House Bill No. 5547
Special Act No. 16-13
AN ACT ESTABLISHING A TASK FORCE TO STUDY THE TRAINING CURRICULUM AND EDUCATION OF POLICE OFFICERS.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened:
Section 1. (Effective from passage) (a) There is established a task force to examine the education and training of law enforcement officers in the state relative to recognized national best practices. The task force shall examine: (1) The current basic curriculum and practices, (2) the instruction and delivery of the basic curriculum, (3) the feasibility and desirability of offering training at satellite campuses, and (4) such other topics as the task force deems appropriate relating to police training.
(b) The task force shall consist of the following members:
(1) Two appointed by the speaker of the House of Representatives, one of whom shall be a sworn officer of a municipal police department and one of whom shall be a member of the Connecticut Police Chiefs Association;
(2) Two appointed by the president pro tempore of the Senate, one of whom shall be a representative from the Institute for Municipal and Regional Policy at Central Connecticut State University and one of whom shall be a member of the Division of State Police within the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection;
(3) One appointed by the majority leader of the House of Representatives, who shall be a member of the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to public safety;
(4) One appointed by the majority leader of the Senate, who shall be a chief elected official from a town with a population of equal to or greater than twenty-five thousand persons;
(5) One appointed by the minority leader of the House of Representatives, who shall be a chief elected official from a town with a population of less than twenty-five thousand persons;
(6) One appointed by the minority leader of the Senate, who shall be a social scientist employed by an institution of higher education in this state;
(7) One appointed by the house chairperson of the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to public safety, who shall be a municipal police chief;
(8) One appointed by the senate chairperson of the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to public safety, who shall be a representative from a minority community-based organization;
(9) The chairperson of the Black and Puerto Rican Caucus of the General Assembly, or the chairperson's designee;
(10) One representative of the Police Officer Standards and Training Council, appointed by the chairperson of the council; and
(11) The Commissioner of Emergency Services and Public Protection, or the commissioner's designee.
(c) All appointments to the task force shall be made not later than thirty days after the effective date of this section. Any vacancy shall be filled by the appointing authority.
(d) The speaker of the House of Representatives and the president pro tempore of the Senate shall select the chairpersons of the task force from among the members of the task force. Such chairpersons shall schedule the first meeting of the task force, which shall be held not later than sixty days after the effective date of this section.
(e) The task force shall submit a preliminary report on its findings and recommendations to the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection, Police Officer Standards and Training Council and the Connecticut Police Chiefs Association and include any comments received from such department, council or association in the task force's final report.
(f) Not later than October 1, 2017, the task force shall submit a final report on its findings and recommendations to the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to public safety and security, in accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a of the general statutes. The task force shall terminate on the date that it submits such report or October 1, 2017, whichever is later.