Bill Text: PA HB901 | 2009-2010 | Regular Session | Introduced

---

Bill Title: Further providing for powers and duties of Municipal Police Officers' Education and Training Commission.

Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Republican 18-3)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2009-03-12 - Referred to JUDICIARY [HB901 Detail]

Download: Pennsylvania-2009-HB901-Introduced.html

---

PRINTER'S NO. 1020
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE BILL
No. 901 Session of2009
INTRODUCED BY DENLINGER, BENNINGHOFF, BELFANTI, BEYER, BOYD, BRENNAN, CLYMER, DAY, FAIRCHILD, FLECK, GEIST, GINGRICH, HUTCHINSON, MANN, D. O'BRIEN, PERRY, ROAE, ROCK, ROHRER, STERN AND J. TAYLOR, MARCH 12, 2009
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY, MARCH 12, 2009
AN ACT
Amending Title 53 (Municipalities Generally) of the Pennsylvania
Consolidated Statutes, further providing for powers and
duties of Municipal Police Officers' Education and Training
Commission.
The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
hereby enacts as follows:
Section 1. Section 2164(1) of Title 53 of the Pennsylvania
Consolidated Statutes, amended October 9, 2008 (P.L.1385,
No.105), is amended to read:
§ 2164. Powers and duties of commission.
The powers and duties of the commission shall be as follows:
(1) To establish and administer the minimum courses of
study for basic and in-service training for police officers
and to revoke an officer's certification when an officer
fails to comply with the basic and in-service training
requirements or is convicted of a criminal offense or the
commission determines that the officer is physically or
mentally unfit to perform the duties of his office.
(2) To approve or revoke the approval of any school
which may be utilized to comply with the educational and
training requirements as established by the commission.
(3) To establish the minimum qualifications for
instructors, to approve or revoke the approval of any
instructor and to develop the requirements for continued
certification.
(4) To promote the most efficient and economical program
for police training by utilizing existing facilities,
programs and qualified Federal, State and local police
personnel.
(5) To make an annual report to the Governor and to the
General Assembly concerning the administration of the
Municipal Police Officers' Education and Training Program and
the activities of the commission, together with
recommendations for executive or legislative action necessary
for the improvement of law enforcement and the administration
of justice.
(6) To require every police officer to attend a minimum
number of hours of in-service training as provided for by
regulation, unless the officer's employer files a show cause
document with the commission requesting additional time for
the officer to comply with the in-service training
requirements. Approval of this request shall be made by the
commission on a case-by-case basis.
(7) To require all police officers to undergo a
background investigation to determine the individual's
suitability for employment as a police officer. This
investigation shall be completed prior to the employment of
the officer and shall include a criminal history check, a
20090HB0901PN1020 - 2 -
credit check, personal interviews and any other applicable
means of determining eligibility. An applicant who has been
convicted of a felony or serious misdemeanor shall not be
eligible for employment as a police officer.
(8) To require minimum standards for physical fitness,
visual acuity, audio acuity, psychological evaluation and
education as prerequisites to employment as a police officer.
The standards shall require an applicant to have audio acuity
sufficient to distinguish a normal whisper at a distance of
15 feet. The test shall be independently conducted for each
ear while the tested ear is facing away from the speaker and
the other ear is firmly covered with the palm of the hand. If
the applicant fails this test, the applicant shall be
required to take and pass a decibel audio test. The applicant
may use a hearing aid or other aid to perform any audio
acuity test required under this subsection.
(9) To appoint an executive director to administer the
training program established by this subchapter. The position
of executive director shall be filled by the commission which
shall select the best qualified person from a list of three
persons nominated by the chairman. The person who receives a
simple majority of those members present and voting shall
become the executive director. If the commission rejects all
nominees, then the process shall be repeated until a person
is selected. The executive director shall be directly
responsible to the commission and may be dismissed only by
two-thirds vote of the commission. The executive director
shall employ a sufficient staff, including professional,
administrative and clerical personnel, to perform the tasks
of the office, including the preparation of an annual budget.
20090HB0901PN1020 - 3 -
(10) To consult and cooperate with universities,
colleges, community colleges and institutes for the
development of specialized courses for police officers.
(11) To consult and cooperate with departments and
agencies of this Commonwealth and other states and the
Federal Government concerned with police training.
(12) To certify police officers who have satisfactorily
completed basic educational and training requirements as
established by the commission and to issue appropriate
certificates to those police officers.
(13) To visit and inspect approved schools at least once
a year.
(14) To make such rules and regulations and to perform
such other duties as may be reasonably necessary or
appropriate to implement the education and training program
for police officers.
(15) To grant waivers of mandatory basic training to
police officers who have successfully completed previous
equivalent training or who have acceptable full-time police
experience, or both.
Section 2. This act shall take effect in 60 days.
20090HB0901PN1020 - 4 -