HB 661

1	A bill to be entitled
2	An act relating to governmental services telephone
3	systems; creating s. 365.180, F.S.; providing legislative
4	findings; defining the term "coordinated 311 nonemergency
5	and other governmental services telephone system";
6	authorizing the Department of Community Affairs to accept
7	and administer funds to provide grants for certain
8	governmental services telephone systems; authorizing
9	counties and municipalities to apply for grants; requiring
10	a county or municipality to provide matching funds;
11	providing procedures for approval of grant awards;
12	requiring approval by the Secretary of Community Affairs
13	or appropriation by the Legislature; providing for certain
14	limitations on grant funds amounts; requiring a report to
15	the Governor and the Legislature detailing expenditures;
16	authorizing the department to adopt rules; providing
17	application evaluation criteria; providing grants may be
18	awarded as appropriated or as made available from private
19	sources; providing an effective date.
20
21	WHEREAS, in 1997, the Federal Communications Commission
22	authorized the use of 311 as a telephone number for
23	"nonemergency police and other governmental services," and
24	WHEREAS, in 2001, the Legislature authorized a 311 pilot
25	project in chapter 2001-133, Laws of Florida, to improve the
26	overall efficiency of 911 telephone systems and reduce 911
27	emergency response times, and
28	WHEREAS, several counties and municipalities in Florida
29	have thus far implemented 311 telephone systems that provide a
30	single access point to nonemergency and other governmental
31	services, and
32	WHEREAS, 311 alleviates congestion on 911 circuits and
33	helps make 911 emergency systems more efficient by diverting
34	nonemergency calls that could impede emergency responses, and
35	WHEREAS, 311 has proven to be critical during hurricanes
36	and other emergency situations and disasters by diverting many
37	calls from 911 emergency systems and keeping 911 open and
38	available for truly life-threatening situations, and
39	WHEREAS, 311 provides important information not only to
40	citizens, but to government by providing data about the source
41	of and the reasons for calls, and
42	WHEREAS, 311's greatest value is its ability to coordinate
43	the efforts of municipalities, counties, and other state and
44	local jurisdictions to provide an integrated, seamless single
45	source for nonemergency and other governmental services, and
46	WHEREAS, 311 systems could provide mutual aid to
47	neighboring areas by serving as backup call centers under
48	circumstances where disaster may disable local city or county
49	communication networks, and
50	WHEREAS, 911 was established to provide "rapid direct
51	access to public safety agencies," and the Florida 211 Network
52	was established to provide "coordination for information and
53	referral for health and human services," and
54	WHEREAS, 311 serves as an effective component of unified
55	governmental services which complements but does not duplicate
56	the services provided by 911 and 211, NOW, THEREFORE,
57
58	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
59
60	Section 1.  Section 365.180, Florida Statutes, is created
61	to read:
62	365.180  Coordinated 311 nonemergency and other
63	governmental services telephone system grant program; grants for
64	operation; funding; approval; allocation.--
65	(1)  The Legislature finds that a 311 telephone system for
66	nonemergency and other governmental services may reduce the
67	volume of nonemergency calls to 911 public safety answering
68	points, particularly in times of a disaster. The Legislature
69	further finds that 311 systems improve public access to
70	government by providing seamless access to various governmental
71	entities, enhancing coordination among state and various local
72	jurisdictions, and improving service delivery.
73	(2)  As used in this section, the term "coordinated 311
74	nonemergency and other governmental services telephone system"
75	means a 311 system that is multijurisdictional in nature such
76	that it is designed to provide seamless access to nonemergency
77	and other governmental services.
78	(3)  The Department of Community Affairs may accept and
79	administer funds that are appropriated to it for providing
80	grants to counties and municipalities for the operation of a
81	coordinated 311 nonemergency and other governmental services
82	telephone system.
83	(4)  A county or municipality may apply for a grant of
84	state funds to support the implementation and operation of a
85	coordinated 311 nonemergency and other governmental services
86	telephone system.
87	(5)  A state grant awarded under this section must be
88	matched by a contribution from the county or municipality in an
89	amount equal to $1 for each $1 awarded under this section.
90	(6)  The Department of Community Affairs shall review each
91	application submitted under subsection (4) for a grant to
92	implement a coordinated 311 nonemergency and other governmental
93	services telephone system and, annually, shall submit a list of
94	all applications received and a list of the systems that are
95	recommended for the award of grants, arranged in order of
96	priority, to the secretary of the Department of Community
97	Affairs for the secretary's approval. The Department of
98	Community Affairs may allocate grants only for coordinated 311
99	nonemergency and other governmental services telephone systems
100	that are approved by the secretary or for which funds are
101	appropriated by the Legislature.
102	(7)  The annual amount of any one grant made under this
103	section may not exceed the lesser of $2.5 million or 50 percent
104	of the total annual cost of operating the coordinated 311
105	nonemergency and other governmental services telephone system.
106	The total amount of the grants awarded to a coordinated 311
107	nonemergency and other governmental services telephone system in
108	a 5-year period may not exceed $10 million.
109	(8)  Each 311 system receiving state matching funds shall
110	submit a report to the Governor, the President of the Senate,
111	and the Speaker of the House of Representatives by December 15,
112	2007, detailing how the funds appropriated for the 311 system
113	were spent.
114	(9)  The Department of Community Affairs may adopt rules
115	pursuant to ss. 120.536(1) and 120.54 prescribing the criteria
116	to be applied to applications for grants and rules providing for
117	the administration of this section. The application evaluation
118	criteria shall, at a minimum, include the following:
119	(a)  The population of the applicant county or
120	municipality.
121	(b)  Prior establishment of a 311 number by the applicant
122	county or municipality.
123	(c)  The interoperability between the proposed 311 system
124	and the existing 911 public safety answering points within the
125	applicant county or municipality.
126	(d)  The commitment of funds by the applicant county or
127	municipality beyond the minimum match contribution.
128	(e)  The long-range plan for sustainability of the proposed
129	311 system submitted by the applicant county or municipality.
130	Section 2.  Grants for the coordinated 311 nonemergency and
131	other governmental services telephone system grant program
132	within the Department of Community Affairs may be awarded to the
133	extent funds are appropriated in law or made available from
134	private sources.
135	Section 3.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2006.

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.