An Act Increasing Minimum Qualifications for State and Municipal Police Officers. Assembly File No. An Act Increasing Minimum Qualifications for State and Municipal Police Officers. The bill requires POST to study the costs and benefits of requiring that police officers earn an associate's and bachelor's degree during the course of employment. The bill specifies eight issues to be included in the study, which is to be reported to the Public Safety Committee of the General Assembly by January 1, 2000.
Funding is required for hiring a consultant to undertake the study.
The study would cover permanent full-time officers in municipal police departments and the state police, as well as protective services employees in 22 state agencies and capitol police in Legislative Management. This bill requires the Police Officer Standards and Training Council, which is responsible for overseeing municipal police officers' training, to study the costs and benefits of requiring police officers to earn an associate's and bachelor's degree during the course of their employment. Substituting the study makes the bill a special act.