2323-S

AN ACT Relating to law enforcement training; amending RCW 43.101.010 and 43.101.080; adding new sections to chapter 43.101 RCW; adding new sections to chapter 28B.80 RCW; and creating a new section.

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

Sec. 1. RCW 43.101.010 and 1981 c 132 s 2 are each amended to read as follows:

When used in this chapter:

(1) The term "commission" means the Washington state criminal justice training commission.

(2) The term "boards" means the education and training standards boards, the establishment of which are authorized by this chapter.

(3) The term "criminal justice personnel" means any person who serves in a county, city, state, or port commission agency engaged in crime prevention, crime reduction, or enforcement of the criminal law.

(4) The term "law enforcement personnel" means any public employee or volunteer having as a primary function the enforcement of criminal laws in general or any employee or volunteer of, or any individual commissioned by, any municipal, county, state, or combination thereof, agency having as its primary function the enforcement of criminal laws in general as distinguished from an agency possessing peace officer powers, the primary function of which is the implementation of specialized subject matter areas. For the purposes of this subsection "primary function" means that function to which the greater allocation of resources is made.

(5) The term "correctional personnel" means any employee or volunteer who by state, county, municipal, or combination thereof, statute has the responsibility for the confinement, care, management, training, treatment, education, supervision, or counseling of those individuals whose civil rights have been limited in some way by legal sanction.

(6) The term "law enforcement trainee" means any person who is in his or her junior or senior year and who is progressing toward a baccalaureate degree in criminal justice, or other related field, who is also enrolled in the pilot program in accordance with section 3 of this act.

Sec. 2. RCW 43.101.080 and 1982 c 124 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:

The commission shall have all of the following powers:

(1) To meet at such times and places as it may deem proper;

(2) To adopt any rules and regulations as it may deem necessary;

(3) To contract for services as it deems necessary in order to carry out its duties and responsibilities;

(4) To cooperate with and secure the cooperation of any department, agency, or instrumentality in state, county, and city government, and other commissions affected by or concerned with the business of the commission;

(5) To do any and all things necessary or convenient to enable it fully and adequately to perform its duties and to exercise the power granted to it;

(6) To select and employ an executive director, and to empower him to perform such duties and responsibilities as it may deem necessary;

(7) To assume legal, fiscal, and program responsibility for all training conducted by the commission;

(8) To establish, by rule and regulation, standards for the training of criminal justice personnel where such standards are not prescribed by statute;

(9) To establish and operate, or to contract with other qualified institutions or organizations for the operation of, training and education programs for criminal justice personnel and to lease, subject to the approval of the department of general administration, a training facility or facilities necessary to the conducting of such programs: PROVIDED, That the commission shall not have the power to invest any moneys received by it from any source for the purchase of a training facility without prior approval of the legislature;

(10) To establish, by rule and regulation, minimum curriculum standards for all training programs conducted for employed criminal justice personnel;

(11) To review and approve or reject standards for instructors of training programs for criminal justice personnel, and to employ personnel on a temporary basis as instructors without any loss of employee benefits to those instructors;

(12) To direct the development of alternative, innovate, and interdisciplinary training techniques;

(13) To review and approve or reject training programs conducted for criminal justice personnel and rules establishing and prescribing minimum training and education standards recommended by the training standards and education boards;

(14) To allocate financial resources among training and education programs conducted by the commission;

(15) To allocate training facility space among training and education programs conducted by the commission;

(16) To issue diplomas certifying satisfactory completion of any training or education program conducted or approved by the commission to any person so completing such a program;

(17) To provide for the employment of such personnel as may be practical to serve as temporary replacements for any person engaged in a basic training program as defined by the commission;

(18) To establish rules and regulations recommended by the training standards and education boards prescribing minimum standards relating to physical, mental and moral fitness which shall govern the recruitment of criminal justice personnel where such standards are not prescribed by statute or constitutional provision;

(19) To establish and operate, or to contract with other qualified institutions or organizations for the operation of, training and education programs for law enforcement trainees under section 3 of this act.

All rules and regulations adopted by the commission shall be adopted and administered pursuant to the administrative procedure act, chapter 34.05 RCW, and the open public meetings act, chapter 42.30 RCW.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. A new section is added to chapter 43.101 RCW to read as follows:

(1) The future law enforcement officers training program is created. The commission shall select law enforcement trainees from applicants who are in their junior or senior year and enrolled in a college or university criminal justice degree program, or other related program of study.

(2) The program shall provide basic law enforcement training, which complies with standards adopted by the commission under RCW 43.101.080, to law enforcement trainees. The commission shall provide the training together with necessary facilities, supplies, materials, and board and room of noncommuting attendees for seven days per week.

(3) The commission shall charge law enforcement trainees the full cost of their basic law enforcement training, including supplies, materials, and board and room.

(4) In 1996 up to thirty full-time equivalent trainees must be accepted into the program. Up to an additional thirty full-time equivalent trainees must be accepted in 1997. Thereafter, the program must continue at a level determined by the commission.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. A new section is added to chapter 43.101 RCW to read as follows:

(1) The Washington association of sheriffs and police chiefs shall assemble a study group to evaluate and make recommendations to the legislature regarding the commission mission, duties, and administration. The commissioners of the commission shall review the study group recommendations for acceptance or modification. The study group shall deliver its recommendations to the legislature by January 1, 1997.

(2) The study group shall:

(a) Review and evaluate the desirability and feasibility of providing basic law enforcement training to preemployed law enforcement officer applicants on a tuition or fee basis;

(b) Review and evaluate the adequacy of the commission's four-hundred-forty-hour basic law enforcement academy training program, including general curriculum requirements;

(c) Review and evaluate the status of supervisory, management, and advanced training for incumbent law enforcement officers, and the desirability and feasibility of providing the officers with advanced training;

(d) Review the desirability and feasibility of certification or licensing of law enforcement officers;

(e) Review and evaluate the adequacy of the capital and operating investments made in law enforcement training, make recommendations regarding improvements, and provide documentation of the cost of implementing the improvements;

(f) Review and make recommendations regarding funding sources to adequately support all recommendations; and

(g) Investigate other issues related to law enforcement training, as desired by the study group.

(3) The Washington association of sheriffs and police chiefs shall assemble the study group from names provided from the following entities or groups: One sheriff; three police chiefs; four representatives from the Washington state council of police officers; two representatives employed by the Washington state patrol, one of which is a regular officer of the patrol and one of which is a representative of the Washington state patrol trooper's association; two representatives employed by the criminal justice training commission; one police psychologist; one representative from the association of Washington cities; one representative from the Washington association of county officials; one representative from the Washington state association of counties; one representative from a public university; one representative from a public community college; and one legislator from each caucus of the senate and the house of representatives, as appointed by the leaders of the caucuses.

(4) The Washington association of sheriffs and police chiefs shall organize and administer the study group meetings and provide the necessary staff resources to meet the requests of the study group members.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. A new section is added to chapter 28B.80 RCW to read as follows:

Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, the definitions in this section apply throughout this section and sections 6 through 9 of this act.

(1) "Conditional scholarship" means a loan that is forgiven in whole or in part if the recipient renders service as a full-time commissioned law enforcement officer in a local jurisdiction of this state.

(2) "Eligible student" means a student in his or her junior or senior year who is accepted to the future law enforcement officers training program, and registered for criminal justice training through the program, and is a resident student as defined in RCW 28B.15.012 and 28B.15.013. However, a resident student as defined in RCW 28B.15.012(2)(e) is not an eligible student under this chapter.

(3) "Forgiven," "to forgive," or "forgiveness" means to render loan debt null and void due to fulfillment of service requirements.

(4) "Participant" means an eligible student who has received a conditional scholarship under this chapter.

(5) "Satisfied" means paid in full.

(6) "Targeted ethnic minority" means a group of Americans with a common ethnic or racial heritage selected by the board for program consideration due to societal concerns such as high dropout rates or low rates of college participation by members of the group.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 6. A new section is added to chapter 28B.80 RCW to read as follows:

The future law enforcement officers conditional scholarship program is established. The board shall administer the program. In administering the program, the board shall:

(1) Adopt necessary rules and guidelines;

(2) Select students to receive conditional scholarships, with the assistance of a screening committee composed of law enforcement representatives and leaders in government, business, and education;

(3) Collect and manage repayments from students who do not meet their law enforcement obligations under this chapter; and

(4) Solicit and accept grants and donations from public and private sources for the program.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 7. A new section is added to chapter 28B.80 RCW to read as follows:

The board shall establish a planning committee to develop criteria for the screening and selection of recipients of the conditional scholarships. These criteria must emphasize factors demonstrating excellence including but not limited to superior scholastic achievement, leadership ability, community contributions, and an ability to act as a role model for targeted ethnic minority students.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 8. A new section is added to chapter 28B.80 RCW to read as follows:

The board may award conditional scholarships to eligible students from the funds appropriated to the board for this purpose, or from any private donations, or other funds given or repaid to the board for the program established in section 6 of this act. The amount of the conditional scholarship awarded an individual may not exceed the full cost of the basic training criminal justice training session.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 9. A new section is added to chapter 28B.80 RCW to read as follows:

(1) A participant in the conditional scholarship program incurs an obligation to repay the conditional scholarship, with interest, unless the participant serves as a full-time commissioned law enforcement officer for four years in a local jurisdiction of the state of Washington, under rules adopted by the board.

(2) The board shall determine the interest rate. The rate must be comparable to other types of student loans.

(3) The period for repayment must be four years, with payments of principal and interest accruing quarterly commencing six months from the date the participant completes or discontinues the course of study. The board shall determine provisions for deferral of payment.

(4) The entire principal and interest of each payment must be forgiven for each payment period in which the participant is employed as a full-time commissioned law enforcement officer until the entire repayment obligation is satisfied or the borrower ceases to serve as a full-time commissioned law enforcement officer in any jurisdiction in this state. Should the participant cease the service in this state before the participant's repayment obligation is completed, payments on the unsatisfied portion of the principal and interest must begin the next payment period and continue until the remainder of the participant's repayment obligation is satisfied.

(5) The board is responsible for collection of repayments made under this section and shall exercise due diligence in the collection, maintaining all necessary records to insure that maximum repayments are made. Collection and servicing of repayments under this section must be pursued using the full extent of the law, including wage garnishment if necessary. The board is responsible to forgive all or parts of the repayments under the criteria established in this section and shall maintain all necessary records of forgiven payments.

(6) The board shall determine appropriate criteria for the deferment of repayment obligations.

(7) Receipts from the payment of principal or interest or any other subsidies to which the board as administrator is entitled, that are paid by or on behalf of participants under this section, must be deposited with the board and must be used to cover the costs of granting the conditional scholarships, maintaining necessary records, and making collections under subsection (5) of this section. The board shall maintain accurate records of these costs, and all receipts beyond those necessary to pay the costs must be used to grant conditional scholarships to eligible students.

(8) The board shall temporarily or, in special circumstances, permanently defer the requirements of this section for eligible students as defined in RCW 28B.10.017.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 10. If specific funding for section 4 of this act, referencing section 4 of this act by bill and section number or chapter and section number, is not provided by June 30, 1996, in the omnibus appropriations act, section 4 of this act is null and void.