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.