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Committee reviews bill to protect peer‑support counseling records for emergency responders
Summary
Legislative counsel walked the committee through H.270, which would shield communications from designated peer support counseling sessions for emergency service providers from public disclosure and from admissibility in legal proceedings, with enumerated exceptions and a July 1, 2025 effective date.
Legislative counsel presented H.270 to the committee, a bill that would create statutory confidentiality protections for peer support counseling sessions offered to emergency service providers.
Katie McGlynn, Office of Legislative Counsel, said the bill defines a peer support counseling session as part of a critical incident stress management program established by an employer for emergency service providers and then sets out confidentiality rules. McGlynn explained: “Any communication that’s made by a participant or a counselor of a peer support counseling session ... shall not be disclosed to any individual by any individual participating in the peer counseling session,” and that written notes or reports would be exempt from public inspection under the Public Records Act.
The bill would also render session communications inadmissible in judicial, administrative or arbitration proceedings, with specific exceptions. McGlynn told members that confidentiality would not apply to information involving threats of suicide or homicide, reports of child or vulnerable‑adult abuse, admissions of criminal conduct or plans to commit crimes, or other legally required disclosures.
Why it matters: Supporters said the department and responders need safe spaces to process traumatic incidents; skeptics on the panel asked why the protection is limited to emergency service providers rather than all peer support programs and whether HIPAA or existing workplace rules already cover these conversations.
Members flagged operational questions: who sponsors or hosts the sessions, whether counselors meet licensure or HIPAA‑covered entity thresholds, and whether participation in the program is voluntary. McGlynn recommended the committee hear witnesses to explain program structure and credentials. The bill’s effective date was stated as July 1, 2025.
Next steps: The committee scheduled witnesses for afternoon testimony to clarify program administration, host organizations, and how the confidentiality protections would interact with HIPAA and mandatory reporting obligations.
