HB 15-PEER SUPPORT COUNSELING PROGRAM  3:40:06 PM CHAIR SHAW announced that the final order of business would be HOUSE BILL NO. 15, "An Act relating to peer support counseling programs for law enforcement agencies, emergency service providers, and the Department of Corrections." 3:40:58 PM REPRESENTATIVE ANDY JOSEPHSON, Alaska State Legislature, prime sponsor, introduced HB 15. He paraphrased the sponsor statement [included in the committee packet], which read as follows [original punctuation provided]: HB 15 establishes the ability for law enforcement officers and first responders to seek mental health counseling regarding classified information without jeopardizing ongoing investigations. Under current law, public safety officers are extremely limited in their options to discuss stressful and traumatic events that occur in their workplace because they are often, by their nature, related to criminal investigations. HB 15 addresses the critical need to de-stigmatize mental health issues that affect many public safety officers by providing a safe and confidential way for them to talk about emotionally intense aspects of their work. HB 15 does not mandate changes to existing agencies, but merely allows them to establish a peer support counseling program. A law enforcement agency, emergency service provider, or the Department of Corrections will have the opportunity to designate an existing employee as a peer counselor if they have prior counseling training. Any participant who seeks counseling from their designated peer is guaranteed confidentiality in those communications. Confidential space for participants to discuss emotionally traumatic events is key for creating effective Critical Incident Stress Management debriefs, which the United States Occupational Safety and Health Administration recognizes as crucial for preventing and mitigating the effects of trauma. The confidentiality created by the peer counseling program does not apply to any threats that the participant makes, and it does not apply to any admission of criminal conduct. HB 15 will ultimately provide emotional relief and a path to healing for the Alaskans who bear the burden of protecting the public on a daily basis. I urge you to support HB 15. REPRESENTATIVE JOSEPHSON listed several questions that the committee may want to discuss to improve the bill, such as, the penalty for a counselor who disclosed something in violation of the act. He reiterated that the intent of the bill was to provide police officers an opportunity to begin to heal from trauma. CHAIR SHAW invited questions from members of the committee. 3:44:54 PM REPRESENTATIVE WRIGHT asked whether a pilot program had been implemented. REPRESENTATIVE JOSEPHSON recalled that DPS had referenced a pilot program in the fiscal note. He opined that Alaska needed to "get on board" with other states who had implemented similar programs. 3:45:38 PM REPRESENTATIVE CARPENTER inquired about the mandatory reporting requirements and questioned whether the communications offered by participants would be confidential. REPRESENTATIVE JOSEPHSON directed attention to Section 1, subsection (c), indicating that the confidentiality would not apply to the following: (1) a threat of suicide or homicide made by a participant in a peer support counseling session or any information relating to a threat of suicide or homicide;  (2) information that is required by law to be reported; (3) information relating to the abuse of a child or a vulnerable adult; (4) any admission of criminal conduct.  REPRESENTATIVE JOSEPHSON indicated that the service was designed to be like a "sacred space" for first responders to talk through and process their day-to-day experiences. REPRESENTATIVE CARPENTER asked why that wasn't being done now. REPRESENTATIVE JOSEPHSON discussed the cultural and employment elements that may deter "men in blue" from seeking help. He reiterated that the policy was designed to be a legal shield to provide assurances around disclosing information. 3:48:36 PM REPRESENTATIVE CARPENTER sought to verify that this program could offer a space for police officers to discuss taboo topics and things that could otherwise have job performance implications. REPRESENTATIVE JOSEPHSON agreed. Further, he confirmed that there was a pilot program within the Anchorage Police Department (APD). REPRESENTATIVE CARPENTER shared his understanding that the bill was being presented as having zero fiscal impact. He asked whether costs would increase in the future as the program was being implemented across the state. REPRESENTATIVE JOSEPHSON offered to inquire about the costs associated with the APD pilot program. He shared his understanding that the program was currently facing funding issues. He reiterated that the bill would provide the basic framework for a peer support counseling program. 3:51:13 PM REPRESENTATIVE CARPENTER said he was unfamiliar with the relationship between police bargaining units and administration. He asked whether the bill was intended to solve an existing dispute between those two entities. REPRESENTATIVE JOSEPHSON said he did not know the answer. He surmised that the department, in addition to the officers, would benefit from this type of service, as it would accommodate psychological trauma and provide an opportunity to heal. REPRESENTATIVE CARPENTER maintained his confusion as to why the police departments had not implemented this policy on their own determination. REPRESENTATIVE JOSEPHSON suggested that the traumatized officer would be more reluctant to participate without the protections provided in HB 15. He acknowledged police departments could do it administratively; however, the legislation would be the enabling act to make the program official and viable while offering a legal shield. 3:53:24 PM REPRESENTATIVE C. JOHNSON inquired about the enabling policy that allowed APD and the Alaska State Troopers (AST) to stand up their existing pilot programs. REPRESENTATIVE JOSEPHSON offered to follow up with the requested information. 3:55:32 PM REPRESENTATIVE ALLARD asked whether the union brought the legislation forward. REPRESENTATIVE JOSEPHSON answered, "Yes, that's fair." REPRESENTATIVE ALLARD remarked: I was told that the legislators who brought this forward that they said there was a misunderstanding of the difference between what the union wants and what the administration wants. They said that they already do this and that they didn't realize that they now need permission to continue to do it, and they were actually taken aback by this bill. REPRESENTATIVE ALLARD asked whether the sponsor had spoken with the administration. REPRESENTATIVE JOSEPHSON answered no. Nonetheless, he pointed out that if the administration [had already implemented a similar policy] they shouldn't be opposed to the bill. He offered to follow up after speaking with the chief of police at APD. REPRESENTATIVE ALLARD said she was puzzled at why this bill being brought forward if the program was already being utilized. She suggested that the bill would pit the administration against the unions. REPRESENTATIVE JOSEPHSON directed attention to Section 1, subsection (b), noting that the program was optional. He indicated that it would require administration "buy in." 3:58:01 PM REPRESENTATIVE ALLARD asked, "forced buy-in?" REPRESENTATIVE JOSEPHSON answered no, due to the "may" language on page 1, line 11 of the bill. REPRESENTATIVE ALLARD expressed concern that HB 15 would politicize the issue and put pressure on organizational leadership to opt in. She asked whether the bill sponsor agreed. REPRESENTATIVE JOSEPHSON said he would be dishonest to say there's no merit in that statement; however, he opined that cajoling and pressure was part of life. 3:59:09 PM REPRESENTATIVE C. JOHNSON asked whether the peer support counselors within the police department would be insured or protected against financial harm for giving an officer bad advice. REPRESENTATIVE JOSEPHSON shared his understanding that good counselors would act as empathetic sounding boards. He offered to ask stakeholders whether immunity should be included in the bill. REPRESENTATIVE C. JOHNSON pointed out that Representative Josephson had referenced "good counselors." He pondered the type of training and qualifications required of a peer counselor. REPRESENTATIVE JOSEPHSON said as drafted, the bill clarified that peer counselors must receive training and counseling on providing emotional support to peace officers and emergency service personnel who experienced trauma during the course of employment. He welcomed a friendly amendment to expound on that; however, he noted that master's level clinicians were not required. 4:04:21 PM REPRESENTATIVE STORY shared her understanding that public safety work was traumatic. She imagined that having a mental health clinician on staff would be standard practice; however, she discussed the merits of having a peer counselor who had walked in the same shoes as the officers. REPRESENTATIVE JOSEPHSON agreed. He elaborated on instances of counselors being court ordered to testify. REPRESENTATIVE STORY asked whether police departments had their own mental health clinicians on staff. REPRESENTATIVE JOSEPHSON said he did not know. 4:07:48 PM REPRESENTATIVE C. JOHNSON declared a conflict of interest, noting that his daughter was a clinical psychologist. He pointed out that families suffer just as much as the traumatized officers. He suggested the inclusion of peer counseling support for the families. REPRESENTATIVE JOSEPHSON acknowledged the damage to marriages and relationships across the board for law enforcement. 4:10:14 PM CHAIR SHAW inquired about the two zero fiscal notes and invited the bill sponsor to speak to them. REPRESENTATIVE JOSEPHSON said there was nothing notable to add. 4:10:41 PM CHAIR SHAW proceeded to invited testimony. 4:11:01 PM ANGELINA SALVATO, Senior Patrol Officer, Anchorage Police Department; Anchorage Police Department Employees Association (APDEA), highlighted her twenty-year career in law enforcement. She recounted an incident in which she had to use deadly force during a traffic stop and the associated trauma she experienced. She discussed the cultural perception that talking about one's problems was weak. She emphasized that the bill would allow officers to participate in critical incident stress management with a peer counselor someone who had walked in their shoes. She conveyed that the pilot program was currently supported by the federal government, adding that the grants from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) provided for internal clinical support. She emphasized that the bill would provide legal protections that were lacking in existing practice, indicating that the added protection would encourage officers to participate. 4:17:00 PM CHAIR SHAW opened public testimony on HB 15. After ascertaining that no one online or in person wished to testify, he closed public testimony. 4:17:48 PM REPRESENTATIVE JOSEPHSON proceeded to summarize a PowerPoint presentation on HB 15 [included in the committee packet]. He began on slide 4, titled "Other States with Peer Support Programs for EMS and Law Enforcement," which read as follows [original punctuation provided]: 1. Illinois Establishes a peer support program, provides for confidentiality. 2. Idaho Establishes a guarantee of confidentiality for peer support programs in EMS/Law enforcement. Relates to evidence, defines terms, to prohibit disclosure of certain communications, to provide exceptions, to provide that certain disclosures are subject to the rules of the Idaho Supreme Court. 3. Indiana Relates to peer support services and critical incident stress management services (CISM), provides for confidentiality. 4. Louisiana Provides for the Peace Officer and Public Safety Personnel Peer Support and Mental Health Wellness Act 5. South Dakota - Makes an appropriation for and the establishment of peer support and critical incident stress management training for first responder organizations, declares an emergency. 6. Texas Relates to a mental health program that includes peer-to-peer counseling for certain law enforcement personnel, allows for contracting with an institution of higher education that has appropriate expertise in mental health or law enforcement to develop the peer support network. 4:18:24 PM REPRESENTATIVE JOSEPHSON continued to slide 5, titled "Sobering Statistics," which read as follows [original punctuation provided]: 69% of EMS providers report not having time to recover after stressful event 30% of first responders develop depression and PTSD, among other things, compared to 20% in the general population Two studies illustrated that suicidal ideation is experienced by EMS at alarming rates. 28% feel that life is not worth living. 10.4% percent have experienced a serious suicidal ideation. In another, it was found that having both EMS and firefighting duties was associated with a sixfold increase in the likelihood of reporting a suicide attempt as compared to firefighting alone. 4:18:55 PM REPRESENTATIVE JOSEPHSON concluded on slide 6, titled "Why this bill?" Slide 6 read as follows [original punctuation provided]: • This bill is an important step in addressing the stigma around the mental health of public safety professionals, by providing them a safe space to talk about their mental health. • The confidentiality aspect is crucial, as it allows employees to come forward and be open about their experiences. • Incidentally, this bill will contribute to workforce retention. As these individuals are expected to do more with less, they will often be placed in dangerous, unpredictable situations. The need for peer support systems will be crucial in ensuring that law enforcement and EMS will have long, healthy careers. 4:19:17 PM REPRESENTATIVE CARPENTER considered a scenario in which an officer was sent to a non-affiliated counselor to talk through an issue. He asked whether that would solve the problem. REPRESENTATIVE JOSEPHSON said that would be halfway there; however, it was missing the shared experience that a peer support counselor would otherwise provide. 4:21:01 PM CHAIR SHAW announced that HB 15 would be held over.