UNOFFICIAL COPY 22 RS HB 79/GA
Page 1 of 7
HB007910.100 - 215 - XXXX GA
AN ACT relating to mental health. 1
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Kentucky: 2
Section 1. KRS 15.518 is amended to read as follows: 3
(1) As used in this section, unless the context requires otherwise: 4
(a) "Commissioner" means the commissioner of the department; 5
(b) "Department" means the Department of Criminal Justice Training of the 6
Justice and Public Safety Cabinet; 7
(c) "Fund" means the Law Enforcement Professional Development and Wellness 8
Program fund established in subsection (8) of this section; and 9
(d) "Program" means the Law Enforcement Professional Development and 10
Wellness Program established in this section. 11
(2) The department shall develop a Law Enforcement Professional Development and 12
Wellness Program. 13
(3) The program shall use seminar-based peer support and counseling services designed 14
to reduce negative mental and behavioral health outcomes. 15
(4) The program shall be offered to Kentucky law enforcement officers and 16
telecommunicators at least two (2) times each calendar year. 17
(5) On a limited basis, the program may be offered to law enforcement officers from 18
states other than Kentucky upon application to and approval by the commissioner. 19
However, no Kentucky law enforcement officer or telecommunicator[officers] may 20
be denied admission to the program if law enforcement officers from another state 21
are admitted to the program. 22
(6) The department shall promulgate administrative regulations in accordance with 23
KRS Chapter 13A to implement this section. The administrative regulations shall 24
address, at a minimum: 25
(a) The required qualifications and duties of any person used by the department to 26
implement or administer the program; 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 22 RS HB 79/GA
Page 2 of 7
HB007910.100 - 215 - XXXX GA
(b) The curriculum, programming, seminar type, and treatment modalities used in 1
the program; 2
(c) The extent to which a participant's[participating officer's] relatives or friends 3
may participate in seminars; 4
(d) The standards by which law enforcement officers from other states may be 5
accepted into the program by the commissioner; and 6
(e) A protocol for establishing reciprocity for interagency assistance with other 7
state, federal, and tribal law enforcement agencies and officers in 8
administering the program. 9
(7) (a) Except as provided in paragraphs (b) and (c) of this subsection, 10
communications, identifying data, and any reports made in the application for 11
or in the course of an officer's or telecommunicator's participation in the 12
program shall be confidential and privileged from disclosure in any civil or 13
criminal proceeding and shall not be subject to discovery, disclosure, or 14
production upon the order or subpoena of a court or other agency with 15
subpoena power, regardless of who possesses them. The participating officer 16
or telecommunicator is the holder of the privilege. 17
(b) The department may use anonymous data for research, statistical analysis, and 18
educational purposes. 19
(c) Any communication making an actual threat of physical violence against a 20
clearly identified or reasonably identifiable victim or an actual threat of some 21
specific violent act may be revealed by the program in order to prevent the 22
commission of any physical violence or violent act using the protocol 23
established in KRS 202A.400. 24
(8) (a) There is hereby established in the State Treasury a restricted fund to be known 25
as the Law Enforcement Professional Development and Wellness Program 26
fund. 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 22 RS HB 79/GA
Page 3 of 7
HB007910.100 - 215 - XXXX GA
(b) The fund shall consist of moneys received from the Kentucky Law 1
Enforcement Foundation Program fund established in KRS 15.430, grants, 2
gifts, state appropriations, and federal funds. 3
(c) The fund shall be administered by the department. 4
(d) Amounts deposited in the fund shall be used only for administration of the 5
program. 6
(e) Notwithstanding KRS 45.229, fund amounts not expended at the close of a 7
fiscal year shall not lapse but shall be carried forward to the next fiscal year. 8
(f) Any interest earnings of the fund shall become a part of the fund and shall not 9
lapse. 10
(g) Moneys deposited in the fund are hereby appropriated for the purposes set 11
forth in this section and shall not be appropriated or transferred by the General 12
Assembly for any other purposes. 13
Section 2. KRS 15.550 is amended to read as follows: 14
(1) The basic course offered by the training program shall consist of no less than forty 15
(40) hours of instruction or training and shall consist of subjects appropriate for the 16
basic training of law enforcement telecommunicators in the technique of emergency 17
services communications. The Kentucky Law Enforcement Council shall approve 18
all training curriculum and instructions. 19
(2) As a portion of the basic course offered, all telecommunicators who receive or 20
dispatch emergency medical service calls shall be trained in: 21
(a) Telephone cardiopulmonary resuscitation (T-CPR) utilizing nationally 22
recognized emergency cardiovascular care guidelines. At a minimum this 23
training shall incorporate recognition protocols for out-of-hospital cardiac 24
arrest, compression-only CPR instructions for callers, and continuing 25
education as appropriate; and 26
(b) Recognizing the symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). At a 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 22 RS HB 79/GA
Page 4 of 7
HB007910.100 - 215 - XXXX GA
minimum, this training shall include guidelines for identifying the 1
symptoms of PTSD and provide a resource guide of available services for 2
treatment. 3
(3) Online training modules based on nationally recognized guidelines that at a 4
minimum incorporate recognition protocols for out of hospital cardiac arrest and 5
compression-only CPR shall be acceptable for telecommunicators who have not 6
been through the training academies or who are not otherwise certified in these 7
protocols. 8
(4) The Kentucky Law Enforcement Council shall incorporate mental health 9
training, with a primary focus on PTSD, into the telecommunicators training 10
program and maintain a current resource list for all telecommunicators and their 11
supervisors about the management and treatment of PTSD and work-induced 12
stress. 13
Section 3. KRS 15.560 is amended to read as follows: 14
(1) No person shall receive an official appointment on a permanent basis as a law 15
enforcement telecommunicator unless the person has previously been awarded a 16
certificate by the Kentucky Law Enforcement Council attesting to such person's 17
satisfactory completion of a non-CJIS telecommunications academy. Every person 18
who is employed after June 24, 2003, as a law enforcement telecommunicator by 19
any law enforcement agency in this state, regardless of prior experience as a non-20
CJIS telecommunicator, shall forfeit his or her position as such unless, within 21
twelve (12) months from the date of his or her employment, he or she satisfactorily 22
completes the non-CJIS telecommunications academy and is awarded a certificate 23
attesting thereto. The council shall waive the training requirements listed in this 24
section for all law enforcement telecommunicators who are serving on July 15, 25
2006, and possess a certificate of completion of an approved law enforcement 26
telecommunicator basic training program. 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 22 RS HB 79/GA
Page 5 of 7
HB007910.100 - 215 - XXXX GA
(2) All non-CJIS telecommunicators, whether originally employed before or after July 1
15, 2006, shall successfully complete each calendar year an in-service training 2
course, appropriate to their job assignment and responsibility, of eight (8) hours' 3
duration at a school certified or recognized by the Kentucky Law Enforcement 4
Council. Each in-service training course shall include a mental health 5
component which highlights post-traumatic stress disorder and work-induced 6
stress, including symptom recognition, treatment, and available resources. 7
(3) In the event of extenuating circumstances beyond the control of a non-CJIS 8
telecommunicator that prevent completion of training within the time specified, the 9
commissioner or the commissioner's designee may grant the non-CJIS 10
telecommunicator an extension of time, not to exceed one hundred eighty (180) 11
days, in which to complete the training. 12
(4) A non-CJIS telecommunicator who fails to complete the training within a period of 13
twelve (12) months and any extension of time granted under this section shall be 14
terminated by the employing agency and shall not be permitted to serve as a 15
telecommunicator with any governmental agency in the Commonwealth for a period 16
of one (1) year. 17
Section 4. KRS 15.565 is amended to read as follows: 18
(1) No person shall receive an official appointment on a permanent basis as a CJIS 19
telecommunicator unless that person has previously been awarded a certificate by 20
the Kentucky Law Enforcement Council attesting to that person's satisfactory 21
completion of the CJIS telecommunications academy. Every person who is 22
employed after July 15, 2006, as a CJIS telecommunicator shall forfeit his or her 23
position as such unless, within six (6) months from the date of employment, that 24
person satisfactorily completes the CJIS telecommunications academy and is 25
awarded a certificate attesting thereto. The council shall waive the training 26
requirements listed in this section and award a CJIS telecommunicator certificate 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 22 RS HB 79/GA
Page 6 of 7
HB007910.100 - 215 - XXXX GA
for all CJIS telecommunicators who are serving on July 15, 2006, and have 1
successfully completed the CJIS-full access course. 2
(2) A non-CJIS telecommunicator who gains employment as a CJIS telecommunicator 3
shall successfully complete the CJIS-full access course within six (6) months from 4
the date of his or her employment. A non-CJIS telecommunicator whose employing 5
agency initiates the use of CJIS shall successfully complete the CJIS-full access 6
course within six (6) months from the date that the agency initiates the use of CJIS. 7
(3) All CJIS telecommunicators, whether originally employed before or after July 15, 8
2006, shall successfully complete each calendar year an in-service training course, 9
appropriate to their job assignment and responsibility, of eight (8) hours' duration, 10
of which the number of hours shall not be changed by the Kentucky Law 11
Enforcement Council, at a school certified or recognized by the council. Each in-12
service training course shall include a mental health component which highlights 13
post-traumatic stress disorder and work-induced stress, including symptom 14
recognition, treatment, and available resources. 15
(4) All CJIS telecommunicators, whether originally employed before or after July 15, 16
2006, shall successfully complete eight (8) hours of CJIS in-service training every 17
two (2) years at a school certified or recognized by the Kentucky Law Enforcement 18
Council. 19
(5) Extensions of time in which to complete the training specified in this section may 20
be granted by the commissioner of the Department of Kentucky State Police or the 21
commissioner's designee. 22
(6) A CJIS telecommunicator who fails to complete the training within a period of six 23
(6) months and any extension of time granted under this section shall be terminated 24
by the employing agency and shall not be permitted to serve as a telecommunicator 25
with any governmental agency in the Commonwealth for a period of one (1) year. 26
Section 5. KRS 15.590 is amended to read as follows: 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 22 RS HB 79/GA
Page 7 of 7
HB007910.100 - 215 - XXXX GA
(1) KRS 15.530 to 15.590 shall be administered by the Kentucky Law Enforcement 1
Council, which shall promulgate administrative regulations as necessary regarding 2
training, in-service training, and telecommunications practices. 3
(2) The Kentucky Law Enforcement Council may, by administrative regulations 4
promulgated in accordance with KRS Chapter 13A, explicitly set the exact number 5
at a different number of hours from that established in KRS 15.530 required for 6
completion of the: 7
(a) Non-CJIS telecommunicators academy; and 8
(b) Telecommunications academy. 9
If the council sets an exact number of hours at a different number from that 10
established in KRS 15.530 in an administrative regulation as set out in this 11
subsection, it shall not further change the number of hours without promulgating 12
administrative regulations in accordance with the provisions of KRS Chapter 13A 13
to set the exact number of hours required for each of the academies. 14
(3) Nothing in KRS 15.530 to 15.590 shall be interpreted to permit the Kentucky Law 15
Enforcement Council to increase or decrease the eight (8) hours required to be 16
completed by telecommunicators for in-service training as established in KRS 17
15.560(2) and 15.565(3) and (4). 18
(4) The Kentucky Law Enforcement Council shall include mental health training 19
and resources for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and work-induced stress 20
during each in-service training for all telecommunicators. 21
(5) At the conclusion of each in-service training, a guideline for recognizing the 22
symptoms of and available treatment resources for PTSD or work-induced stress 23
shall be provided to all supervisors of telecommunicators. 24
(6) All telecommunicators shall have access to the Law Enforcement Professional 25
Development and Wellness Program established in Section 1 of this Act. 26
Section 6. This Act may be cited as the Lifeliner's Act. 27