AL
Alabama House Bill HB536

Alabama 2025 Regular Session

Alabama House Bill HB536 Compare Versions

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33 HB536
44 HGWW266-1
55 By Representatives Tillman, Treadaway
66 RFD: Ways and Means General Fund
77 First Read: 08-Apr-25
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1212 5 HGWW266-1 04/07/2025 JC (L)lg 2025-1325
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1414 First Read: 08-Apr-25
1515 SYNOPSIS:
1616 Existing law currently provides for peer support
1717 members to help law enforcement officers in need of
1818 emotional and moral support caused by job-related
1919 stress or a particular incident in the line of duty.
2020 This bill would require the Alabama State Law
2121 Enforcement Agency to set up a program to educate and
2222 provide resources to law enforcement officers who
2323 suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), in
2424 cooperation with county and municipal law enforcement
2525 agencies.
2626 This bill would also require law enforcement
2727 agencies and departments to provide financial
2828 assistance to officers to meet cost-sharing obligations
2929 for insurance benefits for PTSD treatment, to reimburse
3030 officers for mileage for traveling to treatment
3131 appointments, and paid leave for time off work for PTSD
3232 treatment.
3333 A BILL
3434 TO BE ENTITLED
3535 AN ACT
3636 Relating to law enforcement officers; to require the
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6666 Relating to law enforcement officers; to require the
6767 Alabama State Law Enforcement Agency to establish a program to
6868 educate law enforcement officers about post-traumatic stress
6969 syndrome; to provide for cooperation between ALEA and local
7070 law enforcement agencies; and to require law enforcement
7171 agencies to provide certain benefits to officers with PTSD.
7272 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF ALABAMA:
7373 Section 1. (a) For the purposes of this section the
7474 following terms have the following meanings:
7575 (1) ALEA. The Alabama State Law Enforcement Agency.
7676 (2) EMPLOYER. The state, a department or agency
7777 thereof, a county or municipality, or other political
7878 subdivision that employs law enforcement officers.
7979 (3) LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER. A law enforcement officer
8080 who is certified by the Alabama Peace Officers' Standards and
8181 Training Commission and who is employed by the state, a
8282 county, or municipality.
8383 (4) POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER (PTSD). A mental
8484 health condition that meets the diagnostic criteria in the
8585 Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth
8686 Edition, Text Revision (DSM-5-TR), published by the American
8787 Psychiatric Association.
8888 (5) QUALIFYING EVENT. An isolated and extraordinarily
8989 traumatic event involving an officer acting within the line
9090 and scope of duty and that includes the officer satisfying
9191 either of the following:
9292 a. Witnessing or being directly engaged in actions
9393 resulting in the death of an individual on the scene of the
9494 event.
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124124 event.
125125 b. Witnessing or being directly engaged in actions,
126126 during or immediately after an event, which result in an
127127 injury of such a severe nature that it leads directly to the
128128 death of an individual due to the injury on the way to, or no
129129 more than 48 hours after, reaching a hospital for treatment.
130130 (6) QUALIFYING TREATING PHYSICIAN. A licensed clinical
131131 psychologist or board certified psychiatrist licensed to
132132 practice in this state and with experience diagnosing PTSD,
133133 including the identification of malingering PTSD, and treating
134134 patients with evidenced-based therapies.
135135 (7) TREATMENT. The term includes evidence-based
136136 therapies recognized by the U.S. Department of Veterans
137137 Affairs, including cognitive behavioral conjoint therapy,
138138 cognitive processing therapy, eye movement desensitization and
139139 reprocessing, and prolonged exposure, and other talk therapy,
140140 alone or in combination with prescription drugs.
141141 Section 2. There is established a program to treat law
142142 enforcement officers in the State of Alabama for
143143 post-traumatic stress disorder, to be comprised of the
144144 following participants:
145145 (1) The Alabama State Law Enforcement Agency, as
146146 further described in Section 3.
147147 (2) State departments or agencies, counties, and
148148 municipalities that employ law enforcement officers, as
149149 described in Sections 4 through 6.
150150 Section 3. (a) The Alabama State Law Enforcement Agency
151151 shall do all of the following:
152152 (1) Require, as a precondition for certification as a
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182182 (1) Require, as a precondition for certification as a
183183 peer support member as described in Section 36-21-14, Code of
184184 Alabama 1975, that an applicant complete an introductory
185185 training course on PTSD and the recognition of its symptoms.
186186 (2) Develop and update a roster of qualifying treating
187187 physicians who are located throughout the State of Alabama.
188188 (3) Designate an employee with personal experience or
189189 contact with PTSD to be a permanent resource officer and
190190 liaison to local law enforcement agencies to respond to
191191 inquiries about PTSD resources and treatment and to conduct
192192 on-site presentations or seminars on PTSD.
193193 (4) Develop written materials to educate officers on
194194 PTSD, which shall:
195195 a. Include information on symptoms, coping methods, and
196196 treatment options;
197197 b. Be under periodic review by mental health
198198 professionals to ensure that they contain current and accurate
199199 information substantiated by peer-reviewed literature; and
200200 c. Made available in printed form for distribution and
201201 as a resource link accessible on the ALEA website.
202202 (b) In the implementation and development of the
203203 measures described in subsection (a), ALEA shall receive upon
204204 request the assistance, including the expertise, of the
205205 Alabama Department of Mental Health.
206206 Section 4. An employer shall do all of the following:
207207 (1) If the employer provides or makes available health
208208 care insurance to law enforcement officers, the employer shall
209209 review the health benefit plan for compliance with the federal
210210 Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act to ensure that
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240240 Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act to ensure that
241241 coverage exists to pay claims or reimbursement for treatment
242242 for PTSD.
243243 (2) The employer shall use the resources developed
244244 under the auspices of ALEA as provided in Section 3 of this
245245 act, including, at a minimum, compulsory education to law
246246 enforcement officers on recognizing PTSD.
247247 (3) Provide the benefits described in Section 5.
248248 Section 5. (a) To claim benefits under this section, a
249249 law enforcement officer shall satisfy all of the following:
250250 (1) Experience a qualifying event during the 12-month
251251 period immediately preceding the date of the first claim for
252252 benefits.
253253 (2) Agree in writing that the employer is not liable
254254 under Chapter 5, Title 25, Code of Alabama 1975, to the law
255255 enforcement officer who elects to receive benefits under this
256256 act.
257257 (3) Participate in an applicable peer support event,
258258 conducted by a certified peer support member where the law
259259 enforcement officer receives a debriefing, defusing, or
260260 coaching session in accordance with Section 36-21-14, Code of
261261 Alabama 1975.
262262 (4) Receive certification from a qualified treating
263263 physician containing both of the following:
264264 a. That the law enforcement officer has been diagnosed
265265 with PTSD and that the PTSD resulted solely from his or her
266266 involvement in a qualifying event that occurred in the line
267267 and course of his or her duties as a law enforcement officer.
268268 b. That the treatment, which may include evidence-based
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298298 b. That the treatment, which may include evidence-based
299299 therapies, counseling, or prescription drugs, is medically
300300 necessary.
301301 (5) Authorize the insurer, if applicable, to
302302 communicate with the qualified treating physician for the
303303 limited and sole purpose of confirming PTSD treatment to the
304304 extent necessary to verify claims for benefits under this
305305 section.
306306 (b) An employer shall reimburse a law enforcement
307307 officer for any copayment, coinsurance, or deductible incurred
308308 by the officer in receiving treatment for PTSD that is
309309 otherwise covered by the law enforcement officer's health
310310 insurance, not to exceed fifteen thousand dollars ($15,000)
311311 during his or her lifetime.
312312 (c)(1) A law enforcement officer shall be reimbursed
313313 for travel for PTSD treatment.
314314 (2) The reimbursement shall be per mile for a round
315315 trip at the current standard mileage rate set by the Internal
316316 Revenue Service for receiving medical care for income tax
317317 deduction if the travel meets all of the following conditions:
318318 a. The purpose is to visit a qualified treating
319319 physician for PTSD treatment.
320320 b. The mileage, one way, between the law enforcement
321321 officer's residence and the qualified treating physician is at
322322 least 25 miles.
323323 c. The travel is not outside the State of Alabama.
324324 Section 6. (a) An employer shall provide a law
325325 enforcement officer up to an additional 80 working hours of
326326 paid leave to undergo treatment for PTSD.
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356356 paid leave to undergo treatment for PTSD.
357357 (b) Any leave taken to undergo treatment for PTSD shall
358358 be without any loss of pay and shall be in addition to all
359359 types of leave otherwise applicable under the employer's
360360 policies, including sick leave, personal leave, and annual
361361 vacation.
362362 (c) Any leave taken to undergo treatment for PTSD shall
363363 not be used by the employer as a factor in any performance
364364 evaluation given to the law enforcement officer or any
365365 disciplinary action required under the employer's policies to
366366 be administered to the officer.
367367 (d) The benefits provided pursuant to this section are
368368 independent of any coverage for PTSD treatment available to a
369369 law enforcement officer under employer-sponsored health
370370 insurance or health insurance obtained by the law enforcement
371371 officer from any other source, and eligibility is governed
372372 solely by the terms of this section.
373373 (e) An employer is authorized to seek and obtain
374374 secondary, or gap, insurance to pay for the benefits provided
375375 under this section.
376376 (f) In the event a law enforcement officer is employed
377377 by more than one employer simultaneously, the primary employer
378378 shall be responsible for the benefits provided under this
379379 section. The primary employer shall be identified as the
380380 employer that provides primary health insurance benefits to
381381 the law enforcement officer.
382382 (g) A law enforcement officer is no longer entitled to
383383 the benefits under this section if he or she resigns, is
384384 terminated, or retires.
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414414 terminated, or retires.
415415 (h) If a law enforcement officer transfers to a
416416 different employer, the new employer shall not be required to
417417 pay any premium for any benefits paid for by insurance under
418418 this section until the current calendar year's coverage
419419 expires with the previous employer.
420420 Section 7. The benefits and reimbursement provided
421421 under Section 6 of this act shall not apply to PTSD resulting
422422 from events occurring prior to October 1, 2025.
423423 Section 8. This act shall become effective on October
424424 1, 2025.
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