Budget Amendment ID: FY2016-S3-651-R1

Redraft EPS 651

Police Training

Messrs. Timilty and Moore moved that the proposed new text be amended by inserting after section 3 the following section:-

"SECTION 3A.  Chapter 6 of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting after section 116 the following section:-

Section 116 1/2. (a) Sums for the estimated expenses of providing annual in-service specialized and statutorily-mandated training programs conducted by the municipal police training committee for veteran and reserve municipal police officers and for those officers employed by agencies who exercise police powers and receive this training from the municipal police training committee, including, but not limited to, environmental police officers and campus police officers at the University of Massachusetts and state universities who exercise police powers, shall be paid to the commissioner of insurance by property and casualty insurance companies by means of a policy surcharge imposed upon a policyholder of a private passenger automobile policy issued by a property and casualty insurance company writing motor vehicle insurance policies in the commonwealth. These training programs shall include: new recruit training provided by the municipal police training committee; development and delivery of distance learning programs by the municipal police training committee; a standards and evaluations program for training courses and instructors of or certified by the municipal police training committee; the development and updating of training programs including curricula by the municipal police training committee; hiring, equipping and training new state police recruits; and the development and operation of a state police cadet program including the hiring, equipping and, subject to appropriation, training of state police cadets  and the estimated cost of fringe benefits associated with this training hiring and employment. The amount of any surcharge shall be separately stated on either a billing or policy declaration sent to the insured. The rate of the policy surcharge shall be determined and adjusted annually by the commissioner of insurance to a rate sufficient to generate a surcharge to fund the expenses estimated by the secretary of public safety and security for the purposes described in this subsection.

(b) The policy surcharge shall be collected and remitted to the commissioner of insurance by the property and casualty insurance companies writing motor vehicle insurance policies in the commonwealth on a quarterly basis not later than the twenty-fifth day of the month succeeding the end of the quarter in which it is collected. A company that fails or refuses to collect and remit the policy surcharge to the commissioner of insurance or whose surcharge payments are not postmarked by the due date for quarterly filing shall be liable for a penalty of up to $100 for each day of delinquency, to be assessed by the commissioner of insurance. The estimated costs shall include an amount equal to the cost of fringe benefits as established by the secretary of administration and finance under section 5D of chapter 29. Any surcharge collected in a fiscal year but not expended by the municipal police training committee or department of state police for the purposes set forth in this section shall be retained by the commonwealth solely for use by the municipal police training committee or department of state police."