OFFICE OF FISCAL ANALYSIS
Legislative Office Building, Room 5200
Hartford, CT 06106 (860) 240-0200
http://www.cga.ct.gov/ofa
EMERGENCY CERTIFICATION
HB-6004
AN ACT CONCERNING POLICE ACCOUNTABILITY.
OFA Fiscal Note
State Impact:
Agency Affected Fund-Effect FY 21 $ FY 22 $
Criminal Justice, Div. GF Cost 50,000- 50,000-
100,000 100,000
Criminal Justice, Div. GF Cost 758,739 1,011,652
Emergency Services and Public GF - Potential 25,000- 50,000-
Protection, Dept. Cost 50,000 100,000
State Comptroller - Fringe GF Cost 328,947 438,595
Benefits1
Comptroller - Adjudicated Claims GF - Potential See Below See Below
Account Cost
Resources of the General Fund GF - Potential See Below See Below
Revenue Gain
Correction, Dept.; Judicial Dept. GF - Potential See Below See Below
(Probation) Cost
Med. Examiner, Off. GF Cost 40,000 40,000
Treasurer, Debt Serv. GF - Potential See Below See Below
Cost
Note: GF=General Fund
Municipal Impact:
Municipalities Effect FY 21 $ FY 22 $
Various Municipalities STATE See Below See Below
MANDATE2
- Cost
1The fringe benefit costs for most state employees are budgeted centrally in accounts
administered by the Comptroller. The estimated active employee fringe benefit cost
associated with most personnel changes is 42.09% of payroll in FY 21 and FY 22.
2 State mandate is defined in Sec. 2-32b(2) of the Connecticut General Statutes, "state
mandate" means any state initiated constitutional, statutory or executive action that
requires a local government to establish, expand or modify its activities in such a
way as to necessitate additional expenditures from local revenues.
Primary Analyst: AN 7/23/20
Contributing Analyst(s):
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Explanation
This bill changes freedom of information law related to contract
agreements, establishes an office of the Inspector General, places
numerous requirements on state and municipal police departments,
and will result in a net cost to both state agencies and various
municipalities.
Sections 1-2 require all state police officers appointed after the
effective date of the bill to obtain certification by the Police Officers
Standards and Training Council (POST). There is no cost anticipated
from this requirement.
Section 3 requires POST to create a statewide policy concerning mental
health evaluations. Any fiscal impact to the state or municipalities
would depend on the regulations developed by POST regarding
mental health assessments.
This section also requires that state and municipal police officers pass a
urinalysis test to receive POST recertification after a lapse in
employment. The cost to POST to conduct these tests is expected to be
less than $5,000 annually, with each test costing approximately $50.
It also 1) expands the instances in which POST is allowed to revoke a
police officer's license and 2) allows POST to issue guidance to local
law enforcement agencies regarding the suspension, cancellation, or
decertification of a police officer's license. This has no fiscal impact.
Sections 5-6 require that POST, in conjunction with the Department of
Emergency Services and Public Protection (DESPP) and the Chief's
State Attorney, develop regulations regarding crowd management for
state and municipal police departments and that any basic training
programs for police include such regulations. Any cost to the state or
municipalities would depend on the regulations adopted.
Section 7 requires that police training programs include implicit bias
training. As training programs already include other bias training
requirements, there is no anticipated cost from this section.
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Section 8 states that the Freedom of Information Act shall prevail over
provisions of a collective bargaining agreement or arbitration award if
they are in conflict. This has no fiscal impact.
Section 9 states that any collective bargaining agreement with DESPP
shall not include language that prohibits the disclosure of any
disciplinary action based on a violation of the code of ethics contained
in the personnel file of a sworn member of said division. This has no
fiscal impact.
Sections 10-11 require that certain municipal law enforcement units
and POST report their efforts in recruiting and retaining minority
police officers. It is expected that these reports can be completed
within existing resources.
Section 12, which extends the date of the task force report to January
2021 and adds certain requirements to be included in said report, has
no fiscal impact.
Section 13, which alters the membership of the Police Officer
Standards and Training Council, has no fiscal impact.
Section 16 requires that all state and municipal police officers receive
mental health assessments by a licensed psychiatrist once every five
years. It is anticipated that mental health assessments will cost DESPP
and municipal police departments between $300-$500 per officer if the
policies developed by POST per Section 3 of this bill require employers
to fully cover costs.
The total cost to DESPP is anticipated to be between $50,000-$100,000
annually to provide mental health assessments to 20% of its sworn
troopers. The cost to each municipality will vary based on how many
officers are employed. For large cities, the cost is expected to be at least
$20,000 annually.
Section 17 allows towns to establish police civilian review boards.
There is no fiscal impact associated with provision. The bill does not
mandate any staffing or resource requirements for these boards.
Section 18 requires that each municipal law enforcement department
evaluate the benefits of using social workers during emergency
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response situations and provide a report to POST. It is anticipated that
these reports can be completed within existing resources.
Sections 19-20 require the use of body worn cameras and dashboard
recording devices by all state and municipal police officers and change
reimbursement rates for grants-in-aid to municipalities for related
costs. It is estimated that the total cost to purchase all equipment and
related data storage services in the first full fiscal year is at least $8
million, less all grants-in-aid provided for reimbursement. Based on
new available funding in Section 44 of the bill, it is expected that the
provisions of the bill will have a direct cost to remaining municipalities
of at least $4 million annually after reimbursement from OPM.
To date, OPM has expended approximately $6.2 million in general
obligation (GO) bond funding to provide grants-in-aid to
municipalities for the purchase of body worn camera and dashboard
recording devices and their associated data storage costs. Under
current law, reimbursement rates for such costs are 50% or 100%,
depending on the timing of purchases. This bill requires costs to be
reimbursed by OPM at a rate of 50% for distressed municipalities and
30% for all others. Costs related to data storage are expected to total at
least $4 million annually for the remaining municipalities and are not
reimbursable after the first year. Data storage costs are not expected to
be incurred until after July 1, 2022.
It is estimated that 53 municipal police departments, representing
approximately 3,970 (53%) of all municipal officers will need to
purchase body worn cameras at a total one-time cost of approximately
$4 million. It is currently unknown how many additional dashboard
cameras police departments will need to purchase to conform with the
provisions of this section.
This section is not expected to result in any additional costs to DESPP,
as they are currently in the process of outfitting all officers with body
worn camera devices.
Sections 21- 22 provide further definition for law enforcement
searches and probable cause and does not result in a fiscal impact.
Section 23 requires the Division of Criminal Justice and the Judicial
Department to prepare a plan for prosecutorial review and does not
result in a fiscal impact.
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Sections 24-27 increase the penalty for falsely reporting an incident in
certain circumstances. Violations of this provision may result in a
potential cost for incarceration or probation and a potential revenue
gain from fines assessed. On average, the marginal cost to the state for
incarcerating an offender for the year is $1,8001 while the average
marginal cost for supervision in the community is less than $7002 each
year. There are zero people currently incarcerated under these
charges, 60 people on probation, and $1,185 in fines collected in FY 19.
Section 28 increases the penalty for misuse of the emergency 9-1-1
system in certain circumstances. Violations of this provision may
result in a potential cost for incarceration or probation and a potential
revenue gain from fines assessed. On average, the marginal cost to the
state for incarcerating an offender for the year is $1,8003 while the
average marginal cost for supervision in the community is less than
$7004 each year. There are zero people currently incarcerated under
these charges, 5 people on probation, and no fines collected in FY 19.
Section 29 provides additional definitions for the justification of the
use of deadly physical force and does not result in a fiscal impact.
Sections 30 and 43 charges police officers and correction officers with
hindering prosecution if they are aware of and dont report another
police officer or correction officer using excessive force. To the extent
that violations occur, this provision may result in a potential cost for
incarceration or probation and a potential revenue gain from fines
assessed. On average, the marginal cost to the state for incarcerating an
offender for the year is $1,8001 while the average marginal cost for
supervision in the community is less than $7002 each year.
This section also prevents police departments and the Department of
Correction from taking retaliatory action against police officers who
report unreasonable, excessive, or illegal use of force, and requires the
Office of Policy and Management to create an annual report
concerning such incidents. This has no fiscal impact.
3 Inmate marginal cost is based on increased consumables (e.g. food, clothing, water, sewage, living
supplies, etc.) This does not include a change in staffing costs or utility expenses because these would only
be realized if a unit or facility opened.
4 Probation marginal cost is based on services provided by private providers and only includes costs that
increase with each additional participant. This does not include a cost for additional supervision by a
probation officer unless a new offense is anticipated to result in enough additional offenders to require
additional probation officers.
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Sections 33-35 create an Office of the Inspector General within the
Division of Criminal Justice (DCJ) and result in a FY 21 cost of $758,739
for nine positions and associated costs of $316,197 to the State
Comptroller (OSC) for fringe benefits. The full year annualized costs
are $1,011,652 to DCJ and $421,595 to OSC in FY 22. It is anticipated
that the newly created Office of the Inspector General would require
an Inspector General and a staff of eight, including a senior Assistant
State's Attorney, five Inspectors, a forensic analyst, and a paralegal. It
is estimated that the office will conduct approximately 25 full
investigations annually.
The bill specifies that the location of the Office of the Inspector General
will be separate. This cost is dependent on state owned office space
that may be available or other space that may need to be leased. It is
estimated that lease related costs will be approximately $50,000 -
$100,000 annually.
This office will investigate all instances of deadly force and where
physical force by a peace officer results in death. In addition, it will be
the duty of the office to prosecute any case where the finding is not
justifiable and make further recommendations concerning the peace
officer in question to the Police Officers Standards and Training
Council.
Sections 36-37 amend current statute to a) require the Office of the
Chief Medical Examiner (OCME) to investigate any [human] death
that occurs while the deceased person is in the custody of a peace
officer or a law enforcement agency or the Commissioner of
Correction", b) expand the list of entities that can require an autopsy to
be performed by OCME to include the Office of the Inspector General
and c) require OCME to go to the scene of the event of any death that
occurs while the deceased person is in the custody of a peace officer or
a law enforcement agency or the Commissioner of Correction and
take charge of the body. Existing law requires scene investigations in
cases of an apparent homicide, suicide, or accidental deaths for which
the causes are obscure.
These provisions are expected to result in a cost of approximately
$40,000 to OCME annually for a 0.5 FTE Special Investigator and an
addition $17,000 annually to OSC for fringe benefits.
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Sections 38-39 expand the prohibition of the use of quotas by
municipal police departments. This has no fiscal impact to the state or
municipalities.
Section 40 establishes a process by which the Department of
Emergency Services and Public Protection may order a municipality to
sell or dispose of controlled equipment. To the extent that this results
in any municipality selling or disposing of such equipment, there is 1)
a revenue gain if the municipality can sell the equipment, or 2) a cost if
the municipality must dispose of the equipment.
Section 41 results in a potential cost to the general fund and
municipalities from eliminating qualified immunity, in certain
circumstances, as a valid defense in any civil suit brought against
either party. Any potential costs would vary based on the amounts
awarded to plaintiffs and the number of suits brought annually against
either party. Payments from court orders by the state are paid out of
the Adjudicated Claims Account within the State Comptroller's Office.
This section results in no fiscal impact to the Judicial Department as
the court system disposes of 400,000 cases annually.
Section 42 adds additional requirements to an existing task force
related to qualified immunity and does not result in a fiscal impact.
Section 44 requires law enforcement agencies to obtain and maintain
accreditation by the Commission on Accreditation of Law Enforcement
Agencies. The bill requires POST to assist law enforcement agencies
who do not obtain or maintain accreditation. This has no fiscal impact.
Section 45 increases GO bond authorizations by $4 million for the
purpose of providing grants-in-aid to municipalities for the purchase
of body worn cameras, dashboard recording devices, and related data
storage services. To the extent the new bond authorization is fully
allocated and expended, there would be an increase in annual General
Fund debt service costs until such bonds are fully repaid. At current
market rates, total repayment costs over 20 years are estimated to be
$5.7 million.
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The Out Years
The annualized ongoing fiscal impact identified above would
continue into the future subject to inflation.
The preceding Fiscal Impact statement is prepared for the benefit of the members of the General Assembly,
solely for the purposes of information, summarization and explanation and does not represent the intent of the
General Assembly or either chamber thereof for any purpose. In general, fiscal impacts are based upon a variety
of informational sources, including the analysts professional knowledge. Whenever applicable, agency data is
consulted as part of the analysis, however final products do not necessarily reflect an assessment from any
specific department.


Statutes affected:
New Bill: 29-3a, 7-294d, 7-294e, 29-8, 7-294s, 7-291a, 7-294c, 7-294b, 7-294a, 54-33b, 29-161q, 51-281, 7-282d, 29-2b, 7-294ee, 51-278