RÉSUMÉ DIGEST
ACT 283 (SB 66) 2021 Regular Session Bernard
New law provides relative to peace officers and public safety personnel peer support, and
provides relative to legislative intent and public policy of the state with regard to the matters
addressed by new law.
New law provides that a peace officer or public safety personnel cannot be mandated to
participate in a peer support session, except for participation in a peer support session
following a critical incident if required by a governmental entity.
New law provides the following definitions:
(1) "Governmental entity" means any board, authority, commission, department, office,
division, or agency of the state or any of its political subdivisions.
(2) "Peace officer" means any of the following:
(a) An employee of the state or public agency whose permanent duties include
making arrests, performing searches and seizures, or executing criminal
warrants, and who is responsible for the prevention or detection of crime or
the enforcement of the penal, traffic, or highway laws of this state, but does
not include any elected or appointed head of a law enforcement department.
(b) A sheriff's deputy whose duties include the care, custody, and control of
inmates.
(c) A military police officer within the Military Department, state of Louisiana.
(d) Security personnel employed by the La. Supreme Court.
(e) Security personnel employed by any court of appeal of the state.
(3) "Peer support member" means a person specially trained and certified to voluntarily
provide confidential emotional and moral support and assistance to peace officers
and public safety personnel and who is approved as a peer support member by the
executive director of the Louisiana Commission on Law Enforcement and
Administration of Criminal Justice, but need not be a peace officer or a licensed
counselor or mental health professional.
(4) "Peer support program" means a program established by a governmental entity to
provide peer support services to peace officers and public safety personnel.
(5) "Peer support session" means any communication by a peace officer or public safety
personnel with a peer support member, primarily through listening, assessing, and
assisting with problem-solving, and may include referring a peace officer or public
safety personnel for professional intervention or treatment that is beyond the scope
of the peer support member, and includes a group session following a critical incident
experienced by a group of peace officers or public safety personnel.
(6) "Peer support training" means training in peer support and critical incident stress
conducted by the Southern Law Enforcement Foundation, the International Critical
Incident Stress Foundation, Inc., or an equivalent program as approved by the
executive director of the Louisiana Commission on Law Enforcement and
Administration of Criminal Justice.
(7) "Public safety personnel" means an employee of a governmental entity who, by virtue
of his job duties, provides support to peace officers, including but not limited to a
dispatcher, public safety telecommunicator, crime scene and crime laboratory
technician, and criminal analyst.
New law provides that any governmental entity that establishes a peer support program must
ensure that peer support members successfully complete the training required by new law
before being designated as a peer support member.
New law applies only to peer support sessions conducted by an employee or agent of a
governmental entity who has both successfully completed peer support training and, at the
time of the peer support session, has been designated by a governmental entity to act as a
peer support member.
New law provides that information, reports, records, or communications in any form that are
made, generated, received, or maintained in connection with a peer support program or
session are deemed privileged and confidential, and are not public records.
New law provides that except as provided by law, no person, including a peer support
member, can disclose any information relating to a peer support session to any other person
without the prior written approval of the peace officer or public safety personnel who is the
subject of the peer support session, or his legal successor. However, new law provides that
this does not prohibit or limit communication between peer support members, and does not
prohibit or limit peer support members from sharing among themselves information about
a peace officer or public safety personnel for purposes of furthering the goals of new law.
New law further provides that a governmental entity is not prohibited from compiling and
maintaining statistics relating to a peer support program or session, but these statistics cannot
contain information that could identify a peace officer or public safety personnel
participating in a session or program.
New law provides that a person cannot be required to disclose, under subpoena or public
records request, any records, documents, opinions, or decisions relating to information made
privileged and confidential by new law either in connection with an administrative or court
case, or by way of any discovery procedure or public records request.
New law provides that the privilege and confidentiality created by new law are
supplementary to any other statute, rule, or jurisprudence creating or relating to an applicable
privilege, confidentiality, or public records exemption.
New law provides that any person who reveals the contents of a privileged or confidential
communication, or any person who threatens, intimidates, or attempts to compel a peer
support member to disclose the contents of a privileged communication, is subject to any
discipline or penalties imposed by the governmental entity. Additionally, new law provides
that such person is guilty of a misdemeanor and will be fined up to $1,000, or imprisoned for
up to six months, or both.
New law provides that the privilege and confidentiality created by new law does not apply
to:
(1) A threat of suicide or homicide made by a peace officer or public safety personnel in
a peer support session or any information related thereto.
(2) Information mandated by law to be reported, including information relating to child
or elderly abuse or neglect, or domestic violence.
(3) Any communication that reveals the commission of a crime.
(4) Any communication that reveals the intended commission of a crime or harmful act.
(5) Any communication made to a peer support member not in connection with a peer
support session, or when the peer support member responded to, was a witness to, or
was a party to, an incident in a capacity other than a peer support member.
New law does not limit the discovery or introduction in evidence of knowledge acquired by
a peace officer or public safety personnel from observations made during the course of
employment, or material or information acquired during the course of employment, that was
not discovered during a peer support session and is otherwise subject to discovery or
introduction in evidence.
New law provides that any governmental entity and its employees and agents (including peer
support members) are immune from civil liability for any act or omission made in good faith
while engaged in efforts to assist a peace officer or public safety personnel through a peer
support program. New law further provides that a person who in good faith reports
information or takes action in connection with any peer support program is immune from
civil liability for reporting or taking such action, but this immunity does not protect a person
who makes a report known to be false or with reckless disregard for the truth.
New law provides that the civil immunity created by new law is to be liberally construed to
accomplish the purposes of new law.
Prior law provided relative to the Public Records Law and provides exemptions from prior
law.
New law retains prior law and adds that the Public Records Law does not apply to records,
files, documents, and communications, and information contained therein, that are made,
generated, received, or maintained by or in connection with a peace officer and public safety
personnel peer support program or session conducted by a trained peer support member. Also
adds that Public Records Law does not apply to any records, files, documents, and
communications, and any information contained therein, that are made, generated, received,
or maintained by the Louisiana Commission on Law Enforcement and Administration of
Criminal Justice relating to personal information of approved peer support members.
Effective August 1, 2021.
(Adds R.S. 40:2411 and R.S. 44:4(59))