Peer support confidentiality protections advanced

Lawmakers amended and advanced a measure from general file Feb. 11 aimed at protecting the confidentiality of communications between certified peer support team members and public safety personnel.

LB816, introduced by Whitman Sen. Tanya Storer, would establish legal protections for peer support counseling involving law enforcement officers, first responders and other emergency services employees.

Under the bill, communications made during peer support sessions, which pair trained colleagues with shared experience with public safety personnel in need of help, could not be used in disciplinary or legal proceedings.
By protecting these communications, Storer said, more first responders may use the service and connect with peers who understand their experiences, especially when support is most needed.
“First responders trust their peers,” she said. “They trust someone who has been in the same situation, who understands what it’s like to carry the weight of that work.”

A Judiciary Committee amendment, adopted 28-0, replaced the bill with a modified version that incorporated two similar proposals. Lincoln Sen. Carolyn Bosn, committee chairperson, said the amendment was a collaborative effort among all three bill introducers to create a single, unified measure.

The amendment adds provisions of LB755, introduced by Fremont Sen. Dave Wordekemper, which would apply peer support confidentiality to EMS personnel, and LB804, sponsored by Sen. Dan Lonowski of Hastings, which would apply the same to law enforcement personnel.

“Each of those bills reflected a shared concern that Nebraska should do more to support the mental well-being of the men and women who routinely experience traumatic incidents and extreme job stress in the course of serving the public,” Bosn said.

The amendment also would expand protections to hospital personnel who provide direct patient care or emergency services and would specify that a public safety agency must develop written guidelines for the team and its members if it chooses to establish a peer support program.

Sen. Myron Dorn of Adams supported the bill and the committee amendment, saying his experience as an EMT and rescue squad member showed him the value of peer support programs for first responders.

He said the legal protections in LB816 would address some first responders’ fear of professional repercussions by clarifying legal immunity, giving them the confidence to seek support.

Senators advanced LB816 to select file on a 28-0 vote.