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

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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-Enrolled.html

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