Assembly committee hears bill to create Blue Ribbon Task Force on peace officer and first responder wellness

Assemblymember Torres Fawcett presented Assembly Bill 433, which would establish a Blue Ribbon Task Force on Peace Officer Wellness to review existing state policies and recommend coordinated mental‑health and physical‑wellness initiatives for law enforcement personnel and other first responders.

Assemblymember Torres Fawcett said the interim committee heard “many of the law enforcement agencies throughout the state of Nevada” and that agencies asked for a consolidated, strategic plan for officer wellness. Dr. James Tenney, a licensed psychologist and director of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Wellness Bureau, told the panel that police and fire personnel face elevated risks of PTSD, depression, anxiety and suicide and that a statewide task force could produce a “wireframe” for effective wellness programs.

The bill would create a task force charged with reviewing state policies on wellness initiatives for peace officers and recommending standards and programs including screening, long‑term monitoring, stress management, counseling and other practices. The sponsor said an amendment had been accepted to include firefighters on the task force after testimony that the firefighter community shares similar mental‑health burdens; the sponsor referenced a figure that “37 percent of firefighters have contemplated suicide,” which was presented during testimony as a reason to include fire personnel.

Representatives from municipal governments, police and firefighter organizations, the Nevada Police Union and other public‑safety employers testified in support. Ryan Beaman, representing Professional Firefighters in Nevada, said nearly one in three first responders will develop a behavioral‑health condition and urged the committee to invest in mental wellness to keep communities safe. John Abel of the Las Vegas Police Protective Association and Dan Gordon of the Nevada Police Union also spoke in support, praising work already underway at Las Vegas Metro and urging statewide coordination. City public‑safety leaders from Reno, Henderson and Las Vegas said they were willing to participate and share best practices.

One caller, Barry Johnston, provided a comment criticizing the legislature’s recent policy choices and attributing declines in morale to political decisions; the caller’s remarks were partisan in tone and framed as a broader critique of the legislature rather than the task force proposal itself.

No committee vote was recorded; the committee closed the AB433 hearing after testimony.