SB 46 – AS AMENDED BY THE SENATE
02/19/2015 0321s
2015 SESSION
05/10
SENATE BILL 46
AN ACT relative to public safety radio interoperability.
SPONSORS: Sen. D'Allesandro, Dist 20; Sen. Stiles, Dist 24
COMMITTEE: Executive Departments and Administration
This bill requires the advisory council on emergency preparedness and security to oversee statewide radio communications interoperability efforts. The bill establishes a statewide interoperability executive committee, comprised of an executive management group and various working groups, charged with development of a strategic statewide interoperable communications plan.
The bill is a request of the department of safety.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
15-0876
02/19/2015 0321s
05/10
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Fifteen
AN ACT relative to public safety radio interoperability.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 Duties of the Commissioner of the Department of Safety; Reference Change. Amend RSA 21-P:4, XV to read as follows:
XV. Adopt comprehensive and uniform standards, practices, procedures, instructions, and funding processes relative to statewide [telecommunications] telephony services applicable to all state agencies. The comprehensive and uniform requirements shall be in the form of a manual and shall be subject to the approval of the governor and council, but shall not be subject to the rulemaking requirements of RSA 541-A.
2 Administrative Procedure Act; Exemptions; Reference Change. Amend RSA 541-A:21, I(gg) to read as follows:
(gg) RSA 21-P:4, XV, relative to the [telecommunications] telephony services manual developed by the department of safety.
3 Advisory Council on Emergency Preparedness and Security. Amend RSA 21-P:48, II to read as follows:
II.(a) The council shall advise the governor on issues involving the state’s ability to respond to natural and human-caused disasters, and the preparation and maintenance of a state disaster plan in conformance with any federal regulation or law.
(b) The director of homeland security and emergency management shall seek the advice of the council in matters pertaining to any of the state’s emergency plans, including the allocation of state and federal resources to meet the objectives of such plan.
(c) The council shall serve the functions of the state emergency response commission (SERC) and the Centers for Disease Control’s state public health emergency preparedness committee, and may form subcommittees as necessary to perform these functions.
(d) The council or an appropriate subcommittee of the council shall review state and federal legislative proposals and regulations, problems with hazardous material transportation, emergency response action team plans, and training and instructional materials on the transportation of hazardous materials, and make recommendations as necessary regarding the efficacy of controls relative to such transportation and the best means for applying such controls without duplication of responsibility or regulation.
(e) The council shall make available upon request through the department of safety current regulations and reference materials relative to hazardous materials and address any regulations or ordinances that appear to be in conflict.
(f) The council shall oversee statewide radio communications interoperability efforts through the statewide interoperability executive committee, established in paragraph IV, and approve the strategic statewide interoperable communications plan developed by the committee under paragraph VII.
(g) The council shall periodically and otherwise as necessary report to the governor, the senate president, and the speaker of the house of representatives on any recommendations of the council that pertain to the state’s preparedness and ability to respond to natural and human-caused disasters and acts of terrorism.
(h) The commissioner of safety or the commissioner’s designee shall serve as the chairperson of the council.
4 New Paragraphs; Statewide Interoperability Executive Committee. Amend RSA 21-P:48 by inserting after paragraph III the following new paragraphs:
IV. There is established within the department of safety a radio interoperability governance group known as the statewide interoperability executive committee (SIEC). The SIEC shall report to the council and shall be comprised of the following members:
(a) The commissioner of the department of safety, or designee, who shall serve as chairperson of the committee.
(b) The statewide interoperability coordinator, who shall serve as an ex-officio member of the committee.
(c) The director of the division of homeland security and emergency management, or designee.
(d) Two representatives of the New Hampshire Association of Chiefs of Police, one of whom serves as chief of police for a city and one of whom serves as chief of police for a town.
(e) Two representatives of the New Hampshire Association of Fire Chiefs, one of whom serves as fire chief for a city and one of whom serves as fire chief for a town.
(f) A representative of a charitable organization, appointed by the commissioner.
(g) One member of the house of representatives, appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives.
(h) One member of the senate, appointed by the senate president.
(i) An employee of the department of safety, responsible for radio communications within the department, appointed by the commissioner.
(j) Two representatives of the New Hampshire Sheriffs Association, appointed by the association.
(k) The state fire marshal, or designee.
(l) A representative of the Local Government Center, appointed by the center.
(m) A representative of the New Hampshire Hospital Association, appointed by the association.
(n) A local emergency medical services provider, appointed by the commissioner.
(o) A local public health official, appointed by the commissioner.
(p) A local public works official, appointed by the commissioner.
(q) A representative of the New Hampshire Emergency Dispatchers Association, appointed by the association.
(r) Two representatives of major public safety dispatch centers, appointed by the commissioner.
(s) The commissioner of the department of administrative services, or designee.
(t) The executive director of fish and game, or designee.
(u) The commissioner of transportation, or designee.
(v) The commissioner of resources and economic development, or designee.
(w) The commissioner of health and human services, or designee.
(x) The director of emergency services and communications, or designee.
(y) A representative of the university system of New Hampshire, appointed by the chancellor of the university system.
(z) The adjutant general, or designee.
(aa) Not more than 4 representatives of private sector businesses, appointed by the commissioner.
V. Public members of the committee shall serve 3-year terms. Representatives of state agencies and legislative members of the committee shall serve terms coterminous with their term in office. If in the course of a member’s term, the member becomes ineligible because of a change of occupation or is no longer a member of the group that he or she represented, he or she shall continue to serve until a replacement is qualified and designated. Voting members of the committee shall elect by majority vote a vice-chairperson and a secretary, each of whom shall serve a term of 2 years. A voting member, or the member’s designee, may submit a single alternate member, who may serve as a voting member in the absence of the voting member or designee by submitting the name and position in writing to the chair prior to the alternate making any vote. A quorum shall consist of 12 voting members of the committee.
VI. The SIEC shall include an executive management group and 3 working groups.
(a) The executive management group shall be responsible for aligning overarching interoperability strategies and plans, and maintaining fiduciary and fiscal compliance. The executive management group shall be comprised of 18 members, including the 14 designees from state, county, and local government entities, a chairperson designated by the commissioner, and the chairpersons of the 3 working groups established in subparagraph (b).
(b) The working groups shall be comprised of voting members of the SIEC selected by the commissioner and shall consist of a radio frequency communications working group, a data communications working group, and an operations working group.
(c) The chairperson of each working group shall serve on the executive management group of the SIEC representing the interest of their group.
(d) The SIEC and the working groups may invite subject matter experts to provide information and testimony relevant to the committee or group.
VII. The SIEC shall oversee statewide radio communications interoperability efforts and shall develop, with the approval of the council, a strategic statewide interoperable communications plan and any amendments thereto. The SIEC shall:
(a) Utilize the most contemporaneous statewide communications interoperability plan (SCIP), the National Emergency Communications Plan, and the SCIP action plan as a framework to better understand the current baselines of communications interoperability and to determine how to best implement each step toward interoperability in the state, with neighboring states, and with federal partners.
(b) Direct the working groups established in paragraph VI to identify and recommend technologies, operating procedures, network consolidation, and other resources that will enhance communications interoperability in New Hampshire.
(c) Create a statewide communications interoperability strategy and spending plan; attempt to bridge regional plans with the statewide strategy; and oversee implementation of the statewide communications interoperability plan and the national emergency communications plan.
(d) Recommend best practices, policies, procedures, and protocols for communications personnel, including dispatchers and dispatch center supervisors as well as technical communications support staff.
(e) Establish training baselines and recommend training for key communications personnel, and help to ensure that training opportunities supporting communications interoperability are available to all public safety first responders and public safety dispatchers.
5 Effective Date. This act shall take effect upon its passage.