Bill Text: FL S0742 | 2010 | Regular Session | Comm Sub

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-Comm_Sub.html

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Florida Senate - 2010                CS for CS for CS for SB 742 
 
By the Committees on Health and Human Services Appropriations; 
Community Affairs; and Health Regulation; and Senator Detert 
603-04263-10                                           2010742c3 
1                        A bill to be entitled 
2         An act relating to public safety telecommunicators; 
3         amending s. 365.172, F.S.; including dispatching as a 
4         function of E911 service; including fees for 
5         certification and recertification collected by the 
6         Department of Health in authorized expenditures for 
7         E911 services; amending s. 401.411, F.S.; revising 
8         applicability of certain disciplinary actions and 
9         penalties; amending s. 401.465, F.S.; redefining the 
10         term “emergency dispatcher” as “public safety 
11         telecommunicator”; defining the term “public safety 
12         telecommunication training program”; providing 
13         requirements for training and certification of a 
14         public safety telecommunicator, including fees; 
15         requiring certain 911 public safety telecommunicators 
16         to pass an examination administered by the department; 
17         requiring the department to establish a procedure for 
18         the approval of public safety telecommunication 
19         training programs; providing for temporary waiver of 
20         certification requirements in an area of the state for 
21         which the Governor has declared a state of emergency; 
22         providing a declaration of important state interest; 
23         providing an effective date. 
24 
25  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 
26 
27         Section 1. Paragraphs (a) and (b) of subsection (9) of 
28  section 365.172, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 
29         365.172 Emergency communications number “E911.”— 
30         (9) AUTHORIZED EXPENDITURES OF E911 FEE.— 
31         (a) For purposes of this section, E911 service includes the 
32  functions of database management, call taking, dispatching, 
33  location verification, and call transfer. 
34         (b) All costs directly attributable to the establishment or 
35  provision of E911 service and contracting for E911 services are 
36  eligible for expenditure of moneys derived from imposition of 
37  the fee authorized by this section. These costs include the 
38  acquisition, implementation, and maintenance of Public Safety 
39  Answering Point (PSAP) equipment and E911 service features, as 
40  defined in the Public Service Commission’s lawfully approved 911 
41  and E911 and related tariffs or the acquisition, installation, 
42  and maintenance of other E911 equipment, including call 
43  answering equipment, call transfer equipment, ANI controllers, 
44  ALI controllers, ANI displays, ALI displays, station 
45  instruments, E911 telecommunications systems, visual call 
46  information and storage devices, recording equipment, telephone 
47  devices and other equipment for the hearing impaired used in the 
48  E911 system, PSAP backup power systems, consoles, automatic call 
49  distributors, and interfaces, including hardware and software, 
50  for computer-aided dispatch (CAD) systems, integrated CAD 
51  systems for that portion of the systems used for E911 call 
52  taking, network clocks, salary and associated expenses for E911 
53  call takers for that portion of their time spent taking and 
54  transferring E911 calls, salary and associated expenses for a 
55  county to employ a full-time equivalent E911 coordinator 
56  position and a full-time equivalent mapping or geographical data 
57  position and a staff assistant position per county for the 
58  portion of their time spent administrating the E911 system, 
59  training costs for PSAP call takers, supervisors, and managers 
60  in the proper methods and techniques used in taking and 
61  transferring E911 calls, costs to train and educate PSAP 
62  employees regarding E911 service or E911 equipment, including 
63  fees collected by the Department of Health for the certification 
64  and recertification of 911 public safety telecommunicators as 
65  required under s. 401.465, and expenses required to develop and 
66  maintain all information, including ALI and ANI databases and 
67  other information source repositories, necessary to properly 
68  inform call takers as to location address, type of emergency, 
69  and other information directly relevant to the E911 call-taking 
70  and transferring function. Moneys derived from the fee may also 
71  be used for next-generation E911 network services, next 
72  generation E911 database services, next-generation E911 
73  equipment, and wireless E911 routing systems. 
74         Section 2. Paragraphs (g) and (k) of subsection (1) of 
75  section 401.411, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 
76         401.411 Disciplinary action; penalties.— 
77         (1) The department may deny, suspend, or revoke a license, 
78  certificate, or permit or may reprimand or fine any licensee, 
79  certificateholder, or other person operating under this part for 
80  any of the following grounds: 
81         (g) Unprofessional conduct, including, but not limited to, 
82  any departure from or failure to conform to the minimal 
83  prevailing standards of acceptable practice under this part as 
84  an emergency medical technician or paramedic, including 
85  undertaking activities that the emergency medical technician, or 
86  paramedic, health care professional, or other professional is 
87  not qualified by training or experience to perform. 
88         (k) Practicing as an emergency medical technician, 
89  paramedic, or other health care professional, or other 
90  professional operating under this part without reasonable skill 
91  and without regard for the safety of the public to patients by 
92  reason of illness, drunkenness, or the use of drugs, narcotics, 
93  or chemicals or any other substance or as a result of any mental 
94  or physical condition. 
95         Section 3. Section 401.465, Florida Statutes, is amended to 
96  read: 
97         401.465 911 public safety telecommunicator emergency 
98  dispatcher certification.— 
99         (1) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section, the term: 
100         (a) “911 public safety telecommunicator emergency 
101  dispatcher” means a person employed by a state agency or local 
102  government as a public safety dispatcher or 911 operator whose 
103  duties and responsibilities include the answering, receiving, 
104  transferring, and dispatching functions related to 911 calls; 
105  dispatching law enforcement officers, fire rescue services, 
106  emergency medical services, and other public safety services to 
107  the scene of an emergency; providing real-time information from 
108  federal, state, and local crime databases; or supervising or 
109  serving as the command officer to a person or persons having 
110  such duties and responsibilities. However, the term does not 
111  include administrative support personnel, including, but not 
112  limited to, those whose primary duties and responsibilities are 
113  in accounting, purchasing, legal, and personnel. 
114         (b) “Department” means the Department of Health. 
115         (c) “Public safety telecommunication training program” 
116  means a 911 emergency public safety telecommunications training 
117  program that the department determines to be equivalent to the 
118  public safety telecommunication training program curriculum 
119  framework developed by the Department of Education and consists 
120  of not less than 232 hours. 
121         (2) PERSONNEL; STANDARDS AND CERTIFICATION.— 
122         (a) Effective October 1, 2012, any person employed as a 911 
123  public safety telecommunicator at a public safety answering 
124  point, as defined s. 365.172(3)(a), must be certified by the 
125  department. 
126         (b) A public safety agency, as defined s. 365.171(3)(d), 
127  may employ a 911 public safety telecommunicator trainee for a 
128  period not to exceed 12 months if the trainee works under the 
129  direct supervision of a certified 911 public safety 
130  telecommunicator, as determined by rule of the department, and 
131  is enrolled in a public safety telecommunication training 
132  program. 
133         (c)(a) An applicant for certification or recertification 
134  Any person who desires to be certified or recertified as a 911 
135  public safety telecommunicator must emergency dispatcher may 
136  apply to the department under oath on forms provided by the 
137  department. The department shall establish by rule educational 
138  and training criteria for the certification and recertification 
139  of 911 public safety telecommunicators emergency dispatchers. 
140         (d)(b) The department shall determine whether the applicant 
141  meets the requirements specified in this section and in rules of 
142  the department and shall issue a certificate to any person who 
143  meets such requirements. Such requirements must include, but 
144  need not be limited to, the following: 
145         1. Completion of an appropriate 911 public safety 
146  telecommunication emergency dispatcher training program that is 
147  equivalent to the most recently approved emergency dispatcher 
148  course of the Department of Education and consists of not less 
149  than 208 hours; 
150         2. Completion and documentation of at least 2 years of 
151  supervised full-time employment as a 911 emergency dispatcher 
152  since January 1, 2002; 
153         2.3. Certification under oath that the applicant is not 
154  addicted to alcohol or any controlled substance; 
155         3.4. Certification under oath that the applicant is free 
156  from any physical or mental defect or disease that might impair 
157  the applicant’s ability to perform his or her duties; 
158         4.5. Submission of the application fee prescribed in 
159  subsection (3); and 
160         5.6. Submission of a completed application to the 
161  department which indicates compliance with subparagraphs 1., 2., 
162  and 3.;, and 4. 
163         6. Effective October 1, 2012, passage of an examination 
164  administered by the department which measures the applicant’s 
165  competency and proficiency in the subject material of the public 
166  safety telecommunication training program. 
167         (e)(c) The department shall establish by rule a procedure 
168  that requires 20 hours of training for the biennial renewal 
169  certification of 911 public safety telecommunicators emergency 
170  dispatchers. 
171         (f)(d) A Each 911 public safety telecommunicator emergency 
172  dispatcher certificate expires automatically if not renewed at 
173  the end of the 2-year period and may be renewed if the holder 
174  meets the qualifications for renewal as established by the 
175  department. A certificate that is not renewed at the end of the 
176  2-year period automatically reverts to an inactive status for a 
177  period that may not exceed 180 days. Such certificate may be 
178  reactivated and renewed within the 180-day period if the 
179  certificateholder meets all other qualifications for renewal and 
180  pays a $50 late fee. Reactivation shall be in a manner and on 
181  forms prescribed by department rule. 
182         (g)(e) The department may suspend or revoke a certificate 
183  at any time if it determines that the certificateholder does not 
184  meet the applicable qualifications. 
185         (h)(f) A certificateholder may request that his or her 911 
186  public safety telecommunicator emergency dispatcher certificate 
187  be placed on inactive status by applying to the department 
188  before his or her current certification expires and paying a fee 
189  set by the department, which may not exceed $50 $100. 
190         1. A certificateholder whose certificate has been on 
191  inactive status for 1 year or less may renew his or her 
192  certificate pursuant to the rules adopted by the department and 
193  upon payment of a renewal fee set by the department, which may 
194  not exceed $50 $100. 
195         2. A certificateholder whose certificate has been on 
196  inactive status for more than 1 year may renew his or her 
197  certificate pursuant to rules adopted by the department. 
198         3. A certificate that has been inactive for more than 6 
199  years automatically expires and may not be renewed. 
200         (i)(g) The department shall establish by rule a procedure 
201  for the initial certification of 911 public safety 
202  telecommunicators emergency dispatchers as defined in this 
203  section who have documentation of at least 5 years of supervised 
204  full-time employment as a 911 public safety telecommunicator or 
205  an emergency dispatcher since January 1, 2002. This paragraph 
206  expires October 1, 2012. 
207         (j) If a person was employed as a 911 public safety 
208  telecommunicator before April 1, 2012, he or she must pass the 
209  examination administered by the department which measures the 
210  competency and proficiency in the subject material of the public 
211  safety telecommunication program, as defined paragraph (1)(c). 
212  Upon passage of the examination, the completion of the public 
213  safety telecommunication training program may be waived. 
214         (k) The department shall establish by rule a procedure for 
215  the approval of public safety telecommunication training 
216  programs required by this section. 
217         (3) FEES.— 
218         (a) The initial application fee for application for the 911 
219  public safety telecommunicator emergency dispatcher original 
220  certificate is $50 $75. 
221         (b) The examination fee for the 911 public safety 
222  telecommunicator shall be set by the department and may not 
223  exceed $75. 
224         (c)(b) The application fee for the 911 public safety 
225  telecommunicator emergency dispatcher biennial renewal 
226  certificate shall be set by the department and may not exceed 
227  $50 is $100. 
228         (d) The application fee for department approval of a public 
229  safety telecommunication training program shall be set by the 
230  department and may not exceed $50. 
231         (e)(c) Fees collected under this section shall be deposited 
232  into the Emergency Medical Services Trust Fund and used solely 
233  for salaries and expenses of the department incurred in 
234  administering this section. 
235         (f)(d) If a certificate issued under this section is lost 
236  or destroyed, the person to whom the certificate was issued may, 
237  upon payment of a fee set by the department, which may not 
238  exceed $25, obtain a duplicate or substitute certificate. 
239         (g)(e) Upon surrender of the original 911 public safety 
240  telecommunicator or emergency dispatcher certificate and receipt 
241  of a replacement fee set by the department, which may not exceed 
242  $25, the department shall issue a replacement certificate to 
243  make a change in name. 
244         (4) STATE-OF-EMERGENCY WAIVER.—The provisions of this 
245  section may be temporarily waived by the department in a 
246  geographic area of the state where a state of emergency has been 
247  declared by the Governor pursuant to s. 252.36. 
248         Section 4. The Legislature finds that this act fulfills an 
249  important state interest. 
250         Section 5. This act shall take effect July 1, 2010.