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An Act Regarding Mental Health First Aid Training for Corrections Personnel
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. 25 MRSA §2804-D, sub-§1, as amended by PL 2013, c. 147, §33, is further amended to read:
 
1. Required.   As a condition to the continued employment of any person as a corrections officer, that person must successfully complete, within the first 12 months of employment, a basic training course as approved by the board. Thereafter, as a condition of continued employment as a corrections officer, the officer must satisfactorily maintain the basic certification. The board, under extenuating and emergency circumstances in individual cases, may extend the 12-month period for not more than 180 days. The board, in individual cases, may waive basic training requirements when the facts indicate that an equivalent course has been successfully completed in another state or federal jurisdiction. A full-time correctional trade instructor hired after January 1, 2002 must meet the training requirements established under this subsection for corrections officers. Beginning January 1, 2018, the basic training course must include 8 hours of training in how to identify, understand and respond to signs of mental illnesses and substance use disorder that is provided by a trainer who is certified by a nationally recognized organization that provides evidence-based mental health first aid training.
Sec. 2. Jails, prisons and correctional facilities to incrementally train corrections personnel in mental health first aid. Every jail, prison and state correctional facility shall ensure that 20% of corrections officers at the jail, prison or state correctional facility are trained in mental health first aid by 2022. For purposes of this section, "corrections officer" has the same meaning as in the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 25, section 2801-A, subsection 2.
Sec. 3. Report. Every jail, prison and state correctional facility shall report to the Commissioner of Corrections when personnel at the facility have received mental health first aid training at the Maine Criminal Justice Academy as required by section 2. When all jails, prisons and state correctional facilities in the State have reported to the commissioner, the commissioner shall report to the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over criminal justice and public safety matters that the provisions of section 2 have been met.
Sec. 4. Appropriations and allocations. The following appropriations and allocations are made.
 
PUBLIC SAFETY, DEPARTMENT OF
 
Criminal Justice Academy 0290
 
Initiative: Provides an allocation to provide 8 hours of mental health first aid training as part of basic corrections training.

OTHER SPECIAL REVENUE FUNDS	2017-18	2018-19	
All Other	$0	$30,265	
			
OTHER SPECIAL REVENUE FUNDS TOTAL	$0	$30,265	

Effective 90 days following adjournment of the 128th Legislature, Second Special Session, unless otherwise indicated.