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Senate panel unanimously OKs bill extending window for police training cost reimbursement
Summary
The Georgia Senate Public Safety Committee voted unanimously to pass House Bill 549, which would extend the period during which law enforcement agencies can seek reimbursement for basic training costs from 15 months to 36 months and clarifies eligible expenses.
The Georgia Senate Public Safety Committee voted unanimously to pass House Bill 549, which would extend the period during which law enforcement agencies may seek reimbursement for basic training costs from 15 months to 36 months.
Representative Seabaugh, the bill’s author, told the committee that “Currently, Georgia code allows law enforcement agencies to recover the training costs for an officer when an officer leaves the agency to go to work for another agency within 15 months of the completion of their mandated training.” He said the bill “extends the time frame to seek reimbursement from 15 months to 36 months, once they finished their training to account for the increase in recurrent, required training” and “clarifies the type of training expenses that are eligible for reimbursement.”
The change follows an increase in mandatory training hours; Seabaugh said the state Peace Officer Standards and Training program raised required hours “from ... 408 hours to 810 hours,” and the longer reimbursement window is intended to reflect that increased investment. He described eligible reimbursable costs as “the actual cost of equipment and materials required by the approved school to attend, and then the salary paid during basic training along with any housing, meal, and transportation costs incurred during the training.”
Chuck Clay, speaking for the Georgia Police Chiefs Association, said the organization “wholeheartedly support[s] the bill,” and described how some departments’ training pathways can take multiple years to complete. “It's almost a 2 to 4 year process for any department,” Clay said, adding that the measure is intended to “make the playing field” when smaller agencies lose officers to higher-paying jurisdictions.
After brief committee discussion, a motion to pass the bill was offered and the committee approved it without recorded dissent.
The committee did not record a roll-call tally in the transcript; the clerk announced the bill “passes unanimously.” The bill was assigned a Senate carrier for floor consideration.
Votes at a glance: House Bill 549 — Motion to do pass (mover: Senator Beard; second: Senator Jackson); outcome: passed unanimously (roll-call not recorded in committee transcript).
