Bill Text: FL S0742 | 2010 | Regular Session | Introduced

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Public Safety Telecommunicators/E911 [SPSC]

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)

Status: (Passed) 2010-06-03 - Approved by Governor; Chapter No. 2010-188 [S0742 Detail]

Download: Florida-2010-S0742-Introduced.html

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Florida Senate - 2010                                     SB 742 
 
By Senator Detert 
23-00546A-10                                           2010742__ 
1                        A bill to be entitled 
2         An act relating to public safety telecommunicators; 
3         amending s. 365.172, F.S.; including fees for 
4         certification and recertification collected by the 
5         Department of Health in authorized expenditures for 
6         E911 services; amending s. 401.411, F.S.; revising 
7         applicability of certain disciplinary actions and 
8         penalties; amending s. 401.465, F.S.; redefining the 
9         term “emergency dispatcher” as “public safety 
10         telecommunicator”; defining the term “public safety 
11         telecommunication training program”; providing 
12         requirements for training and certification of a 
13         public safety telecommunicator, including fees; 
14         requiring the department to establish a procedure for 
15         the approval of public safety telecommunication 
16         training programs; providing for temporary waiver of 
17         certification requirements in an area of the state for 
18         which the Governor has declared a state of emergency; 
19         providing an effective date. 
20 
21  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 
22 
23         Section 1. Paragraph (b) of subsection (9) of section 
24  365.172, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 
25         365.172 Emergency communications number “E911.”— 
26         (9) AUTHORIZED EXPENDITURES OF E911 FEE.— 
27         (b) All costs directly attributable to the establishment or 
28  provision of E911 service and contracting for E911 services are 
29  eligible for expenditure of moneys derived from imposition of 
30  the fee authorized by this section. These costs include the 
31  acquisition, implementation, and maintenance of Public Safety 
32  Answering Point (PSAP) equipment and E911 service features, as 
33  defined in the Public Service Commission’s lawfully approved 911 
34  and E911 and related tariffs or the acquisition, installation, 
35  and maintenance of other E911 equipment, including call 
36  answering equipment, call transfer equipment, ANI controllers, 
37  ALI controllers, ANI displays, ALI displays, station 
38  instruments, E911 telecommunications systems, visual call 
39  information and storage devices, recording equipment, telephone 
40  devices and other equipment for the hearing impaired used in the 
41  E911 system, PSAP backup power systems, consoles, automatic call 
42  distributors, and interfaces, including hardware and software, 
43  for computer-aided dispatch (CAD) systems, integrated CAD 
44  systems for that portion of the systems used for E911 call 
45  taking, network clocks, salary and associated expenses for E911 
46  call takers for that portion of their time spent taking and 
47  transferring E911 calls, salary and associated expenses for a 
48  county to employ a full-time equivalent E911 coordinator 
49  position and a full-time equivalent mapping or geographical data 
50  position and a staff assistant position per county for the 
51  portion of their time spent administrating the E911 system, 
52  training costs for PSAP call takers, supervisors, and managers 
53  in the proper methods and techniques used in taking and 
54  transferring E911 calls, costs to train and educate PSAP 
55  employees regarding E911 service or E911 equipment, including 
56  Department of Health fees for the certification and 
57  recertification of 911 public safety telecommunicators as 
58  required under s. 401.465, and expenses required to develop and 
59  maintain all information, including ALI and ANI databases and 
60  other information source repositories, necessary to properly 
61  inform call takers as to location address, type of emergency, 
62  and other information directly relevant to the E911 call-taking 
63  and transferring function. Moneys derived from the fee may also 
64  be used for next-generation E911 network services, next 
65  generation E911 database services, next-generation E911 
66  equipment, and wireless E911 routing systems. 
67         Section 2. Paragraphs (g) and (k) of subsection (1) of 
68  section 401.411, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 
69         401.411 Disciplinary action; penalties.— 
70         (1) The department may deny, suspend, or revoke a license, 
71  certificate, or permit or may reprimand or fine any licensee, 
72  certificateholder, or other person operating under this part for 
73  any of the following grounds: 
74         (g) Unprofessional conduct, including, but not limited to, 
75  any departure from or failure to conform to the minimal 
76  prevailing standards of acceptable practice under this part as 
77  an emergency medical technician or paramedic, including 
78  undertaking activities that the emergency medical technician, or 
79  paramedic, health care professional, or other professional is 
80  not qualified by training or experience to perform. 
81         (k) Practicing as an emergency medical technician, 
82  paramedic, or other health care professional, or other 
83  professional operating under this part without reasonable skill 
84  and without regard for the safety of the public to patients by 
85  reason of illness, drunkenness, or the use of drugs, narcotics, 
86  or chemicals or any other substance or as a result of any mental 
87  or physical condition. 
88         Section 3. Section 401.465, Florida Statutes, is amended to 
89  read: 
90         401.465 911 public safety telecommunicator emergency 
91  dispatcher certification.— 
92         (1) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section, the term: 
93         (a) “911 public safety telecommunicator emergency 
94  dispatcher” means a person employed by a state agency or local 
95  government as a public safety dispatcher or 911 operator whose 
96  duties and responsibilities include the answering, receiving, 
97  transferring, and dispatching functions related to 911 calls; 
98  dispatching law enforcement officers, fire rescue services, 
99  emergency medical services, and other public safety services to 
100  the scene of an emergency; providing real-time information from 
101  federal, state, and local crime databases; or supervising or 
102  serving as the command officer to a person or persons having 
103  such duties and responsibilities. However, the term does not 
104  include administrative support personnel, including, but not 
105  limited to, those whose primary duties and responsibilities are 
106  in accounting, purchasing, legal, and personnel. 
107         (b) “Department” means the Department of Health. 
108         (c) “Public safety telecommunication training program” 
109  means a 911 emergency public safety telecommunications training 
110  program that the department determines to be equivalent to the 
111  most recent public safety telecommunication training program 
112  curriculum framework developed by the Department of Education 
113  and consists of not less than 232 hours. 
114         (2) PERSONNEL; STANDARDS AND CERTIFICATION.— 
115         (a) Effective October 1, 2011, any person employed as a 911 
116  public safety telecommunicator at a public safety answering 
117  point, as defined s. 365.172(3)(a), must be certified by the 
118  department. 
119         (b) A public safety agency, as defined s. 365.171(3)(d), 
120  may employ a 911 public safety telecommunicator trainee for a 
121  period not to exceed 12 months, provided the trainee is under 
122  the direct supervision of a certified 911 public safety 
123  telecommunicator, as determined by rule of the department, and 
124  is enrolled in a public safety telecommunication training 
125  program. 
126         (c)(a) An applicant for certification or recertification 
127  Any person who desires to be certified or recertified as a 911 
128  public safety telecommunicator must emergency dispatcher may 
129  apply to the department under oath on forms provided by the 
130  department. The department shall establish by rule educational 
131  and training criteria for the certification and recertification 
132  of 911 public safety telecommunicators emergency dispatchers. 
133         (d)(b) The department shall determine whether the applicant 
134  meets the requirements specified in this section and in rules of 
135  the department and shall issue a certificate to any person who 
136  meets such requirements. Such requirements must include, but 
137  need not be limited to, the following: 
138         1. Completion of an appropriate 911 public safety 
139  telecommunication emergency dispatcher training program that is 
140  equivalent to the most recently approved emergency dispatcher 
141  course of the Department of Education and consists of not less 
142  than 208 hours; 
143         2. Completion and documentation of at least 2 years of 
144  supervised full-time employment as a 911 emergency dispatcher 
145  since January 1, 2002; 
146         2.3. Certification under oath that the applicant is not 
147  addicted to alcohol or any controlled substance; 
148         3.4. Certification under oath that the applicant is free 
149  from any physical or mental defect or disease that might impair 
150  the applicant’s ability to perform his or her duties; 
151         4.5. Submission of the application fee prescribed in 
152  subsection (3); and 
153         5.6. Submission of a completed application to the 
154  department which indicates compliance with subparagraphs 1., 2., 
155  and 3.;, and 4. 
156         6. Effective October 1, 2011, passage of an examination 
157  administered by the department that measures the applicant’s 
158  competency and proficiency in the subject material of the public 
159  safety telecommunication training program. 
160         (e)(c) The department shall establish by rule a procedure 
161  that requires 20 hours of training for the biennial renewal 
162  certification of 911 public safety telecommunicators emergency 
163  dispatchers. 
164         (f)(d) A Each 911 public safety telecommunicator emergency 
165  dispatcher certificate expires automatically if not renewed at 
166  the end of the 2-year period and may be renewed if the holder 
167  meets the qualifications for renewal as established by the 
168  department. A certificate that is not renewed at the end of the 
169  2-year period automatically reverts to an inactive status for a 
170  period that may not exceed 180 days. Such certificate may be 
171  reactivated and renewed within the 180-day period if the 
172  certificateholder meets all other qualifications for renewal and 
173  pays a $50 late fee. Reactivation shall be in a manner and on 
174  forms prescribed by department rule. 
175         (g)(e) The department may suspend or revoke a certificate 
176  at any time if it determines that the certificateholder does not 
177  meet the applicable qualifications. 
178         (h)(f) A certificateholder may request that his or her 911 
179  public safety telecommunicator emergency dispatcher certificate 
180  be placed on inactive status by applying to the department 
181  before his or her current certification expires and paying a fee 
182  set by the department, which may not exceed $75 $100. 
183         1. A certificateholder whose certificate has been on 
184  inactive status for 1 year or less may renew his or her 
185  certificate pursuant to the rules adopted by the department and 
186  upon payment of a renewal fee set by the department, which may 
187  not exceed $75 $100. 
188         2. A certificateholder whose certificate has been on 
189  inactive status for more than 1 year may renew his or her 
190  certificate pursuant to rules adopted by the department. 
191         3. A certificate that has been inactive for more than 6 
192  years automatically expires and may not be renewed. 
193         (i)(g) The department shall establish by rule a procedure 
194  for the initial certification of 911 public safety 
195  telecommunicators emergency dispatchers as defined in this 
196  section who have documentation of at least 5 years of supervised 
197  full-time employment as a 911 public safety telecommunicator or 
198  an emergency dispatcher since January 1, 2002. The provisions of 
199  this paragraph expire October 1, 2011. 
200         (j) The department shall establish by rule a procedure for 
201  the approval of public safety telecommunication training 
202  programs required by this section. 
203         (3) FEES.— 
204         (a) The initial application fee for application for the 911 
205  public safety telecommunicator emergency dispatcher original 
206  certificate is $75. 
207         (b) The examination fee for the 911 public safety 
208  telecommunicator set by the department, which may not exceed 
209  $75. 
210         (c)(b) The application fee for the 911 public safety 
211  telecommunicator emergency dispatcher biennial renewal 
212  certificate set by the department, which may not exceed $75 is 
213  $100. 
214         (d) The application fee for department approval of a public 
215  safety telecommunication training program set by the department, 
216  which may not exceed $100. 
217         (e)(c) Fees collected under this section shall be deposited 
218  into the Emergency Medical Services Trust Fund and used solely 
219  for salaries and expenses of the department incurred in 
220  administering this section. 
221         (f)(d) If a certificate issued under this section is lost 
222  or destroyed, the person to whom the certificate was issued may, 
223  upon payment of a fee set by the department, which may not 
224  exceed $25, obtain a duplicate or substitute certificate. 
225         (g)(e) Upon surrender of the original 911 public safety 
226  telecommunicator or emergency dispatcher certificate and receipt 
227  of a replacement fee set by the department, which may not exceed 
228  $25, the department shall issue a replacement certificate to 
229  make a change in name. 
230         (4) STATE-OF-EMERGENCY WAIVER.—The provisions of this 
231  section may be temporarily waived by the department in a 
232  geographic area of the state where a state of emergency has been 
233  declared by the Governor pursuant to s. 252.36. 
234         Section 4. This act shall take effect July 1, 2010.