 |
ARIZONA STATE SENATE
Fifty-Seventh Legislature, Second Regular Session
AMENDED
public safety employees; counseling; wellness
Purpose
Authorizes wellness programs for law enforcement agency (LEA) employees and crisis response services programs for public safety employees, outlines requirements for the programs and protects specified activities and communications from disclosure, except as specified.
Background
Crisis response services include consultation, risk assessment, referral and on-site crisis intervention services provided by a critical incident stress management team, peer support team or peer support team member to a designated person (A.R.S. § 38-1111).
The state or a political subdivision of the state must establish a program to provide public safety employees who are exposed to specified traumatic events while on duty up to 12 visits of licensed counseling, which may be provided through telehealth, paid for by the employer. A public safety employee is eligible for traumatic event counseling is: 1) a member of the Public Safety Personnel Retirement System or Corrections Officer Retirement Plan; 2) a probation, surveillance or juvenile detention officer who is employed by the state or a political subdivision of the state; or 3) a 911 dispatcher in a primary or secondary public safety answering point. A public safety employee does not include peace officers or firefighters (A.R.S. § 38-672).
There is no anticipated fiscal impact to the state General Fund associated with this legislation.
Provisions
Wellness Programs
1. Authorizes an LEA in Arizona to establish a wellness program to support the mental health and well-being of the LEA's employees.
2. Allows a wellness program to include:
a) access to licensed counseling;
b) crisis response services;
c) training, equipment and technology necessary for an employee to perform the employee's job; and
d) any other support system.
3. Requires an LEA that creates a wellness program to establish written policies and procedures for the program.
4. Asserts that all, records, opinions, conclusions and recommendations arising from any aspect of the wellness program are confidential and privileged from disclosure, except if:
a) relevant information is disclosed in response to a claim made by the holder of the privilege against an LEA related to any programs or services provided by the program;
b) the designated person waives the person's right to confidentiality;
c) any communications or advice given within the program indicates clear and present danger to the designated person or any other person;
d) the communication or advice is made during the course of a criminal investigation;
e) the designated person violates any of the LEA'S policies and the violation amounts to a violation of laws that is normally enforced by an LEA; or
f) the designated person who received crisis response services voluntarily testifies, in which case the critical incident stress management team member or peer support team member may be compelled to testify on the same subject.
5. Stipulates that the prescribed nondisclosure requirements do not restrict or limit the right to discover or use in any civil action any evidence, document or record that is subject to discovery independently of the proceedings of the wellness program.
6. Defines licensed counseling as counseling provided by a licensed mental health professional.
7. Defines a licensed mental health professional as a licensed individual who specializes in trauma and crisis, uses evidence-based treatment options and is:
a) a licensed psychiatrist, psychologist or physician assistant;
b) a licensed mental health professional who holds either a master's or doctoral degree related to the mental health profession; or
c) a licensed mental health nurse practitioner or psychiatric clinical nurse specialist.
8. Defines an LEA as a municipal police department, a county sheriff's office, a publicly funded law enforcement department and the Department of Public Safety.
Crisis Response Services Programs
9. Allows a state agency to establish a crisis response services program to provide support to public safety employees who have been in or exposed to a traumatic event or an emotional experience during employment.
10. Requires any crisis response services communication to remain confidential.
11. Prohibits the disclosure of any crisis response services communication to any individual who was not present at the crisis response services session, except if:
a) the designated person waives the person's right to confidentiality;
b) any communications or advice given within the program indicates clear and present danger to the designated person or any other person;
c) the communication or advice is made during the course of a criminal investigation;
d) the designated person violates any of the LEA's policies and the violation amounts to a violation of laws that is normally enforced by an LEA; or
e) the designated person who received crisis response services voluntarily testifies, in which case the critical incident stress management team member or peer support team member may be compelled to testify on the same subject.
12. Requires a crisis response services designated person to hold a privilege from disclosure of any crisis response services communication in any disciplinary, civil or criminal proceeding, unless the communication contains information excluded from the nondisclosure requirement.
13. Subjects crisis response services communication that holds a privilege from disclosure to the same protections as attorney-client privilege.
14. Asserts that the outlined crisis response services counseling program and nondisclosure requirements do not prohibit:
a) the state agency using or sharing anonyms data for research, statistical analysis or educational purposes;
b) a state agency employee's disclosure of an observation of a crisis response services designated person outside of a crisis response services counseling session that is not contained in any crisis response services communication; or
c) a state agency law enforcement officer's disclosure of knowledge about a crisis response services designated person that is not gained from crisis response services communication.
15. Defines crisis response services communication as:
a) any oral or written crisis response services communication made during, or during the application for, a counseling session; or
b) any communication by a crisis response services designated person regarding the contents of a crisis response services counseling session to another crisis response services member, staff member of a crisis response services program or the supervisor of a crisis response services program.
16. Defines a crisis response services counseling session as any counseling formally provided through a crisis response services program between a crisis response services member and one or more public safety employee.
Miscellaneous
17. Defines a designated person as a law enforcement officer or civilian employee of an LEA.
18. Defines crisis response services.
19. Becomes effective on the general effective date.
Amendments Adopted by Committee of the Whole
1. Modifies the services that may be included in a wellness program by replacing:
a) access to mental health counseling with access to licensed counseling; and
b) crisis counseling with crisis response services.
2. Replaces peer support with crisis response services which includes renaming the peer support counseling programs as the crisis response services programs.
3. Exempts prescribed wellness program proceedings and records and crisis response services communication from being confidential and privileged from disclosure under outlined conditions.
4. Removes the exemption from confidentiality and nondisclosure requirements for wellness program proceedings and records and crisis response services communication that contain:
a) a threat of suicide or a plan to carry out a suicide attempt;
b) a threat of imminent and serious bodily harm or death to a victim; or
c) an admission of any criminal conduct or any information that is required to be disclosed by law, including information related to the abuse or neglect of a child or venerable adult.
5. Defines terms.
6. Removes defined terms.
7. Makes technical and conforming changes.
Senate Action
PS 2/4/26 DP 6-0-1
Prepared by Senate Research
April 15, 2026
KJA/KM/hk