Washington State

House of Representatives

Office of Program Research

BILL

ANALYSIS

Appropriations Committee

HB 2926

This analysis was prepared by non-partisan legislative staff for the use of legislative members in their deliberations. This analysis is not a part of the legislation nor does it constitute a statement of legislative intent.

Sponsors: Representatives Maycumber, Blake, Kretz, MacEwen, Van Werven, Mosbrucker, Graham, Hoff, Griffey, Stokesbary, Chambers, Ybarra, Dent, Barkis, Goehner, Chandler, Kraft, Goodman, Lovick, Ortiz-Self, Senn, Gildon, Sells, Boehnke, Davis, Smith, Dye, Orwall, Eslick, Shewmake, Pollet, Riccelli and Harris.

Brief Summary of Bill

Requires the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs to inventory current critical incident stress management programs in Washington and expand access to such programs to law enforcement entities.

Background:

The Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs (WASPC) is a statewide independent organization consisting of executive and management personnel from law enforcement agencies. Membership includes sheriffs, police chiefs, the Washington State Patrol, the Department of Corrections, and representatives of a number of federal agencies.

The WASPC is also a statutory entity and currently receives state funding to manage certain statewide programs, such as the Jail Booking and Reporting System. Additionally, it has been given administrative responsibility for several state-funded grant programs including: grant programs addressing gang crime; graffiti and tagging abatement; denied firearm purchase attempts; sexual assault kits; metal theft; and mental health field response.

Critical incidents generally involve an event that lies outside the range of usual human experience. It has the potential to exhaust one's usual coping mechanisms, resulting in psychological distress and disruption of normal adaptive functioning. Critical incident stress management (CISM) programs help to address issues of secondary traumatization and include but are not limited to: peer support counseling; crisis intervention; traumatic incident reduction; and stress management.

Summary of Bill:

Subject to appropriation, the WASPC must conduct outreach and coordinate with local law enforcement agencies to expand CISM programs to law enforcement personnel throughout Washington. The WASPC:

must conduct an inventory of the current CISM programs in the state, including an assessment of underserved agencies and regions;
must coordinate with law enforcement entities and community partners to provide greater access to CISM programs, including peer support group counselors; and
may assist such agencies with establishing interagency and regional service agreements to facilitate expansion of CISM programs.

The WASPC must prepare a preliminary report on its findings by July 1, 2021. A final report with a summary of the inventory and efforts to expand CISM programs must be submitted to the governor and the appropriate committees of the legislature by July 1, 2022.