Substitute For
SENATE BILL NO. 1092
A bill to amend 1965 PA 203, entitled
"Michigan commission on law enforcement standards act,"
(MCL 28.601 to 28.615) by amending the title, as amended by 1998 PA 237 and by adding sections 9f and 9g.
the people of the state of michigan enact:
An act to provide for the creation of create the commission on law enforcement standards; to prescribe its membership, powers, and duties; to prescribe the reporting responsibilities and other duties of certain state and local agencies; to require licensing of and certain training for law enforcement officers; to provide for additional costs in criminal cases; to provide for the establishment of the law enforcement officers training fund; and to provide for disbursement of allocations from the law enforcement officers training fund to local agencies of government participating in a police training program.
Sec. 9f. (1) Beginning July 1, 2025, an individual who is seeking to become licensed as a law enforcement officer under section 9, 9b, 9c, or 9d shall complete training that meets the standards under this section. A law enforcement officer who is licensed under section 9, 9b, 9c, or 9d on July 1, 2025 and who has not previously completed the training under this section shall complete training that meets the standards under this section by July 1, 2026.
(2) Subject to subsection (4), not later than October 1, 2024, the commission shall conduct or contract for research and analysis to identify training gaps and begin to adapt, adopt, or develop curriculum standards for training in the following areas or other areas the commission determines to be substantially similar:
(a) De-escalation techniques.
(b) Implicit bias training.
(c) Procedural justice training.
(d) Behavioral health resources and support available for law enforcement officers.
(e) Crisis intervention techniques.
(3) The curriculum standards for training on de-escalation techniques must include all of the following:
(a) The employment of verbal and physical tactics to defuse volatile or potentially violent situations, including when they are safe and feasible, with an emphasis on using communication, negotiation, and de-escalation techniques.
(b) The level of force that is an objectively reasonable response to an identified and articulable threat or resistance that is based on information available at the time of the incident and that requires contact reevaluation as circumstances dictate and allow.
(c) Training that provides law enforcement officers with awareness and recognition of indicators of physical disabilities, intellectual disabilities, developmental disabilities, other mental health issues, and substance use disorders with an emphasis on effective communication and de-escalation techniques.
(d) As appropriate with the nature and immediacy of the threat to public safety, the use of distance, cover, and time when approaching and managing critical incidents, in order to help create a safety zone between the law enforcement officer and subject, to afford the law enforcement officer more time to react to the circumstances.
(e) A law enforcement officer's responsibility to intervene in a situation if another law enforcement officer's actions indicate that the other law enforcement officer has lost self-control or use of force is not objectively reasonable to the level of resistance encountered.
(f) Methods to divert individuals with mental disabilities, mental health disorders, or substance use disorders from involvement in the criminal justice system.
(g) Information about this state's behavioral health system, including, but not limited to, its history and resources.
(h) Other evidence-based approaches, found to be appropriate by the commission, that enhance de-escalation techniques and skills.
(4) An individual seeking to become a law enforcement officer licensed under this act or an individual who is already a licensed law enforcement officer under this act may meet the standards for implicit bias training by completing an implicit bias training course approved by the commission.
(5) Within 6 months after the effective date of the amendatory act that added this section, each law enforcement agency in this state shall adopt a written policy that states that each of the law enforcement officers in its employ shall utilize de-escalation techniques in the law enforcement officer's interactions with citizens to the extent that is reasonable and as safe as possible.
(6) The commission shall make a model written policy that meets the requirements of this section available on its website. A law enforcement agency may fulfill its duty under subsection (5) by adopting the written policy made available under this subsection.
(7) The commission shall promulgate rules pursuant to the administrative procedures act of 1969, 1969 PA 306, MCL 24.201 to 24.328, to ensure compliance with this section, including a tiered system of license sanctions up to license revocation for a law enforcement officer licensed under section 9, 9b, 9c, or 9d who refuses to comply with the training requirements under this section. The rules promulgated under this subsection pertaining to the revocation of a license must incorporate the requirements and procedures in the same manner as provided in sections 9(13), 9b(13), 9c(13), and 9d(14).
(8) As used in this section:
(a) "Behavioral health" means the treatment of a mental disability, mental health disorder, or substance use disorder, and the support of an individual who experiences or is in recovery from a mental disability, mental health disorder, or substance use disorder.
(b) "Crisis intervention technique" means a method of immediate response to an individual or a situation involving an individual experiencing a crisis that includes, but is not limited to, any of the following:
(i) Mental disability.
(ii) Mental health disorder.
(iii) Substance use disorder.
(iv) Acute emotional distress.
(c) "Curriculum" means a structure of educational standards that identifies behavioral objectives and outcomes.
(d) "De-escalation technique" means a method or methods intended to defuse a potentially volatile or violent situation with the goal to reduce the level of subject control required to resolve the situation in an objectively reasonable and safe manner.
(e) "Implicit bias training" means evidence-based training that provides instruction regarding the bias implicit in all human beings and how to help ensure subconscious bias does not inhibit fair and impartial law enforcement.
(f) "Procedural justice training" means training based on the principles of treating people with dignity and respect, giving citizens a voice during encounters, being neutral in decision making, and conveying trustworthy motives while emphasizing law enforcement's role in the context of the larger criminal justice system.
(g) "Training gap" means identified behavioral or performance deficiencies caused by a lack of skill or knowledge.
Sec. 9g. (1) A law enforcement officer licensed under this act shall complete not less than 12 hours of continuing education in the areas listed under section 9f(2)(a) to (e) on or after July 1, 2026 and before July 1, 2027.
(2) Beginning July 1, 2027, a law enforcement officer licensed under this act shall complete not less than 24 hours of continuing education every 2 years in the areas listed under section 9f(2)(a) to (e).
(3) The commission shall promulgate rules to implement this section pursuant to the administrative procedures act of 1969, 1969 PA 306, MCL 24.201 to 24.328.
Enacting section 1. This amendatory act does not take effect unless Senate Bill No. 1099 of the 102nd Legislature is enacted into law.