Bill Summary – FastDemocracy

CERTIFICATION OF ENROLLMENT
             ENGROSSED SECOND SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL 2311
                       Chapter 295, Laws of 2024
                               68th Legislature
                             2024 Regular Session
  FIRST RESPONDER WELLNESS AND PEER SUPPORT—VARIOUS PROVISIONS
 EFFECTIVE DATE: June 6, 2024—Except for section 6, which takes
                     effect March 26, 2024.
Passed by the House February 10, 2024                CERTIFICATE
  Yeas 97 Nays 0
                                        I, Bernard Dean, Chief Clerk of the
                                        House of Representatives of the
            LAURIE JINKINS              State of Washington, do hereby
Speaker of the House of                 certify   that   the   attached  is
Representatives                         ENGROSSED SECOND SUBSTITUTE HOUSE
                                        BILL 2311 as passed by the House of
                                        Representatives and the Senate on
                                        the dates hereon set forth.
Passed by the Senate March 1, 2024
  Yeas 49 Nays 0
                                                     BERNARD DEAN
              DENNY HECK                                            Chief Clerk
President of the Senate
Approved March 26, 2024 1:40 PM                         FILED
                                                    March 27, 2024
                                                Secretary of State
              JAY INSLEE                        State of Washington
Governor of the State of Washington
                  ENGROSSED SECOND SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL 2311
                   Passed Legislature - 2024 Regular Session
     State of Washington         68th Legislature     2024 Regular Session
     By House Appropriations (originally sponsored by Representatives
     Davis, Maycumber, Paul, Robertson, Callan, Mosbrucker, Goodman,
     Griffey, Stearns, Reed, Ryu, Couture, Ramel, Ortiz-Self, Eslick,
     Bateman, Riccelli, Timmons, Simmons, Fosse, Peterson, Pollet, and
     Shavers)
     READ FIRST TIME 02/05/24.
     AN ACT Relating to supporting first responder wellness and peer
 support; amending RCW 5.60.060; adding new sections to chapter 43.101
 RCW; creating a new section; providing an expiration date; and
 declaring an emergency.
 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
     NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. A new section is added to chapter 43.101
 RCW to read as follows:
     (1) Subject to the availability of amounts appropriated for this
 specific purpose, the commission shall convene a task force on first
 responder wellness in Washington state. To the extent possible, the
 membership of the task force should include representatives that
 reflect the diversity of the first responder professions, including
 diversity in geography, gender, sexuality, and race.
     (2) The first responder wellness task force shall be cochaired by
 the executive director of the commission, or the executive director's
 designee, and a representative of the fire service, and consist of
 the following additional membership:
     (a) Two members from each of the following professions:
     (i) Emergency medical services frontline providers;
     (ii) Emergency dispatchers; and
     (iii) Jail corrections officers;
                                       p. 1                     E2SHB 2311.SL
     (b) One member from each of the following entities:
     (i) The Washington council of police and sheriffs;
     (ii) The Washington state fraternal order of police;
     (iii) The Washington state patrol troopers association;
     (iv) The Washington state patrol lieutenants and captains
 association;
     (v) The Washington association of sheriffs and police chiefs;
     (vi) The Washington state council of firefighters;
     (vii) The Washington fire chiefs association;
     (viii) The Washington state firefighters' association;
     (ix) The department of labor and industries;
     (x) The state board for volunteer firefighters and reserve
 officers;
     (xi) The state chapter of the association of public safety
 communications officials;
     (xii) The state chapter of the national emergency number
 association; and
     (xiii) International brotherhood of teamsters local 117;
     (c) Two members representing the interests of tribal law
 enforcement officers and agencies;
     (d) Two members representing the interests of tribal first
 responders;
     (e) Two members from the Washington association of coroners and
 medical examiners;
     (f) One member from the University of Washington department of
 psychiatry and behavioral sciences, who has implemented a regional
 state-funded law enforcement officer wellness program;
     (g) One member from the Washington federation of state employees,
 representing the interests of the department of corrections'
 community corrections officers;
     (h) The chief of the Washington state patrol, or the chief's
 designee;
     (i) The secretary of the department of corrections, or the
 secretary's designee; and
     (j) Any other members that the commission determines should
 participate in the task force to represent the interests of first
 responders.
     (3) The commission shall convene the initial meeting of the task
 force no later than December 1, 2024.
     (4) At a minimum, the task force shall meet quarterly.
                                     p. 2                    E2SHB 2311.SL
     (5) The task force shall:
     (a) Monitor the implementation of this act;
     (b) Evaluate the findings and recommendations of the task force
 on law enforcement officer mental health and wellness in Washington
 state as established under chapter 327, Laws of 2020 (SSB 6570), and
 determine ways in which the task force on first responder wellness
 may continue developing upon the recommendations of the task force on
 law enforcement officer mental health and wellness; and
     (c) Make recommendations to improve first responder wellness
 across the first responder professions in the state.
     (6)(a) The task force shall also develop and publish model
 policies for first responder peer support services tailored to the
 following first responder professions:
     (i) Law enforcement officers;
     (ii) Firefighters;
     (iii) Emergency medical services frontline providers;
     (iv) Emergency dispatchers;
     (v) Corrections officers; and
     (vi) Coroners and medical examiners.
     (b) The task force must design the model policies to support
 efforts to establish and expand peer support services opportunities
 and networks for the professions specified under (a) of this
 subsection, and to develop best practices and resources for peer
 supporters from those professions.
     (c) In developing the model policies, the task force must obtain
 the services of an organization with expertise in peer emotional
 support   and  peer   workforce   development  to  provide  technical
 assistance.
     (d) The task force must publish the model policies by December
 31, 2025.
     (7) Beginning December 1, 2025, the task force shall submit an
 annual report to the legislature on the status of its work.
     (8) This section expires December 31, 2028.
     NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. A new section is added to chapter 43.101
 RCW to read as follows:
     (1) Subject to the availability of amounts appropriated for this
 specific purpose, the commission shall contract with an organization
 with expertise in peer emotional support and peer workforce
 development to develop and administer a 40-hour training program for
                                     p. 3                    E2SHB 2311.SL
 first responder peer supporters. The contracting organization must
 have prior experience developing peer support training for first
 responders in the state.
     (2) The contracting organization must engage in in-depth
 consultation with law enforcement officers, corrections officers,
 firefighters, emergency services dispatchers or recordkeepers, and
 emergency medical personnel when developing the training program, and
 compensate the first responders for their consultation.
     (3) A portion of the training program's curriculum must be
 relevant to all first responder professions, and a portion must be
 specifically curated to address the unique needs of each first
 responder profession.
     (4) The contracting organization must complete development of the
 training program and begin administering it by August 1, 2025.
     (5) The contracting organization must utilize current or retired
 first responders as cotrainers to deliver the training program.
     (6) For the purposes of this section:
     (a) "First responder" has the same meaning as defined in RCW
 5.60.060; and
     (b) "Peer supporter" has the same meaning as defined in RCW
 5.60.060.
     NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. A new section is added to chapter 43.101
 RCW to read as follows:
     (1) Subject to the availability of amounts appropriated for this
 specific purpose, the commission shall contract with an organization
 with expertise in mental health and substance use disorder counseling
 and treatment of first responders to develop and administer training
 for mental health and substance use disorder professionals to
 engender familiarity and cultural competency in the treatment of
 first responder clients.
     (2) The contracting organization must consult with mental health
 professionals, substance use disorder professionals, law enforcement
 officers, corrections officers, firefighters, emergency services
 dispatchers or recordkeepers, and emergency medical personnel when
 developing the training.
     (3) The contracting organization may develop the training to have
 in-person, virtual, and hybrid participation options to expand
 availability and accessibility of the training.
                                     p. 4                    E2SHB 2311.SL
      (4) The commission must direct the contracting organization to
  offer a set number of training opportunities annually as determined
  by the commission, provided free of charge, to mental health and
  substance use disorder professionals who are interested in treating
  first responder clients.
      (5) For the purposes of this section, "first responder" has the
  same meaning as defined in RCW 5.60.060.
     NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. A new section is added to chapter 43.101
 RCW to read as follows:
     (1) Subject to the availability of amounts appropriated for this
 specific purpose, the commission shall contract with an organization
 that provides free and confidential crisis response and referral
 services for Washington state active and retired first responders and
 their families, to develop and maintain:
     (a) A first responder peer support network, which may include
 individual and group support options to help first responder peer
 supporters address the vicarious trauma and secondary traumatic
 stress incurred by performing their peer support duties; and
     (b) A directory of licensed mental health and substance use
 disorder professionals who have cultural competency, experience, and
 training with treating first responders, which must indicate whether
 such professionals have completed the training established under
 section 3 of this act.
     (2) The commission may also contract with an organization with
 expertise in peer emotional support and peer workforce development to
 provide technical assistance in developing the first responder peer
 support network described in subsection (1)(a) of this section.
     (3) For the purposes of this section:
     (a) "First responder" has the same meaning as defined in RCW
 5.60.060; and
     (b) "Peer supporters" has the same meaning as defined in RCW
 5.60.060.
     NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. A new section is added to chapter 43.101
 RCW to read as follows:
     (1) Subject to the availability of amounts appropriated for this
 specific purpose, the commission shall establish and administer a
 grant program to provide funding to first responder entities and
                                     p. 5                    E2SHB 2311.SL
 agencies for the implementation or expansion of peer support services
 programs.
     (2) Any first responder entity or agency that receives funding
 through the grant program must:
     (a) Ensure that every peer supporter designated by the entity or
 agency enrolls in and completes the 40-hour training program
 established under section 2 of this act after it is made available;
     (b) Compensate every peer supporter designated by the entity or
 agency for their services in that role; and
     (c) Provide information to every peer supporter designated by the
 entity or agency about the first responder peer support network
 established under section 4(1)(a) of this act.
     (3) For the purposes of this section:
     (a) "First responder" has the same meaning as defined in RCW
 5.60.060; and
     (b) "Peer   supporter"   has   the   same   meaning   as   defined   in   RCW
 5.60.060.
     Sec. 6. RCW 5.60.060 and 2023 c 202 s 2 are each amended to read
 as follows:
     (1) A spouse or domestic partner shall not be examined for or
 against his or her spouse or domestic partner, without the consent of
 the spouse or domestic partner; nor can either during marriage or
 during the domestic partnership or afterward, be without the consent
 of the other, examined as to any communication made by one to the
 other during the marriage or the domestic partnership. But this
 exception shall not apply to a civil action or proceeding by one
 against the other, nor to a criminal action or proceeding for a crime
 committed by one against the other, nor to a criminal action or
 proceeding against a spouse or domestic partner if the marriage or
 the domestic partnership occurred subsequent to the filing of formal
 charges against the defendant, nor to a criminal action or proceeding
 for a crime committed by said spouse or domestic partner against any
 child of whom said spouse or domestic partner is the parent or
 guardian, nor to a proceeding under chapter 71.05 or 71.09 RCW:
 PROVIDED, That the spouse or the domestic partner of a person sought
 to be detained under chapter 71.05 or 71.09 RCW may not be compelled
 to testify and shall be so informed by the court prior to being
 called as a witness.
                                         p. 6                         E2SHB 2311.SL
     (2)(a) An attorney or counselor shall not, without the consent of
 his or her client, be examined as to any communication made by the
 client to him or her, or his or her advice given thereon in the
 course of professional employment.
     (b) A parent or guardian of a minor child arrested on a criminal
 charge may not be examined as to a communication between the child
 and his or her attorney if the communication was made in the presence
 of the parent or guardian. This privilege does not extend to
 communications made prior to the arrest.
     (3) A member of the clergy, a Christian Science practitioner
 listed in the Christian Science Journal, or a priest shall not,
 without the consent of a person making the confession or sacred
 confidence, be examined as to any confession or sacred confidence
 made to him or her in his or her professional character, in the
 course of discipline enjoined by the church to which he or she
 belongs.
     (4) Subject to the limitations under RCW 71.05.217 (6) and (7), a
 physician or surgeon or osteopathic physician or surgeon or podiatric
 physician or surgeon shall not, without the consent of his or her
 patient, be examined in a civil action as to any information acquired
 in attending such patient, which was necessary to enable him or her
 to prescribe or act for the patient, except as follows:
     (a) In any judicial proceedings regarding a child's injury,
 neglect, or sexual abuse or the cause thereof; and
     (b) Ninety days after filing an action for personal injuries or
 wrongful death, the claimant shall be deemed to waive the physician-
 patient privilege. Waiver of the physician-patient privilege for any
 one physician or condition constitutes a waiver of the privilege as
 to all physicians or conditions, subject to such limitations as a
 court may impose pursuant to court rules.
     (5) A public officer shall not be examined as a witness as to
 communications made to him or her in official confidence, when the
 public interest would suffer by the disclosure.
     (6)(a) A peer ((support group counselor)) supporter shall not,
 without consent of the peer support ((group client)) services
 recipient making the communication, be compelled to testify about any
 communication made to the ((counselor)) peer supporter by the peer
 support   ((group   client))  services    recipient  while  receiving
 ((counseling)) individual or group services. The ((counselor)) peer
 supporter must be designated as such by ((the)) their employing
                                     p. 7                    E2SHB 2311.SL
 agency ((employing the peer support group client)) prior to ((th