BILL REQ. #:  Z-0357.1 

Read first time 01/25/11.   Referred to Committee on Human Services & Corrections.

     AN ACT Relating to background investigations for peace officers and reserve officers; and amending RCW 43.101.080, 43.101.095, and 43.101.105.

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

Sec. 1   RCW 43.101.080 and 2008 c 69 s 3 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 or her 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 own, 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 purchase, lease, or otherwise acquire, subject to the approval of the department of general administration, a training facility or facilities necessary to the conducting of such programs;
     (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 require ((that each applicant that has been offered a conditional offer of employment as a fully commissioned peace officer or a fully commissioned reserve officer take and successfully pass a psychological examination)) county, city, or state law enforcement agencies that make a conditional offer of employment to an applicant as a fully commissioned peace officer or a reserve office to administer a background investigation including a check of criminal history, a psychological examination, and a polygraph test or similar assessment ((procedure as administered by county, city, or state law enforcement agencies as a condition of employment as a peace officer)) to each applicant, the results of which shall be used by the employer to determine the applicant's suitability for employment as a fully commissioned peace officer or a reserve officer. The background investigation, psychological examination, and the polygraph examination shall be administered in accordance with the requirements of RCW 43.101.095(2). The employing county, city, or state law enforcement agency may require that each peace officer or reserve officer who is required to take a psychological examination and a polygraph or similar test pay a portion of the testing fee based on the actual cost of the test or four hundred dollars, whichever is less. County, city, and state law enforcement agencies may establish a payment plan if they determine that the peace officer or reserve officer does not readily have the means to pay for his or her portion of the testing fee;
     (20) To promote positive relationships between law enforcement and the citizens of the state of Washington by allowing commissioners and staff to participate in the "chief for a day program." The executive director shall designate staff who may participate. In furtherance of this purpose, the commission may accept grants of funds and gifts and may use its public facilities for such purpose. At all times, the participation of commissioners and staff shall comply with chapter 42.52 RCW and chapter 292-110 WAC.
     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.

Sec. 2   RCW 43.101.095 and 2009 c 139 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) As a condition of continuing employment as peace officers, all Washington peace officers: (a) Shall timely obtain certification as peace officers, or timely obtain certification or exemption therefrom, by meeting all requirements of RCW 43.101.200, as that section is administered under the rules of the commission, as well by meeting any additional requirements under this chapter; and (b) shall maintain the basic certification as peace officers under this chapter.
     (2)(a) As a condition of continuing employment for any applicant ((that)) who has been offered a conditional offer of employment as a fully commissioned peace officer or a reserve officer after July 24, 2005, including any person whose certification has lapsed as a result of a break of more than twenty-four consecutive months in the officer's service as a fully commissioned peace officer or reserve officer, the applicant shall ((successfully pass)) submit to a background investigation including a check of criminal history, a psychological examination, and a polygraph or similar ((test)) assessment as administered by the county, city, or state law enforcement agency ((that complies with the following requirements:
     (i) The psychological examination shall be administered by a psychiatrist licensed in the state of Washington pursuant to chapter 18.71 RCW or a psychologist licensed in the state of Washington pursuant to chapter 18.83 RCW in compliance with standards established in rules of the commission.
     (ii))), the results of which shall be used to determine the applicant's suitability for employment as a fully commissioned peace officer or a reserve officer.
     (i) The background investigation including a check of criminal history shall be administered by the county, city, or state law enforcement agency that made the conditional offer of employment in compliance with standards established in the rules of the commission.
     (ii) The psychological examination shall be administered by a psychiatrist licensed in the state of Washington pursuant to chapter 18.71 RCW or a psychologist licensed in the state of Washington pursuant to chapter 18.83 RCW, in compliance with standards established in rules of the commission.
     (iii) The polygraph ((examination)) test or similar assessment shall be administered by an experienced ((polygrapher)) polygraph examiner who is a graduate of a polygraph school accredited by the American polygraph association and in compliance with standards established in rules of the commission.
     (b) The employing county, city, or state law enforcement agency may require that each peace officer or reserve officer who is required to take a psychological examination and a polygraph or similar test pay a portion of the testing fee based on the actual cost of the test or four hundred dollars, whichever is less. County, city, and state law enforcement agencies may establish a payment plan if they determine that the peace officer or reserve officer does not readily have the means to pay for his or her portion of the testing fee.
     (3) The commission shall certify peace officers who have satisfied, or have been exempted by statute or by rule from, the basic training requirements of RCW 43.101.200 on or before January 1, 2002. Thereafter, the commission may revoke certification pursuant to this chapter.
     (4) The commission shall allow a peace officer to retain status as a certified peace officer as long as the officer: (a) Timely meets the basic law enforcement training requirements, or is exempted therefrom, in whole or in part, under RCW 43.101.200 or under rule of the commission; (b) meets or is exempted from any other requirements under this chapter as administered under the rules adopted by the commission; (c) is not denied certification by the commission under this chapter; and (d) has not had certification revoked by the commission.
     (5) As a prerequisite to certification, as well as a prerequisite to pursuit of a hearing under RCW 43.101.155, a peace officer must, on a form devised or adopted by the commission, authorize the release to the commission of his or her personnel files, termination papers, criminal investigation files, or other files, papers, or information that are directly related to a certification matter or decertification matter before the commission.
     (6) The commission is authorized to receive criminal history record information that includes nonconviction data for any purpose associated with employment by the commission or peace officer certification under this chapter. Dissemination or use of nonconviction data for purposes other than that authorized in this section is prohibited.
     (7) For a national criminal history records check, the commission shall require fingerprints be submitted and searched through the Washington state patrol identification and criminal history section. The Washington state patrol shall forward the fingerprints to the federal bureau of investigation.

Sec. 3   RCW 43.101.105 and 2005 c 434 s 3 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) Upon request by a peace officer's employer or on its own initiative, the commission may deny or revoke certification of any peace officer, after written notice and hearing, if a hearing is timely requested by the peace officer under RCW 43.101.155, based upon a finding of one or more of the following conditions:
     (a) The peace officer has failed to timely meet all requirements for obtaining a certificate of basic law enforcement training, a certificate of basic law enforcement training equivalency, or a certificate of exemption from the training;
     (b) The peace officer has knowingly falsified or omitted material information on an application for training or certification to the commission;
     (c) The peace officer has been convicted at any time of a felony offense under the laws of this state or has been convicted of a federal or out-of-state offense comparable to a felony under the laws of this state; except that if a certified peace officer was convicted of a felony before being employed as a peace officer, and the circumstances of the prior felony conviction were fully disclosed to his or her employer before being hired, the commission may revoke certification only with the agreement of the employing law enforcement agency;
     (d) The peace officer has been discharged for disqualifying misconduct, the discharge is final, and some or all of the acts or omissions forming the basis for the discharge proceedings occurred on or after January 1, 2002;
     (e) The peace officer's certificate was previously issued by administrative error on the part of the commission; or
     (f) The peace officer has interfered with an investigation or action for denial or revocation of certificate by: (i) Knowingly making a materially false statement to the commission; or (ii) in any matter under investigation by or otherwise before the commission, tampering with evidence or tampering with or intimidating any witness.
     (2) After July 24, 2005, the commission shall deny certification to any applicant ((that)) who has lost his or her certification as a result of a break in service of more than twenty-four consecutive months if that applicant failed to ((successfully pass the psychological examination and the polygraph test or similar assessment procedure required in)) comply with the requirements set forth in RCW 43.101.080(19) and 43.101.095(2)((, as administered by county, city, or state law enforcement agencies)).