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STATE OF OKLAHOMA
1st Session of the 59th Legislature (2023)
HOUSE BILL 2686 By: Hays
AS INTRODUCED
An Act relating to emergency first responder mental
health; creating the Oklahoma First Responder Mental
Health Initiative Act; providing for defini tions;
declaring rights for first res ponders and behavioral
health care; providing for codificat ion; and
providing an effective date.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE PE OPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
SECTION 1. NEW LAW A new sect ion of law to be codified
in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 950 of Title 43A, unless there
is created a duplication in nu mbering, reads as follows:
This act shall be known and may be cited as the "Oklahoma First
Responder Mental Health Initiative Act ".
SECTION 2. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 951 of Title 43A, unless there
is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
As used in this act:
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1. "Behavioral health" or "behavioral health care" means
treatment for mental health, substance use disorder, or both, co-
occurring together;
2. "Emergency services personnel " means any employee of an
emergency services provider who is engaged in providing services as
a first responder;
3. "Emergency services provider" means any public employer that
employs persons to provide firefighting services;
4. "Employee" means a first responder employed by a unit of
state or local government, by a public hospital or ambulance
service, or by a 911 disp atching agency;
5. "Employer" means the state, a unit of local government, or a
public hospital or ambulance servic e that employs first responders;
6. "First responder" means a law enforcement officer, 911
dispatcher, paramedic, emergency medical technic ian, or a volunteer
or full-time paid firefighter employed by a unit of local
government, a public hospital, or an a mbulance service that employs
first responders;
7. "Law enforcement agency" means any county sheriff, municipal
police department, police d epartment established by a university or
college, the Department of Public Safety, the Department of
Corrections, or other state, local, or county agency comprised of
county probation officers, corrections employees, or 911
telecommunicators or emergency medical dispatchers;
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8. "Peer support advisor " means an employee approved by the law
enforcement agency or the emerg ency services provider who
voluntarily provides confidential support and assistance to fellow
employees experiencing personal or professional problems. An
emergency services provider or law enforcement agency shall provide
peer support advisors with an appropriate level of training in
counseling to provide emotional and moral support;
9. "Peer support counseling program " means a program
established by an emergency services provider, a law enforcement
agency, state or local police, or a firefighter organization to
train employees to serve as peer support advisors in order to
conduct peer support counseling sessions;
10. "Peer support counseling session" means communication with
a peer support advisor designated by an emergency services provider
or law enforcement agency. A peer support counseling session is
accomplished primarily through listening, assessing, assisting with
problem solving, making referrals to a professional when necessary,
and conducting follow-up as needed;
11. "Post-traumatic stress disorder" means any psychological or
behavioral health injury suffered by a first responder by and
through his or her employment due to his or her exposures to
stressful and life-threatening situations and rigors of the job,
excluding a psychological or beha vioral health injury that arises
solely as a result of a legitimate personnel action by the employer
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such as transfer, promotion, demotion, or termination, which shall
not be considered a compensable injury under this act; and
12. "Record" means any record kept by a therapist or by an
agency in the course of providing behavioral hea lth care to a first
responder concerning the first responde r and the services provided.
Record includes the personal notes of the therapist or agency, as
well as all records maintained by a court that have been created in
connection with, in preparation for, or as a result of the filing of
any petition. Record does not include information that has been de-
identified in accordance with the federal Health Insurance
Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and does not include a
reference to the receipt of behavioral health care noted during a
patient history and physical or other summary of care .
SECTION 3. NEW LAW A ne w section of law to be codi fied
in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 952 of Title 43A, unless there
is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
A. First responders shall have the following rights to
behavioral health care:
1. The right of full access to behavioral health care services
and treatment that are re sponsive to the needs of the individual and
the professions of police officers, firefighters, emergency medical
technicians, 911 dispatchers, and paramedics;
2. The right to seek, or access if required or requested,
services and treatment for behaviora l health needs without fear of
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repercussions by his or her employer or supervisor and without fear
of reprisal;
3. The right, in the course of seeking servic es and treatment
for behavioral health, that all records, notes, and conclusions by
the treatment provider shall not be shared with an employer unless
otherwise mandated by law. The right guaranteed by this paragraph
may be waived by the employee;
4. The right of first responder employees not to be compelled
by their employer under the threat of discipline to release any
records related to behavioral health;
5. The right to have behavioral health records n ot be used in
any disciplinary or oth er proceeding against an employee;
6. The right of first responder employees to seek treatment in
any geographic area without restrictions or limitations imposed by
the employer or insur ance carrier;
7. The right to receive behavioral health services and
treatment in a manner that reduces stigma and barriers to those
services and treatment;
8. The right to receive expanded Family and Medical Leave Act
protections for individuals voluntarily seeking preventative
treatment;
9. The right to be diagnosed by a li censed psychiatrist,
psychologist, or professional counselor specializing in first
responder mental health;
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10. The right to separate living quarters and treatment areas
within behavioral health and detox facilities from other patients to
keep anonymity and reduce triggering events; and
11. The right for all first responders r etired from service for
a period of up to thirty -six (36) months to have full access to
behavioral health treatment regardless of Medicare restrictions.
B. The rights guaranteed to first responders in this section
shall be judicially enforceable. An aggrieved employee may bring an
action for damages, attorney fees, or injunctive relief against an
employer for violating the provisions of this section.
C. 1. Any communication made by an employee of an emergency
services provider, law enforcement agency, o r peer support advisor
in a peer support counseling session, as well as any oral or written
information conveyed in the peer support counseling session, shall
be confidential and shall not be disclosed by any person
participating in the peer support counseling session or released to
any person or entity. Any communication relating to a peer support
counseling session made confidential under t his section that is made
between peer support a dvisors and the supervisors or staff of a peer
support counseling pro gram, or between the supervisor or staff of a
peer support counseling program, shall be confidentia l and shall not
be disclosed. The provisions of this section shall not be construed
to prohibit any communications between counselors who conduct peer
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support counseling sessions or any communications between counselors
and the supervisors o r staff of a peer support counseling program.
2. Any communication described in paragraph 1 of this
subsection may be subject to a subpoena for good cause shown.
3. The provisions of this subsection shall not apply to the
following:
a. any threat of suicide or homici de made by a
participant in a peer support counseling session or
any information conveyed in a peer support counseling
session related to a threat of suicide or homicide,
b. any information mandated by law or agency policy to be
reported, including, but not limited to, domestic
violence, child abuse or neglect, or elder abuse or
neglect,
c. any admission of criminal conduct , or
d. any admission or act of refusa l to perform duties to
protect others or the employee of the emergency
services provider or law enforcement agency.
4. All communications, notes, records, and reports arising out
of a peer support counseling session shall not be considered a
public record subject to disclosure under the Oklahoma Open Records
Act of the Oklahoma Statutes.
5. A department or organization that establishes a peer support
counseling program shall develop a poli cy or rule that imposes
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disciplinary measures against a p eer support advisor who violates
the confidentiality of the peer support counseling program by
sharing information learned in a peer support counselin g session
with personnel who are not supervisors or staff of the peer support
counseling program, unless otherwise exempted under the provisions
of this subsection.
6. If the emergency services provi der or law enforcement agency
uses confidential informat ion obtained during a confidential peer
support counseling session conducted by a law enforc ement agency or
by an emergency services provider in violation of this su bsection,
then the aggrieved employee whose rights have been violated shall
have a cause for an adverse employment action against the provider
or agency.
7. Nothing in this subsection sh all be construed to limit or
reduce any confidentiality protections o r legal privileges that are
otherwise provided by law or rule, including, but not limited t o,
local ordinance, state or federal law, or court rule. Any
confidentiality provision enacted by local ordinance o n or after the
effective date of thi s act shall not diminish the protections
enumerated in this subsection.
D. Any emergency services provi der, law enforcement agency, or
statewide or local collective bargaining organization that crea tes a
peer support program shall be subject to the provisions of this
section. An emergency services provider, law enforcement agency, or
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collective bargaining organization shall ensure that peer s upport
advisors receive appropriate training in counseling to conduct peer
support counseling sessions. Emergency services personnel and
public safety personnel may refer any person to a peer support
advisor within the emergency services provider or law enforcement
agency, or if those services are not available within the agency, to
another peer support counseling program that is available and
approved by the emer gency services provider or law enforcement
agency. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary,
public safety personnel shall not mandate that any employee
participate in a peer support counseling program.
SECTION 4. This act shall become effective November 1, 2023.
59-1-5749 TJ 01/19/23