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ARIZONA STATE SENATE
Fifty-Seventh Legislature, Second Regular Session
REVISED
public safety employees; counseling; wellness
Purpose
Authorizes wellness programs for law enforcement agency (LEA) employees and peer support counseling programs for public safety employees, outlines requirements for the programs and protects specified activities and communications from disclosure, except as specified.
Background
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 who is eligible for traumatic event counseling if the employee: 1) is 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 mental health counseling;
b) crisis counseling;
c) training, equipment and technology necessary for an employee to perform the employee's job; and
d) any other support systems.
3. Requires an LEA that creates a wellness program to establish written policies and procedures for the program.
4. Asserts that all proceedings, records, opinions, conclusions and recommendations arising from any aspect of the wellness program are confidential and privileged from disclosure, except for:
a) the disclosure of relevant information 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; and
b) if a program participant's communication contains:
i. a threat of suicide or a plan to carry out a suicide attempt, excluding peer support communication in which the participant solely shares that the participant is experiencing suicidal thoughts;
ii. a threat of imminent and serious physical and bodily harm or death to a clearly identified or reasonably identifiable victim;
iii. information related to the abuse or neglect of a child or a vulnerable adult that is required to be reported;
iv. an admission of any criminal conduct; or
v. any information that is required to be disclosed by law.
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 an LEA as a municipal police department, a county sheriff's office, a publicly funded law enforcement department and the Department of Public Safety.
Peer Support Counseling Programs
7. Allows a state agency to establish a peer support counseling program to provide support to public safety employees who have been in or exposed to an emotionally traumatic experience during employment.
8. Requires any peer support communication to remain confidential.
9. Prohibits the disclosure of any peer support communication to any individual who was not present at the peer support counseling session or peer support communication, except when the communication contains:
a) a threat of suicide or a plan to carry out a suicide attempt, excluding any peer support communication in which the participant solely shares that the participant is experiencing suicidal thoughts;
b) a threat of imminent and serious physical and bodily harm or death to a clearly identified or reasonably identifiable victim;
c) information related to the abuse or neglect of a child or a venerable adult that is required to be reported;
d) an admission of any criminal conduct; or
e) any information that is required to be disclosed by law.
10. Requires a peer support participant to hold a privilege from disclosure of any peer support communication in any disciplinary, civil or criminal proceeding, unless the communication contains information excluded from the nondisclosure requirement.
11. Subjects peer support communication that holds a privilege from disclosure to the same protections as attorney-client privilege.
12. Asserts that outlined peer support 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 peer support participant outside of a peer support counseling session that is not contained in any peer support communication; or
c) a state agency law enforcement officer's disclosure of knowledge about a peer support participant that is not gained from peer support communication.
13. Defines peer support communication as:
a) any oral or written communication made during, or during the application for, a peer support counseling session; or
b) any communication by a peer support participant regarding the contents of a peer support counseling session to another peer support specialist, staff member of a peer support counseling program or the supervisor of a peer support specialist.
14. Defines a peer support counseling session as any counseling formally provided through a peer support counseling program between a peer support specialist and one or more public safety employee.
15. Defines a peer support specialist as a public safety employee who:
a) is designated by the agency to provide peer support counseling; and
b) has received training in both peer support counseling and in providing emotional and moral support to public safety employees who have been in or exposed to an emotionally traumatic experience in the course of employment.
Miscellaneous
16. Becomes effective on the general effective date.
Revisions
1. Clarifies that the wellness program is for LEA employees and the peer support counseling program is for public safety employees.
2. Corrects the provision that allows a state agency, rather than an LEA, to establish a peer support counseling program.
3. Reorganizes the provisions into a subsection for each program.
Prepared by Senate Research
March 4, 2026
KJA/KM/hk