LEGISLATIVE FISCAL ESTIMATE
SENATE, No. 2801
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
219th LEGISLATURE
DATED: DECEMBER 22, 2021
SUMMARY
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Synopsis: |
Requires Police Training Commission to contract with crisis intervention training center to provide mental health training to police officers and establish curriculum specific to persons experiencing economic crisis or substance use disorder. |
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Type of Impact: |
One-time and periodic State and local cost increases. |
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Agencies Affected: |
Department of Law and Public Safety; Department of Human Services |
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Office of Legislative Services Estimate |
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Fiscal Impact |
Year 1 |
Year 2 |
Year 3 |
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State Cost Increase |
Indeterminate |
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Local Cost Increase |
Indeterminate |
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· The Office of Legislative Services (OLS) projects that the bill may result in a one-time marginal State expenditure increase by the Department of Law and Public Safety (DLPS) and the Department of Human Services (DHS) to develop a curriculum as well as update current contracts with a crisis intervention training center to provide mental health training to county and municipal police officers. Any further periodic cost increases would result from the intermittent updating of the course curriculum, instruction, and examination.
· The OLS estimates that the State’s expenditure increase would be marginal because the Police Training Commission’s (PTC) present training curriculum requires mental health training under current law. Additionally, the implementation of the New Jersey Resiliency Program for Law Enforcement in 2019 provides mental health support and training. The OLS estimates that meeting the requirements of this bill may not be overly labor-intensive and the concerned departments may be able to absorb the additional workload within their existing operating budgets.
· The bill requires the in-service training to be administered to each municipal and county law enforcement officer within five years of the bill’s effective date and thus the timing of the associated costs will vary among law enforcement agencies.
BILL DESCRIPTION
This bill requires the PTC to contract with a crisis intervention training center to provide mental health training to local police officers.
Specifically, under the bill, the PTC in the Division of Criminal Justice in the Department of Law and Public Safety is required to contract with a crisis intervention training center to assist and support counties in developing and implementing the Crisis Intervention Team model.
The bill directs the PTC to require every municipal and county police officer appointed to a police department and force in this State, within five years of the effective date of the bill or by a date determined by the Attorney General, to complete the Crisis Intervention Team model as part of the officer’s in-service training.
The PTC is also required to develop and implement a curriculum applying the Crisis Intervention Team model to persons experiencing an economic crisis or struggling with a substance abuse disorder who come into contact with law enforcement first responders.
FISCAL ANALYSIS
EXECUTIVE BRANCH
None received.
OFFICE OF LEGISLATIVE SERVICES
The OLS projects that the bill may result in a one-time marginal State expenditure increase by the DLPS and the DHS to develop certain curriculum. Any further periodic cost increases would result from the intermittent updating of contracts, course curriculum, instruction, and examination.
Expenditure: The OLS estimates the State’s expenditure increase to be marginal as the PTC training curriculum already includes mental health training pursuant to current law. Additionally, in 2019 the DLPS initiated the implementation of the New Jersey Resiliency Program for Law Enforcement, which provides mental health support and training.
The bill further provides that the PTC develop and implement a curriculum applying the Crisis Intervention Team model to persons experiencing an economic crisis or struggling with a substance abuse disorder who come into contact with law enforcement first responders.
The OLS estimates that meeting the requirements of this bill may not be overly labor-intensive and the concerned departments may be able to absorb the additional workload within their existing operating budgets.
Under the bill, the DLPS is required to make the
curriculum available to each county and municipal law enforcement department to
be used as part of in-service training for law enforcement officers. The bill
requires the in-service training to be administered to each law enforcement
officer within five years of the bill’s effective date. Again, the OLS notes
that this is similar to the training currently required, and affected
departments may be able to absorb the additional workload within their existing
operating budgets.
Background on PTC: The PTC supervises the administration of basic police training programs. As part of that task, the commission is responsible for the development, periodic review and revision, and certification of basic training courses for county and local police, sheriffs' officers, state and county investigators, state and county corrections officers, juvenile detention officers, and a number of other law enforcement positions, as well as several instructor development courses. According to evaluation data in the FY 2022 Governor’s Budget, in FY 2019, the PTC supervised 175 training programs and certified 5,991 trainees. The length of basic training varies.
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Section: |
Law and Public Safety |
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Analyst: |
Lead Fiscal Analyst |
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Approved: |
Thomas Koenig Legislative Budget and Finance Officer |
This legislative fiscal estimate has been produced by the Office of Legislative Services due to the failure of the Executive Branch to respond to our request for a fiscal note.
This fiscal estimate has been prepared pursuant to P.L.1980, c.67 (C.52:13B-6 et seq.).