I 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3070 

To make Federal law enforcement officer peer support communications 

confidential, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 7, 2021 

Mr. TRONE (for himself and Mr. RESCHENTHALER) introduced the following 

bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To make Federal law enforcement officer peer support 

communications confidential, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Confidentiality Oppor5 tunities for Peer Support Counseling Act’’ or the ‘‘COPS 

6 Counseling Act’’. 

7 SEC. 2. CONFIDENTIALITY OF PEER SUPPORT COMMUNICA8 TIONS. 

9 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 


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1 (1) LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY.—The term 

2 ‘‘law enforcement agency’’ means a Federal agency 

3 that employs a law enforcement officer. 

4 (2) LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER.—The term 

5 ‘‘law enforcement officer’’ has the meaning given the 

6 term ‘‘Federal law enforcement officer’’ in section 

7 115 of title 18, United States Code. 

8 (3) PEER SUPPORT COMMUNICATION.—The 

9 term ‘‘peer support communication’’ includes— 

10 (A) an oral or written communication 

11 made in the course of a peer support counseling 

12 session; 

13 (B) a note or report arising out of a peer 

14 support counseling session; 

15 (C) a record of a peer support counseling 

16 session; or 

17 (D) with respect to a communication made 

18 by a peer support participant in the course of 

19 a peer support counseling session, another com20 munication, regarding the first communication, 

21 that is made between a peer support specialist 

22 and— 

23 (i) another peer support specialist; 

24 (ii) a staff member of a peer support 

25 counseling program; or 


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1 (iii) a supervisor of the peer support 

2 specialist. 

3 (4) PEER SUPPORT COUNSELING PROGRAM.— 

4 The term ‘‘peer support counseling program’’ means 

5 a program provided by a law enforcement agency 

6 that provides counseling services from a peer sup7 port specialist to a law enforcement officer of the 

8 agency. 

9 (5) PEER SUPPORT COUNSELING SESSION.— 

10 The term ‘‘peer support counseling session’’ means 

11 any counseling formally provided through a peer 

12 support counseling program between a peer support 

13 specialist and 1 or more law enforcement officers. 

14 (6) PEER SUPPORT PARTICIPANT.—The term 

15 ‘‘peer support participant’’ means a law enforcement 

16 officer who receives counseling services from a peer 

17 support specialist. 

18 (7) PEER SUPPORT SPECIALIST.—The term 

19 ‘‘peer support specialist’’ means a law enforcement 

20 officer who— 

21 (A) has received training in— 

22 (i) peer support counseling; and 

23 (ii) providing emotional and moral 

24 support to law enforcement officers who 

25 have been involved in or exposed to an 


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1 emotionally traumatic experience in the 

2 course of employment; and 

3 (B) is designated by a law enforcement 

4 agency to provide the services described in sub5 paragraph (A). 

6 (b) PROHIBITION.—Except as provided in subsection 

7 (c), a peer support specialist or a peer support participant 

8 may not disclose the contents of a peer support commu9 nication to an individual who was not a party to the peer 

10 support communication. 

11 (c) EXCEPTIONS.—Subsection (b) shall not apply to 

12 a peer support communication if— 

13 (1) the peer support communication contains— 

14 (A) an explicit threat of suicide, the disclo15 sure of which the peer support specialist be16 lieves is necessary to avoid a suicide attempt; 

17 (B) an explicit threat of imminent and se18 rious physical bodily harm or death to a clearly 

19 identified or identifiable individual; 

20 (C) information— 

21 (i) relating to the abuse or neglect 

22 of— 

23 (I) a child; or 

24 (II) an older or vulnerable indi25 vidual; or 


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1 (ii) that is required by law to be re2 ported; or 

3 (D) an admission of criminal conduct; 

4 (2) the disclosure is permitted by each peer 

5 support participant who was a party to, as applica6 ble— 

7 (A) the peer support communication; 

8 (B) the peer support counseling session out 

9 of which the peer support communication arose; 

10 (C) the peer support counseling session of 

11 which the peer support communication is a 

12 record; or 

13 (D) the communication made in the course 

14 of a peer support counseling session that the 

15 peer support communication is regarding; or 

16 (3) a court of competent jurisdiction issues an 

17 order or subpoena requiring the disclosure of the 

18 peer support communication. 

19 (d) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in sub20 section (b) shall be construed to prohibit the disclosure 

21 of— 

22 (1) an observation made by a law enforcement 

23 officer of a peer support participant outside of a 

24 peer support counseling session; or 


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1 (2) knowledge of a law enforcement officer 

2 about a peer support participant not gained from a 

3 peer support communication. 

4 (e) DISCLOSURE OF RIGHTS.—Before the initial peer 

5 support counseling session of a peer support participant, 

6 a peer support specialist shall inform the peer support 

7 participant in writing of the confidentiality requirement 

8 under subsection (b) and the exceptions to the require9 ment under subsection (c). 

10 SEC. 3. BEST PRACTICES AND SUPPORT. 

11 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

12 (1) FIRST RESPONDER.—The term ‘‘first re13 sponder’’ has the meaning given the term ‘‘public 

14 safety officer’’ in section 1204 of title I of the Omni15 bus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 

16 U.S.C. 10284). 

17 (2) FIRST RESPONDER AGENCY.—The term 

18 ‘‘first responder agency’’ means a Federal, State, 

19 local, or Tribal agency that employs or otherwise en20 gages the services of a first responder. 

21 (3) PEER SUPPORT COUNSELING PROGRAM.— 

22 The term ‘‘peer support counseling program’’ means 

23 a program provided by a first responder agency that 

24 provides counseling services from a peer support speVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:12 Jun 10, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3070.IH H3070

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1 cialist to a first responder of the first responder 

2 agency. 

3 (4) PEER SUPPORT PARTICIPANT.—The term 

4 ‘‘peer support participant’’ means a first responder 

5 who receives counseling services from a peer support 

6 specialist. 

7 (5) PEER SUPPORT SPECIALIST.—The term 

8 ‘‘peer support specialist’’ means a first responder 

9 who— 

10 (A) has received training in— 

11 (i) peer support counseling; and 

12 (ii) providing emotional and moral 

13 support to first responders who have been 

14 involved in or exposed to an emotionally 

15 traumatic experience in the course of the 

16 duties of those first responders; and 

17 (B) is designated by a first responder 

18 agency to provide the services described in sub19 paragraph (A). 

20 (b) REPORT ON BEST PRACTICES.—Not later than 

21 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the Attor22 ney General, in coordination with the Secretary of Health 

23 and Human Services, shall develop a report on best prac24 tices and professional standards for peer support counVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:12 Jun 10, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3070.IH H3070

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1 seling programs for first responder agencies that in2 cludes— 

3 (1) advice on— 

4 (A) establishing and operating peer sup5 port counseling programs; and 

6 (B) training and certifying peer support 

7 specialists; 

8 (2) a code of ethics for peer support specialists; 

9 (3) recommendations for continuing education 

10 for peer support specialists; 

11 (4) advice on disclosing to first responders any 

12 confidentiality rights of peer support participants; 

13 and 

14 (5) information on— 

15 (A) the different types of peer support 

16 counseling programs in use by first responder 

17 agencies; 

18 (B) any differences in peer support coun19 seling programs offered across categories of 

20 first responders; and 

21 (C) the important role senior first respond22 ers play in supporting access to mental health 

23 resources. 


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1 (c) IMPLEMENTATION.—The Attorney General shall 

2 support and encourage the implementation of peer support 

3 counseling programs in first responder agencies by— 

4 (1) making the report developed under sub5 section (b) publicly available on the website of the 

6 Department of Justice; and 

7 (2) providing a list of peer support specialist 

8 training programs on the website of the Department 

9 of Justice. 

Æ 


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