assist emergency response/public safety workers in coping with the psychological trauma resulting from response to a critical incident or personal experiences.
(d) "Critical incident stress management and crisis intervention services" means consultation, peer support, debriefing, defusing, intervention services, management, prevention, and referral provided by a critical incident stress management team member and/or management team.
(e) "Critical incident stress management team" or "team" means the group of one or more trained volunteers, including members of peer support groups organized by a unit of state, local, or county government, or members of a union of emergency response/public safety workers, as defined in subparagraph (g), who offer critical incident stress management and crisis intervention services following a critical incident or long term or continued, debilitating stress being experienced by emergency response/public safety workers, including retired emergency response/public safety workers, and affecting them or their families.
(f) "Critical incident stress management team member" means an emergency response/public safety worker, including any retired emergency response/public safety workers, specially trained to provide critical incident stress management and crisis intervention services as a member of an organized and registered team.
(g) “Emergency response/public safety worker” means any law enforcement officer certified under RSA 106-L, certified county corrections officer, sheriff or deputy sheriff, state police officer, civilian law enforcement employee, civilian county corrections employee, any call, volunteer, or regular firefighter, civilian fire department employee, rescue or ambulance worker, including ambulance service, emergency medical personnel, first responder service, and volunteer personnel, hospital emergency department personnel, telecommunicators, and local dispatchers.
(h) "Hospital emergency department personnel" means staff rendering care, rescue, support, and lifesaving services while working for and/or in the hospital emergency department.
(i) "Local dispatcher" means a person who determines the location, status, and assistance required by callers and walk-in customers for public safety services and dispatches the appropriate police, fire, ambulance, or other units to provide needed emergency services at the state, city, town, or private emergency services level.
(j) "Telecommunicator" means an employee of the department of safety, division of emergency services and communications who is responsible for receiving at the public safety answering point telephone calls made to E911 and transferring or relaying such calls to public or private safety agencies.
2 Critical Incident Intervention and Management. Amend RSA 153-A:17-a, II and III to read as follows:
II.(a) Team members shall undergo and sustain certification standards set forth in guidelines established by the International Critical Incident Stress Foundation (ICISF) approved by the commissioner of the department of safety, or a similar organization for which the commissioner shall not unreasonably withhold approval. The team shall be registered with ICISF, or a similar organization and the commissioner of safety, and maintain training standards to date as required.
(b) All critical incident stress management team members, sworn, [or] civilian, or retired, shall be designated by the police chief, sheriff, director of the division of state police, fire chief, commissioner of the department of corrections, superintendent of county corrections, chief of emergency medical services, [or] director of the division of emergency services and communications, or head of a union of emergency response/public safety workers as defined by RSA 281-A:2, V-c.
III.(a) Any information divulged to the team or a team member during the provision of critical incident stress management and crisis intervention services shall be kept confidential and shall not be disclosed to a third party or in a criminal, civil, or administrative proceeding. Records kept by critical incident stress management team members are not subject to subpoena, discovery, or introduction into evidence in a criminal, civil, or administrative action. Except as provided in subparagraph (c), no person, whether critical incident stress management team member or team leader providing [or receiving] critical incident stress management and crisis intervention services, nor any person receiving any critical incident stress management and crisis intervention services, shall be required to testify or divulge any information disclosed or obtained solely through such crisis intervention.
(b) The purpose of this section is to provide a consistent framework for the operation of critical incident stress management teams and their members. In any civil action against any individual, agency, or government entity, including the state of New Hampshire, arising out of the conduct of a member of such team, this section is not intended and shall not be admissible to establish negligence in any instance where requirements herein are higher than the standard of care that would otherwise have been applicable in such action under state law.
(c) A communication shall not be deemed confidential pursuant to this section if:
[(1) The communication indicates the existence of a danger to the individual who receives critical incident stress management and crisis intervention services or to any other person or persons.
(2) The communication indicates the existence of past child abuse or neglect of the individual, abuse of an adult as defined by law, or family violence as defined by law.
(3) The communication indicates the existence of past or present acts constituting an intentional tort or crime, provided the applicable statute of limitation has not expired on the act indicated.]
(1)(A) The communication is an explicit threat of suicide by an individual in which the individual shares:
(i) An intent to die by suicide; and
(ii) A plan for a suicide attempt or the means by which the individual plans to carry out a suicide attempt.
(B) A communication that contains the disclosure of suicidal thoughts, but not the information described in both subparagraphs (A)(i) and (ii) shall be deemed confidential.
(2) The communication is an explicit threat of imminent serious physical bodily harm or death to another individual or individuals.
(3) The communication indicates the abuse or neglect of:
(A) A child; or
(B) An elderly or vulnerable adult as defined in RSA 161-F:43.
(4) The communication contains information otherwise required by law to be disclosed.
(5) The communication indicates the existence of past or present acts constituting an intentional commission of a crime, provided the applicable statute of limitation has not expired on the act indicated.
3 New Hampshire Substance Use Disorder Services System. Amend RSA 172:1, IX-a to read as follows:
IX-a. "Client" means a person who voluntarily seeks substance abuse treatment [as provided by the office of alcohol and drug abuse prevention through its agents or substance abuse treatment contractors].
4 New Hampshire Substance Use Disorder Services System. Amend RSA 172:1, XXIV to read as follows:
XXIV. "Certified substance abuse treatment facility" means a facility [funded in part or in whole by the office of alcohol and drug abuse prevention, and] certified or licensed by the department of health and human services under rules adopted pursuant to RSA 541-A.
5 New Hampshire Substance Use Disorder Services System. Amend RSA 172:2-a to read as follows:
172:2-a State Substance Use Disorder Services System Established.
I. The commissioner shall provide for the scientific care, treatment, and rehabilitation of individuals with substance use disorders and their families, and work towards the prevention of, and assist in the control of, alcohol and drug misuse within the state through education, treatment, community organization, and research. The department shall establish, maintain, implement, and coordinate a system of substance use disorder treatment services under this chapter. This system shall be supervised by the commissioner. [With the exception of a youth drug treatment center required to be operated by a non-governmental entity at the Sununu youth services center, at the discretion of the commissioner,] The department may directly operate and administer any program or facility which provides, or which may be established to provide, services to persons with substance use disorders or may enter into a contract with any individual, partnership, association, public or private, for profit or nonprofit, agency or corporation for the operation and administration of any such program or facility.
II. Subject to available funding, the commissioner shall establish, pursuant to rules adopted under RSA 541-A, a certification process for substance use treatment programs and facilities operating in the state of New Hampshire. Programs and facilities required to be certified shall include, but not be limited to those providing early intervention treatment, outpatient treatment, intensive outpatient and partial hospitalization treatment, and medically managed intensive treatment. Independent providers, facilities licensed under RSA 151, the programs and facilities in the system of mental health services established by RSA 135-C:3, and other providers identified by the commissioner shall be exempt from certification.
III. The commissioner shall adopt rules under RSA 541-A, relative to:
(a) Certification procedures, requirements, and exemptions for substance use treatment programs and facilities.
(b) Certification and renewal fees.
(c) The scope and content of training requirements for substance use treatment programs and providers.
(d) The scope and content of education materials for providers and clients to understand complaint procedures.
(e) Public access to findings of investigatory and monitoring reports, and final decisions made relative to certification.
IV. All fees received from certification under this section shall be kept in a nonlapsing fund known as the substance use treatment certification fund, which shall be kept separate and distinct from all other funds. The fund shall be continually appropriated to the department of health and human services to fund to the certification process for substance use treatment programs and facilities operating in the state of New Hampshire. The commissioner may accept gifts, grants, donations, or other funding from any source and shall deposit all such revenue received into the fund. The state treasurer shall invest the moneys deposited in the fund as provided by law. Interest earned on moneys deposited in the fund shall be deposited into the fund.
V. The department shall maintain and regularly update on its website a publicly available listing of all programs and facilities certified under this chapter.
6 New Subparagraph; Dedicated Funds; Substance Use Treatment Certification Fund. Amend RSA 6:12, I(b) by inserting after subparagraph (394) the following new subparagraph:
(395) Moneys deposited in the substance use treatment certification fund under RSA 172:2-a.
7 New Hampshire Substance Use Disorder Services System. Amend RSA 172:2-c to read as follows:
172:2-c Community Substance Use Disorder Treatment Programs.
I. Any city, county, town, or any individual, partnership, association, public or private, for profit or nonprofit, agency or corporation may establish and administer a community substance use disorder treatment program for the purpose of providing substance use disorder treatment services to individuals, families, and organizations in the area. Every program shall, at a minimum, provide substance use disorder screening and evaluation, case management, and outpatient counseling services. The department may contract with a community substance use disorder treatment program, pursuant to RSA 172:2-a, for the operation and administration of any services that are part of the state substance use disorder treatment system. In the event that the commissioner decides to enter into a contract for the operation and administration of any services which are part of the state substance use disorder treatment system, the contract shall contain standards designed to measure the performance of the contractor in achieving positive consumer outcomes, maintaining fiscal integrity, and providing quality services. The commissioner shall adopt rules, pursuant to RSA 172:8-b, to establish criteria for designating substance use disorder treatment programs under this chapter.
II. No person may establish, maintain, operate, or conduct any program or facility for substance use treatment without any certification required by the department under RSA 172:2-a.
III. Every facility or program certified under RSA 172:2-a shall pay a certification fee to the commissioner for deposit in the fund established under RSA 172:2-a.
8 Department of Health and Human Services, Department Established; Office of the Ombudsman. Amend RSA 126-A:4, III to read as follows:
III. The department shall establish an office of the ombudsman to provide assistance to clients of the department by investigating and resolving complaints regarding any matter within the jurisdiction of the department including services or assistance provided by the department or its contractors. The ombudsman's office may provide mediation or other means for informally resolving complaints. The records of the ombudsman's office shall be confidential and shall not be disclosed without the consent of the client on whose behalf the complaint is made, except as may be necessary to assist the service provider to resolve the complaint, or as required by law. Subject to available funding, the department shall designate within the office of the ombudsman a person as the behavioral health specialist dedicated solely to investigate and resolve complaints to promote the health, safety, welfare, or civil or human rights of any person receiving the treatment or services of a substance use or mental health treatment facility.
9 Repeal. The following are repealed:
I. RSA 172:1, XXV, relative to the definition of certified alcohol and drug abuse counselor.
II. RSA 171:2, XXIX, relative to the definition of designated drug counselor.
10 New Section; Department of Education; Rural and Underserved Area Educator Incentive Program. Amend RSA 21-N by inserting after section 8-b the following new section:
21-N:8-c Rural and Underserved Area Educator Incentive Program.
I. In this section:
(a) "Department” means the department of education.
(b) “Division” means the division of educator support and higher education.
(c) “Commission” means the New Hampshire higher education commission.
(d) “Educational loans” means all loans made pursuant to a federal loan 26 program, except federal parent loans for undergraduate students (PLUS), as provided in 20 U.S.C. section 1078-2.
(e) “Eligible educational expenses” means any outstanding loans payments made during the school year.
(f) "Federal loan program" means educational loans authorized by 20 U.S.C. section 1071 et seq., 20 U.S.C. section 1087a et seq., and 20 U.S.C. section 1087aa et seq.
(g) "Rural and underserved area educator" means a full-time, credentialed individual employed as an instructional or pupil service employee in an eligible public school district or at an eligible chartered public school.
(h) "Rural school district" means:
(1) There are fewer than 20 enrolled students per square mile within the area encompassed by the school district’s boundaries; or
(2) The regional public health network in which a plurality of the school district’s market value for assessment purposes is located is deemed rural as defined by the department of health and human services, division of public health.
II. The department shall identify specific schools that are affected by critical educator shortages using the following criteria:
(a) Rural isolation of the school; or
(b) Economic disadvantage of the school based on eligibility for funds pursuant to title I, part A of the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act, as amended.
III. Rural and underserved area educators who are employed at schools identified in paragraph II shall be eligible for repayment of all or part of any such educator's outstanding educational loans existing at the time of application in accordance with the eligibility and award criteria established in this section up to the amount specified in this section, or repayment of eligible education expenses established by the commission, and in rules adopted by the commission pursuant to RSA 541-A.
IV. Loan repayment assistance or the reimbursement of eligible education expenses may be provided on behalf of a rural and underserved area educator who:
(a) Is employed in a school identified in paragraph II;
(b) Has a signed contract with such school; and
(c) Has an educational loan that is not in default and that has a minimum unpaid current balance of at least $1,000 or has at least $1,000 in eligible education expenses at the time of application; or
(d) Has eligible education expenses that may be reimbursed pursuant to this section.
V. To qualify for loan repayment assistance or education expense reimbursement under this section, a rural and underserved area educator shall submit an application to the commission. For loan repayment applications, the application shall include official verification or proof of the applicant's total unpaid accumulated educational loan debt and any other documentation as required by the department for verification of the applicant's eligibility.
VI. A rural and underserved area educator shall be eligible for loan repayment assistance or eligible educational expenses for up to 4 years, provided that the educator remains employed at the same school or by the same school district. The department may remit payment of the loan on behalf of the rural and underserved area educator in accordance with the requirements of this section and rules adopted by the commission.
VII. The total incentive award shall be:
(a) In the amount of $1,500 for the first year;
(b) In the amount of $2,500 for the second year;
(c) In the amount of $3,500 for the third year; and
(d) In the amount of $4,500 for the fourth year.
VIII. The commission shall adopt rules pursuant to RSA 541-A to establish protocols for determining the number of incentive awards that will be made annually based on available appropriations for the program.
IX. Incentive awards under this section shall be offered to the extent of available funding.
11 Rural and Underserved Area Educator Incentive Program; Appropriation. There is hereby appropriated the sum of $1 for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2025, to the department of education, division of educator support and higher education, for the purpose of funding the rural and underserved area educator incentive program established in RSA 21-N:8-c. All funds appropriated for the program shall be nonlapsing. The governor is authorized to draw a warrant for said sums out of any money in the treasury not otherwise appropriated.
I. Sections 3-9 of this act shall take effective upon its passage.
II. The remainder of this act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.
