Governor Tom Wolf’s proposed law enforcement legislation, house bills 1841 and 1910, passed unanimously last week and are quickly followed by an executive order creating the Pennsylvania State Law Enforcement Citizen Advisory Commission.

Together, he said in a release, the legislation will, “address the systemic failings that have created inequities and public mistrust of law enforcement.”

Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency Executive Director Mike Pennington said, “As an agency, we answered the call the governor made last month to address reform. We’ve created a Racial and Ethnic Disparities Subcommittee under the Criminal Justice Advisory Committee here at PCCD. Keir Bradford-Grey of the Defender Association of Philadelphia will serve as our chair, and we look to have that subcommittee formed and convened within the next month or so.”

The executive order advises that citizen engagement and participation is essential to help the state in fulfilling its commitment to identifying necessary system-level reforms to promote transparency, fairness and accountability involving the commonwealth’s law enforcement agencies.

The new commission’s ultimate goal is to improve policing practices within law enforcement agencies under the governor’s jurisdiction by examining events and conducting reviews of policies, practices, and procedures.

The commission, established in the Office of State Inspector General, will be comprised of 15 members appointed by the governor, including one representative from each of the Pennsylvania State Police current Troop geographic areas, and specifically from areas of the Pennsylvania State Police’s primary jurisdiction, and six additional citizen members chosen at large.

The commission is authorized to perform reviews of the covered agencies’ internal investigative findings related to allegations and incidents surrounding the use of force and bias-based policing, including those involving police-involved shootings resulting in injury or death of civilians, and to prepare a report if warranted.

“It is my hope that with input from this commission, the commonwealth’s law enforcement agencies can serve as a model of excellence for law enforcement throughout Pennsylvania and the country,” Wolf said.

House Bill 1841, sponsored by Rep. Harry Readshaw, requires a thorough background check for law enforcement applicants prior to being employed and requires a law enforcement agency to disclose employment information. The bill also establishes an electronic database housed and maintained by the Municipal Police Officers’ Training and Education Training Commission that contains separation records of law enforcement officers.

A hiring report that indicates the prospective law enforcement agency’s reason and rationale must be completed if a hiring law enforcement agency hires an individual whose separation record includes any of the following:

• Excessive force;

• Harassment;

• Theft;

• Discrimination;• Sexual abuse or misconduct;

• Domestic violence;

• Coercion of a false confession;

• Filing a false report;

• A judicial finding of dishonesty.

House Bill 1910, sponsored by Rep. Dan Williams, requires mental health evaluations with a focus on PTSD of law enforcement officers as a condition of continued employment. The evaluation may be upon request of a law enforcement officer or a police chief or within 30 days of an incident of the use of lethal force.

The bill also requires training for police officers on trauma-informed care, use of deadly force, de-escalation and harm reduction techniques, community and cultural awareness, implicit bias, procedural justice and reconciliation techniques. Under the bill, magisterial district judges are required to complete, as part of their annual continuing education requirement, one course on the identification and reporting of suspected child abuse and court proceedings involving children.