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Law-enforcement wellness, recruitment bill draws unanimous stakeholder support and resource questions
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Summary
A committee bill based on a stakeholder report (LD 19 80) won broad support from law enforcement, corrections, municipal and veterans groups for adding wellness training, advisory structures and retention measures; the Criminal Justice Academy flagged staffing and implementation costs that will be examined at work session.
The committee opened a separate hearing on LD 19 80, a committee bill that would implement stakeholder recommendations to improve recruitment, retention and wellness among law-enforcement officers.
Paul Gaspar, executive director of the Maine Association of Police and chair of the stakeholder group, urged passage and described the effort as a response to cumulative trauma for officers and first responders. "Money does not fix recruitment," Gaspar said, arguing the bill focuses on culture, training and a wellness coordinator that would support officers across their careers.
Representatives of correctional officers and county sheriffs also supported the bill, as did the Maine Municipal Association, which described a ServStrong program providing confidential telehealth and trauma-based services for first responders. The Maine Criminal Justice Academy (MCJA) testified neither for nor against; MCJA staff urged care on curriculum changes because the academy is undergoing a major curriculum review and said additional staff or programming time might be required to implement mandated wellness training.
Committee members thanked witnesses and asked stakeholders to deliver proposed amendment language and estimates of costs and staffing needs for the work session. No vote was taken; the committee scheduled follow-up discussion to reconcile program ambitions with training capacity and funding.
