Bill > S1311

This bill proposes to amend Chapter 6 of the General Laws by adding a new section that establishes a policy surcharge on private passenger automobile insurance policies to fund police training programs. This surcharge, to be collected by property and casualty insurance companies writing motor vehicle insurance in the commonwealth, will be paid to the commissioner of insurance and used to cover the estimated expenses of annual in-service specialized and statutorily-mandated training for veteran and reserve municipal police officers, as well as officers from commonwealth agencies who exercise police powers and receive training from the municipal police training committee, such as environmental and campus police. The bill also specifies that these funds will support new recruit training, distance learning programs, a standards and evaluations program for training courses and instructors, the development and updating of training curricula, and the hiring, equipping, and training of new state police recruits and cadets, including associated fringe benefits. The commissioner of insurance will determine and adjust the surcharge rate annually to cover these estimated expenses, and insurance companies will be required to collect and remit these surcharges quarterly, with penalties for late payment. Any collected surcharge funds not expended within a fiscal year will be retained by the commonwealth for future use by the municipal police training committee or the department of state police.