HOUSE BILL NO. 3131 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
INTRODUCED BY REPRESENTATIVE SMITH (68).
6506H.01I JOSEPH ENGLER, Chief Clerk
AN ACT To repeal sections 590.040 and 590.050, RSMo, and to enact in lieu thereof three new sections relating to law enforcement response to mental-health related emergencies.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the state of Missouri, as follows:
Section A. Sections 590.040 and 590.050, RSMo, are repealed and three new sections 2 enacted in lieu thereof, to be known as sections 590.040, 590.050, and 590.275, to read as 3 follows: 590.040. 1. The POST commission shall set the minimum number of hours of basic 2 training for licensure as a peace officer no lower than six hundred, with the following 3 exceptions: 4 (1) Up to one thousand hours may be mandated for any class of license required for 5 commission by a state law enforcement agency; 6 (2) As few as one hundred twenty hours may be mandated for any class of license 7 restricted to commission as a reserve peace officer with police powers limited to the 8 commissioning political subdivision; 9 (3) Persons validly licensed on August 28, 2001, may retain licensure without 10 additional basic training; 11 (4) Persons licensed and commissioned within a county of the third classification 12 before July 1, 2002, may retain licensure with one hundred twenty hours of basic training if 13 the commissioning political subdivision has adopted an order or ordinance to that effect; 14 (5) Persons serving as a reserve officer on August 27, 2001, within a county of the 15 first classification or a county with a charter form of government and with more than one 16 million inhabitants on August 27, 2001, having previously completed a minimum of one
EXPLANATION — Matter enclosed in bold-faced brackets [thus] in the above bill is not enacted and is intended to be omitted from the law. Matter in bold-face type in the above bill is proposed language. HB 3131 2
17 hundred sixty hours of training, shall be granted a license necessary to function as a reserve 18 peace officer only within such county. For the purposes of this subdivision, the term "reserve 19 officer" shall mean any person who serves in a less than full-time law enforcement capacity, 20 with or without pay and who, without certification, has no power of arrest and who, without 21 certification, must be under the direct and immediate accompaniment of a certified peace 22 officer of the same agency at all times while on duty; and 23 (6) The POST commission shall provide for the recognition of basic training received 24 at law enforcement training centers of other states, the military, the federal government and 25 territories of the United States regardless of the number of hours included in such training and 26 shall have authority to require supplemental training as a condition of eligibility for licensure. 27 2. The director shall have the authority to limit any exception provided in subsection 28 1 of this section to persons remaining in the same commission or transferring to a commission 29 in a similar jurisdiction. 30 3. The basic training of every peace officer, except agents of the conservation 31 commission, shall include at least thirty hours of training in the investigation and 32 management of cases involving domestic and family violence. Such training shall include 33 instruction, specific to domestic and family violence cases, regarding: report writing; 34 physical abuse, sexual abuse, child fatalities and child neglect; interviewing children and 35 alleged perpetrators; the nature, extent and causes of domestic and family violence; the safety 36 of victims, other family and household members and investigating officers; legal rights and 37 remedies available to victims, including rights to compensation and the enforcement of civil 38 and criminal remedies; services available to victims and their children; the effects of cultural, 39 racial and gender bias in law enforcement; and state statutes. Said curriculum shall be 40 developed and presented in consultation with the department of health and senior services, the 41 children's division, public and private providers of programs for victims of domestic and 42 family violence, persons who have demonstrated expertise in training and education 43 concerning domestic and family violence, and the Missouri coalition against domestic 44 violence. 45 4. The basic training of every peace officer first licensed on or after August 28, 2027, 46 shall include at least six hours of training concerning the prohibition against racial profiling 47 and such training shall promote understanding and respect for racial and cultural differences 48 and the use of effective, noncombative methods for carrying out law enforcement duties in a 49 racially and culturally diverse environment. Such training shall include two hours of racial 50 profiling training, two hours of implicit bias training, and two hours of de-escalation training. 51 5. The basic training of every peace officer first licensed on or after August 28, 52 2028, shall include at least six hours of training concerning behavior-health crisis 53 response. HB 3131 3
590.050. 1. The POST commission shall establish requirements for the continuing 2 education of all peace officers. 3 2. Peace officers who make traffic stops shall be required to receive three hours of 4 training within the law enforcement continuing education three-year reporting period 5 concerning the prohibition against racial profiling and such training shall promote 6 understanding and respect for racial and cultural differences and the use of effective, 7 noncombative methods for carrying out law enforcement duties in a racially and culturally 8 diverse environment. 9 3. Peace officers who provide emergency response shall be required to receive 10 three hours of training within the law enforcement continuing education three-year 11 reporting period concerning behavior-health crisis response. 12 [2.] 4. The director shall license continuing education providers and may probate, 13 suspend and revoke such licenses upon written notice stating the reasons for such action. Any 14 person aggrieved by a decision of the director pursuant to this subsection may appeal as 15 provided in chapter 536. 16 [3.] 5. The costs of continuing law enforcement education shall be reimbursed in part 17 by moneys from the peace officer standards and training commission fund created in section 18 590.178, subject to availability of funds, except that no such funds shall be used for the 19 training of any person not actively commissioned or employed by a county or municipal law 20 enforcement agency. 21 [4.] 6. The director may engage in any activity intended to further the professionalism 22 of peace officers through training and education, including the provision of specialized 23 training through the department of public safety. 590.275. 1. For purposes of this section, the following terms mean: 2 (1) "Behavioral health professional", a licensed clinician including, but not 3 limited to, psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, counselors, and nurses who 4 diagnose and treat mental health and substance use disorders; 5 (2) "Co-response", a multidisciplinary partnership between peace officers and 6 behavioral health professionals that responds to emergency situations involving 7 behavioral health crises and people experiencing complex medical needs. 8 Participants in co-response partnerships respond to in-progress 911 calls, 988 calls, 9 and requests for service from dispatch and other first responders, and include peace 10 officers and behavioral health professionals; 11 (3) "Law enforcement agency", any public agency that employs law enforcement 12 personnel; 13 (4) "Peace officer", the same meaning as defined in section 590.010. HB 3131 4
14 2. Except as provided under subsection 3 of this section, a co-response team 15 consisting of a behavioral health professional and a peace officer shall respond in all 16 emergency response calls that are classified by emergency dispatch as "mental-health 17 related". 18 3. If emergency dispatch intelligence or on-scene assessment indicates that there 19 is an immediate, significant risk of violence, law enforcement may initially stage and 20 secure the scene without a behavioral health professional. Once the scene is determined 21 to be secure, the co-response team shall be redispatched if the incident remains mental- 22 health-related. In lower acuity calls where no threat is indicated, a mobile crisis team 23 composed of behavioral health professionals without law enforcement presence may be 24 dispatched as the primary responder. 25 4. To ensure implementation fidelity, the Missouri 911 service board, in 26 consultation with the department of mental health and local public dispatcher agencies, 27 shall develop uniform dispatch triage protocols to identify mental-health-related calls 28 and allocate co-responder, mobile crisis, or peace officer-only response appropriately. 29 All dispatchers shall receive at least eight hours of training in crisis identification and 30 safe triage. 31 5. Peace officers providing emergency response shall complete at least forty 32 hours of standardized behavioral-health crisis training within twelve months of 33 assignment to patrol or emergency response duties and refresher training on an annual 34 basis. Such curriculum shall include instruction on: 35 (1) Recognizing behavioral health conditions and signs of decompensation; 36 (2) Suicide risk indicators and safe referral; 37 (3) Verbal de-escalation and noncoercive crisis communication; 38 (4) Trauma-informed approaches and cultural competency; 39 (5) Legal framework for involuntary transport and patient rights; and 40 (6) Scenario-based skill practice and joint training with behavioral health 41 professionals. 42 6. (1) There is hereby created in the state treasury the "Behavioral Health Co- 43 Responder Grant Fund", which shall consist of moneys appropriated by the general 44 assembly and any gifts, contributions, grants, or bequests received from federal, private, 45 or other sources. The state treasurer shall be custodian of the fund. In accordance with 46 sections 30.170 and 30.180, the state treasurer may approve disbursements. The fund 47 shall be a dedicated fund and, upon appropriation, moneys in the fund shall be used 48 solely to support the following: 49 (a) Hiring and certifying behavioral health professionals for co-response; 50 (b) Training and joint simulation costs; HB 3131 5
51 (c) Data collection systems for program evaluation; 52 (d) Startup stipends for rural and underserved area; 53 (e) Startup grants for jurisdictions unable to staff full teams immediately; and 54 (f) Development of regional co-response hubs. 55 (2) Notwithstanding the provisions of section 33.080 to the contrary, any moneys 56 remaining in the fund at the end of the biennium shall not revert to the credit of the 57 general revenue fund. 58 (3) The state treasurer shall invest moneys in the fund in the same manner as 59 other funds are invested. Any interest and moneys earned on such investments shall be 60 credited to the fund. 61 7. Law enforcement agencies shall collect standardized data for all mental- 62 health-related dispatches, which shall include the following: 63 (1) Presence or absence of a behavioral health professional on scene; and 64 (2) Incident outcome, which shall include the following classifications: 65 (a) Diversion to services; 66 (b) Emergency department transport, including voluntary or involuntary; 67 (c) Arrest; 68 (d) Use of force; 69 (e) Injuries; and 70 (f) Demographic variables. 71 8. No later than January 1, 2028, and each year thereafter, the department of 72 public safety shall make a statewide report to the general assembly summarizing key 73 indicators, outcomes, costs, and recommendations. 74 9. No later than January 1, 2030, the general assembly shall contract an 75 independent evaluator to assess outcomes including, but not limited to, detentions, use of 76 force, costs, and linkage to services. 77 10. The department of public safety, in consultation with the department of 78 mental health, may promulgate all necessary rules and regulations for the 79 administration of this section. Any rule or portion of a rule, as that term is defined 80 in section 536.010, that is created under the authority delegated in this section shall 81 become effective only if it complies with and is subject to all of the provisions of chapter 82 536 and, if applicable, section 536.028. This section and chapter 536 are nonseverable 83 and if any of the powers vested with the general assembly pursuant to chapter 536 to 84 review, to delay the effective date, or to disapprove and annul a rule are subsequently HB 3131 6
85 held unconstitutional, then the grant of rulemaking authority and any rule proposed or 86 adopted after August 28, 2026, shall be invalid and void. ✔
Statutes affected: