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CS/CS/CS/SB 1418 — Emergency Communications
by Fiscal Policy Committee; Appropriations Committee on Agriculture, Environment, and General Government; Regulated Industries Committee; and Sen. Bradley
This summary is provided for information only and does not represent the opinion of any Senator, Senate Officer, or Senate Office.
Prepared by: Regulated Industries Committee (RI)
The bill (Chapter 2023-55, L.O.F.) amends Florida law to support and reflect the transition from enhanced 911 (E911) to Next Generation 911 (NG911), to revise legislative intent regarding such services, and to revise the composition, name, duties, and meeting frequency of the current E911 Board (renamed in the bill to be the Emergency Communications Board [EC Board]). Under the bill, the EC Board is given the additional responsibility of advocating and developing policy recommendations to ensure interoperability and connectivity between public safety communication systems within the state. The EC Board is also authorized, under the bill, to establish a schedule for implementing NG911 systems, public safety radio communications systems, and other public safety communications improvements. The EC Board may prioritize disbursement of revenues pursuant to this schedule to implement 911 services in the most efficient and cost-effective manner.
The bill also revises the distribution of revenue collected from a monthly fee to fund 911 services assessed on voice communications services in the state, removes county exceptions to the state’s uniform rate for this fee, and revises the expenditures that are eligible to be paid by revenue collected from this fee. The EC Board must ensure that county recipients of funds only use such funds for the purposes for which they have been provided. If the EC Board determines the funds were not used for the purposes for which they were provided, the EC Board may secure county repayment of improperly used funds. Changes, modifications, or upgrades to the emergency communications systems or services must be made in cooperation with the head of each law enforcement agency served by the primary Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) in each county.
The bill also requires the Division of Telecommunications to develop a plan by December 30, 2023, to upgrade 911 PSAPs within the state to allow the transfer of an emergency call from one local, multijurisdictional, or regional E911 system to another local, multijurisdictional, or regional E911 system in the state by December 30, 2033.
These provisions were approved by the Governor and take effect July 1, 2023, unless otherwise provided.
Vote: Senate 37-0; House 116-0