By: Giddings, et al. (Senate Sponsor - Hughes) H.B. No. 2619

(In the Senate - Received from the House May 10, 2017; May 17, 2017, read first time and referred to Committee on Criminal Justice; May 21, 2017, reported favorably by the following vote: Yeas 8, Nays 0; May 21, 2017, sent to printer.) Click here to see the committee vote

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to grant programs to maintain peace officers' mental health and provide critical incident stress debriefing for certain officers.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Subchapter A, Chapter 772, Government Code, is amended by adding Section 772.0073 to read as follows:

Sec. 772.0073. PEACE OFFICER MENTAL HEALTH GRANT PROGRAM. (a) In this section:

(1) "Law enforcement agency" means an agency of the state or an agency of a political subdivision of the state authorized by law to employ peace officers.

(2) "Criminal justice division" means the criminal justice division established under Section 772.006.

(b) The criminal justice division shall establish and administer a grant program through which a law enforcement agency may apply for a grant to implement programs, practices, and services designed to address the direct or indirect emotional harm suffered by peace officers employed by the law enforcement agency in the course of the officers' duties or as the result of the commission of crimes by other persons.

(c) Grant money awarded under this section may be used to pay for:

(1) mental health counseling and other mental health care;

(2) personnel costs incurred by the department as a result of providing direct services and supporting activities under an implemented program, practice, or service;

(3) skills training for department personnel related to providing direct services under an implemented program, practice, or service; and

(4) evaluation of an implemented program, practice, or service to determine its effectiveness.

(d) Information obtained in the administration of a program, practice, or service funded by a grant made under this section is confidential and is not subject to disclosure under Chapter 552.

(e) A law enforcement agency may not use against a peace officer in a departmental proceeding any information obtained in the administration of a program, practice, or service funded by a grant made under this section.

(f) The criminal justice division shall establish:

(1) eligibility criteria for grant applicants;

(2) grant application procedures;

(3) guidelines relating to grant amounts;

(4) procedures for evaluating grant applications; and

(5) procedures for monitoring the use of a grant awarded under the program and ensuring compliance with any conditions of a grant.

(g) The criminal justice division shall evaluate and compare the programs, practices, and services implemented by each law enforcement agency that receives a grant under this section to determine the most successful programs, practices, and services for maintaining the mental health of peace officers.

(h) The criminal justice division may contract with a third party to conduct the evaluations and comparison described by Subsection (g).

(i) The criminal justice division shall include in the biennial report required by Section 772.006(a)(9) a detailed reporting of the results and performance of the grant program administered under this section.

(j) The criminal justice division may use any available funds to implement this section.

SECTION 2. Subchapter A, Chapter 772, Government Code, is amended by adding Section 772.0074 to read as follows:

Sec. 772.0074. CRITICAL INCIDENT STRESS DEBRIEFING GRANT PROGRAM. (a) In this section:

(1) "Criminal justice division" means the criminal justice division established under Section 772.006.

(2) "Critical incident" means an incident involving a peace officer that occurs while the officer is performing official duties and that results in serious bodily injury to the officer or poses a substantial risk of serious bodily injury or death to the officer or of serious harm to the officer's mental health or well-being.

(3) "Law enforcement agency" means an agency of the state or an agency of a political subdivision of the state that is authorized by law to employ peace officers.

(4) "Peace officer" has the meaning assigned by Article 2.12, Code of Criminal Procedure.

(b) The criminal justice division shall establish and administer a grant program to assist law enforcement agencies in providing critical incident stress debriefing to peace officers who experience critical incidents while performing official duties.

(c) The criminal justice division may award a grant under this section to:

(1) a law enforcement agency for the agency to provide critical incident stress debriefing to peace officers employed by the agency; or

(2) any other agency, organization with a focus on mental health or trauma-related issues, or university with relevant expertise and experience to assist in providing support for the grant program, including support related to the development, implementation, management, or evaluation of the grant program, as determined necessary by the division.

(d) A law enforcement agency that receives a grant under this section must:

(1) inform each peace officer employed by the agency about:

(A) the program, including opportunities to participate in the program; and

(B) if the officer participates in the program, the confidentiality protections described by Subsection (e); and

(2) certify in writing that the agency will not use disciplinary action or any other form of punishment, including the refusal of a promotion, to discourage or prohibit an officer's participation in the critical incident stress debriefing offered by the agency.

(e) Critical incident stress debriefing provided using money distributed under the grant program is subject to the confidentiality protections provided under Section 784.003, Health and Safety Code.

(f) The criminal justice division shall establish:

(1) eligibility criteria for grant applicants;

(2) grant application procedures;

(3) procedures for evaluating grant applications;

(4) the minimum qualifications necessary for a person to conduct critical incident stress debriefing that is provided using money distributed under the grant program; and

(5) guidance for the development of critical incident stress debriefing curricula, materials, and best practices.

(g) The criminal justice division shall include in the biennial report required by Section 772.006(a)(9) a detailed reporting of the results and performance of the grant program administered under this section.

SECTION 3. Not later than October 1, 2017, the criminal justice division of the governor's office shall establish the grant program required by Section 772.0074, Government Code, as added by this Act, and, not later than January 1, 2018, shall begin to award grants under the program.

SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2017.

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