12-9-209. Reimbursement for training costs.

12-9-209. Reimbursement for training costs. (a)(1) If a county, city, town, or state agency pays the cost or expenses for training a law enforcement officer at a state-funded law enforcement training academy and another county, city, town, or state agency employs that law enforcement officer within eighteen (18) months after completion of the training in a position requiring a certificate of training from the state-funded law enforcement training academy, the county, city, town, or state agency so employing the law enforcement officer, at the time of employing the law enforcement officer, shall reimburse the county, city, town, or state agency for all or a portion of the expenses incurred by the county, city, town, or state agency for the training of the law enforcement officer at the state-funded law enforcement training academy, unless the law enforcement officer has been terminated by the county, city, town, or state agency that paid the costs or expenses of training, in which case no reimbursement is required from the county, city, town, or state agency hiring the law enforcement officer. (2) Reimbursement may be sought only from the first county, city, town, or state agency that employed the law enforcement officer after the county, city, town, or state agency paid the costs or expenses of training. (3) Reimbursement shall include any salary, travel expenses, food, lodging, or other costs required to be paid by the county, city, town, or state agency, as follows: (A) If the person is employed within two (2) months after completion of the training, the employing agency shall reimburse the total cost of the training; (B) If the person is employed more than two (2) months but not more than six (6) months after completion of the training, the employing agency shall reimburse eighty percent (80%) of the cost of the training; (C) If the person is employed more than six (6) months but not more than ten (10) months after completion of the training, the employing agency shall reimburse sixty percent (60%) of the cost of the training; (D) If the person is employed more than ten (10) months but not more than fourteen (14) months after completion of the training, the employing agency shall reimburse forty percent (40%) of the cost of the training; or (E) If the person is employed more than fourteen (14) months but not more than eighteen (18) months after completion of the training, the employing agency shall reimburse twenty percent (20%) of the cost of the training. (b)(1) If any county, city, town, or state agency which employs an officer whose training expense was paid by another county, city, town, or state agency fails to make reimbursement for the expenses as required in subsection (a) of this section, the county, city, town, or state agency entitled to reimbursement shall notify the Treasurer of State. (2) The Treasurer of State shall then withhold the amount of the reimbursement due for training the officer from the county or municipal aid of the employing county, city, town, or state agency or from funds appropriated to the employing state agency and shall remit the amount to the county, city, town, or state agency which is entitled to the reimbursement under the provisions of this section.