AB 708

Under current law, the Department of Administration, Department of Health

Services, and Department of Military Affairs share responsibility for and oversight

of various statewide emergency number functions. In addition, DMA must issue

grants to public safety answering points, more commonly known as 911 call centers,

for a variety of purposes related to advanced 911 operations, known as Next

Generation 911.

This bill provides that DMA is primarily responsible for the statewide

emergency number system functionality and adds to DMA's responsibilities relating

to the statewide emergency number system. Under the bill, DMA must do all of the

following:

1. Collect data from and distribute data to public safety answering points

regarding the status and operation of the components of a statewide emergency

number system.

2. Participate in activities to implement and operate interconnecting statewide

emergency number systems with public safety answering points, other states, and

the federal government.

3. Ensure the statewide emergency number system is compliant with any

applicable legal requirements.

4. Develop, coordinate, and communicate technical and operational standards

or requirements that, to the greatest extent feasible, rely on industry standards and

best practices for establishing a statewide emergency number system.

5. Develop and implement a statewide plan for the implementation, operation,

and maintenance of a statewide emergency number system based on

recommendations from the 911 subcommittee.

6. Complete these responsibilities in a manner that is competitively and

technologically neutral.

7. By November 1 of each even-numbered year, submit a report to the governor

and to the legislature on the status of Next Generation 911 implementation,

operation, and maintenance.

This bill also creates an additional grant program, under which DMA must

issue grants to county land information offices for the purpose of preparing

geographic information systems data to help enable Next Generation 911. Under the

bill, the appropriate purposes and eligibility criteria for the grants must be

developed by DMA policy. Grant purposes may include data preparation, data

gathering, data creation, geographic information system staffing, data preparation

and collection contracts, and training, if these purposes enable Next Generation 911,

but may not include general overhead or costs for providing emergency services or

emergency services equipment. DMA may not award more than one such grant per

county per fiscal year. Under the bill, DMA must provide grants to counties for

geographic information systems from the same appropriation that is currently used