REFERENCE TITLE: stress management pilot program; appropriation

State of Arizona

Senate

Fifty-seventh Legislature

Second Regular Session

2026

SB 1391

Introduced by

Senator Kavanagh

AN ACT

establishing the law enforcement STRESS management pilot PROGRAM; Appropriating monies.

(TEXT OF BILL BEGINS ON NEXT PAGE)

Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona:

Section 1. Law enforcement stress management pilot program; establishment; operation

A. The Arizona peace officer standards and training board shall establish and operate a law enforcement stress management pilot program. The board may select one nonprofit organization that is based in this state to develop and deliver a comprehensive and proactive mental wellness training program and to provide associated mental wellness and mental health resources for peace officers. To be eligible, the nonprofit organization must:

1. Be headquartered and be continuously operating in this state.

2. Demonstrate a minimum of five consecutive years of experience providing:

(a) Proactive and preventative mental wellness, stress resiliency and suicide prevention training that is specifically designed for sworn law enforcement officers.

(b) Mental wellness and stress coaching and structured peer-support services anonymously to peace officers and first responders.

3. Demonstrate the organizational capacity to provide statewide training to all Arizona peace officer standards and training basic academy classes and to peace officers who are employed by this state or any county or municipal law enforcement agency in this state, including:

(a) Providing a network of at least fifteen certified instructors.

(b) Establishing operational infrastructure to support multijurisdictional training delivery.

4. Demonstrate that the nonprofit organization's core mission and primary focus are dedicated to the law enforcement lifestyle, specifically proactive mental wellness, injury-informed stress response and suicide prevention.

5. Provide training and services that emphasize proactive, preventative and peer-supported mental wellness approaches rather than post-incident clinical treatment or a generalized employee assistance programming.

B. The law enforcement stress management pilot program shall use a proactive, preventative approach to stress and resilience using education, skills-based training and early identification and facilitated discussion of stressors that are unique to the law enforcement profession and the law enforcement profession's cumulative and operational impacts on:

1. Individual peace officers, including mental wellness performance, decision-making and long-term occupational health.

2. Law enforcement officer's families, including secondary stress exposure, relationship dynamics and family resilience.

3. Law enforcement agencies, including workforce readiness, retention, morale and organizational health.

4. The public, including community interactions, officer safety and public trust.

C. The law enforcement stress management pilot program must provide instruction on:

1. Stress fundamentals, including occupational stressors unique to the law enforcement profession, types of stress, including beneficial and harmful stress, hypo-stress and hyper-stress responses and cumulative stress reactions, such as post-traumatic stress, post-traumatic stress injury and post-traumatic stress growth.

2. The use of occupational stress empirical data, including statistical trends related to divorce, suicide, substance use disorders and stress-related outcomes among peace officers and the relationship between occupational stress exposure and long-term wellness outcomes in law enforcement.

3. How stress on law enforcement officers impact families, including the effects of law enforcement work on personal and family relationships, the importance of educating spouses and family members regarding occupational stress and the manifestations of stress, and how to provide communication strategies that support healthy relationships and family resilience.

4. The association of stress and critical incidents, including agency's responsibilities and best practices after critical incidents, physiological and psychological impacts of officer-involved shootings and other high-risk events and post-incident recovery, including peer support considerations and available mental wellness and mental health resources.

5. Identification and recognition of post-traumatic stress and post-traumatic stress injury, including cognitive, emotional, physical and behavioral indicators of post-traumatic stress and post-traumatic stress injury, chronic and acute stress manifestations, acute stress disorder and post-traumatic stress, the effects of prolonged adrenaline exposure and risk factors and early prevention strategies related to suicide by law enforcement officers.

6. Individual strategies and responsibilities, including personal responsibility in stress management and mental wellness, how exercise, nutrition and sleep affect stress, post-traumatic stress and post-traumatic stress injury and nonpharmacological and pharmacological considerations, including appropriate referral pathways.

D. On or before December 31, 2028, the Arizona peace officer standards and training board shall submit a report to the governor, the president of the senate and the speaker of the house of representatives and shall provide a copy of this report to the secretary of state that contains all of the following:

1. Participation levels and agency representation in the pilot program.

2. A summary of the pilot program's course content and delivery.

3. Any participant feedback and outcome measures.

4. Attendance of and retention in the pilot program and morale and wellness indicators, if available.

5. Recommendations regarding continuation, expansion or modification of the pilot program.

E. This section is repealed from and after June 30, 2029.

Sec. 2. Appropriation; Arizona peace officer standards and training board; exemption

A. The sum of $950,000 is appropriated from the state general fund in fiscal year 2026-2027 to the Arizona peace officer standards and training board to establish and operate a law enforcement stress management pilot program.

B. The appropriation made in subsection A of this section shall be used solely for costs associated with the implementation of the pilot program, including:

1. Curriculum development, instructional design and training materials.

2. Instructor compensation, including preparation and delivery times.

3. In-person training delivery.

4. Program administration costs incurred by the Arizona peace officer standards and training board.

5. Anonymous, nonclinical stress coaching that is focused on education, prevention, resiliency and stress-navigation related to the law enforcement officer's lifestyle, including optional referral pathways to appropriate resources for:

(a) Newly hired peace officer recruits while enrolled in a basic law enforcement academy.

(b) Immediate family members of peace officer recruits during the period of law enforcement academy attendance.

6. Program evaluation, data collection and reporting related to program outcomes and effectiveness.

C. The appropriation made in subsection A of this section is exempt from the provisions of section 35-190, Arizona Revised Statutes, relating to lapsing of appropriations, until June 30, 2029.