CS/CS/HB 355

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 certification
5	and recertification collected by the Department of Health
6	in authorized expenditures for E911 services; amending s.
7	401.411, F.S.; revising applicability of certain
8	disciplinary actions and penalties; amending s. 401.465,
9	F.S.; redefining the term "emergency dispatcher" as
10	"public safety telecommunicator"; defining the term
11	"public safety telecommunication training program";
12	providing requirements for training and certification of a
13	public safety telecommunicator, including fees; requiring
14	the department to establish a procedure for the approval
15	of public safety telecommunication training programs;
16	providing for temporary waiver of certification
17	requirements in an area of the state for which the
18	Governor has declared a state of emergency; providing a
19	declaration of important state interest; providing an
20	effective date.
21
22	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
23
24	Section 1.  Paragraphs (a) and (b) of subsection (9) of
25	section 365.172, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
26	365.172  Emergency communications number "E911."-
27	(9)  AUTHORIZED EXPENDITURES OF E911 FEE.-
28	(a)  For purposes of this section, E911 service includes
29	the functions of database management, call taking, dispatching,
30	location verification, and call transfer.
31	(b)  All costs directly attributable to the establishment
32	or provision of E911 service and contracting for E911 services
33	are eligible for expenditure of moneys derived from imposition
34	of the fee authorized by this section. These costs include the
35	acquisition, implementation, and maintenance of Public Safety
36	Answering Point (PSAP) equipment and E911 service features, as
37	defined in the Public Service Commission's lawfully approved 911
38	and E911 and related tariffs or the acquisition, installation,
39	and maintenance of other E911 equipment, including call
40	answering equipment, call transfer equipment, ANI controllers,
41	ALI controllers, ANI displays, ALI displays, station
42	instruments, E911 telecommunications systems, visual call
43	information and storage devices, recording equipment, telephone
44	devices and other equipment for the hearing impaired used in the
45	E911 system, PSAP backup power systems, consoles, automatic call
46	distributors, and interfaces, including hardware and software,
47	for computer-aided dispatch (CAD) systems, integrated CAD
48	systems for that portion of the systems used for E911 call
49	taking, network clocks, salary and associated expenses for E911
50	call takers for that portion of their time spent taking and
51	transferring E911 calls, salary and associated expenses for a
52	county to employ a full-time equivalent E911 coordinator
53	position and a full-time equivalent mapping or geographical data
54	position and a staff assistant position per county for the
55	portion of their time spent administrating the E911 system,
56	training costs for PSAP call takers, supervisors, and managers
57	in the proper methods and techniques used in taking and
58	transferring E911 calls, costs to train and educate PSAP
59	employees regarding E911 service or E911 equipment, including
60	Department of Health fees for the certification and
61	recertification of 911 public safety telecommunicators as
62	required under s. 401.465, and expenses required to develop and
63	maintain all information, including ALI and ANI databases and
64	other information source repositories, necessary to properly
65	inform call takers as to location address, type of emergency,
66	and other information directly relevant to the E911 call-taking
67	and transferring function. Moneys derived from the fee may also
68	be used for next-generation E911 network services, next-
69	generation E911 database services, next-generation E911
70	equipment, and wireless E911 routing systems.
71	Section 2.  Paragraphs (g) and (k) of subsection (1) of
72	section 401.411, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
73	401.411  Disciplinary action; penalties.-
74	(1)  The department may deny, suspend, or revoke a license,
75	certificate, or permit or may reprimand or fine any licensee,
76	certificateholder, or other person operating under this part for
77	any of the following grounds:
78	(g)  Unprofessional conduct, including, but not limited to,
79	any departure from or failure to conform to the minimal
80	prevailing standards of acceptable practice under this part as
81	an emergency medical technician or paramedic, including
82	undertaking activities that the emergency medical technician, or
83	paramedic, health care professional, or other professional is
84	not qualified by training or experience to perform.
85	(k)  Practicing as an emergency medical technician,
86	paramedic, or other health care professional, or other
87	professional operating under this part without reasonable skill
88	and without regard for the safety of the public to patients by
89	reason of illness, drunkenness, or the use of drugs, narcotics,
90	or chemicals or any other substance or as a result of any mental
91	or physical condition.
92	Section 3.  Section 401.465, Florida Statutes, is amended
93	to read:
94	401.465  911 public safety telecommunicator emergency
95	dispatcher certification.-
96	(1)  DEFINITIONS.-As used in this section, the term:
97	(a)  "911 public safety telecommunicator emergency
98	dispatcher" means a person employed by a state agency or local
99	government as a public safety dispatcher or 911 operator whose
100	duties and responsibilities include the answering, receiving,
101	transferring, and dispatching functions related to 911 calls;
102	dispatching law enforcement officers, fire rescue services,
103	emergency medical services, and other public safety services to
104	the scene of an emergency; providing real-time information from
105	federal, state, and local crime databases; or supervising or
106	serving as the command officer to a person or persons having
107	such duties and responsibilities. However, the term does not
108	include administrative support personnel, including, but not
109	limited to, those whose primary duties and responsibilities are
110	in accounting, purchasing, legal, and personnel.
111	(b)  "Department" means the Department of Health.
112	(c)  "Public safety telecommunication training program"
113	means a 911 emergency public safety telecommunications training
114	program that the department determines to be equivalent to the
115	public safety telecommunication training program curriculum
116	framework developed by the Department of Education and consists
117	of not less than 232 hours.
118	(2)  PERSONNEL; STANDARDS AND CERTIFICATION.-
119	(a)  Effective October 1, 2012, any person employed as a
120	911 public safety telecommunicator at a public safety answering
121	point, as defined s. 365.172(3)(a), must be certified by the
122	department.
123	(b)  A public safety agency, as defined s. 365.171(3)(d),
124	may employ a 911 public safety telecommunicator trainee for a
125	period not to exceed 12 months, provided the trainee works under
126	the direct supervision of a certified 911 public safety
127	telecommunicator, as determined by rule of the department, and
128	is enrolled in a public safety telecommunication training
129	program.
130	(c)(a)  An applicant for certification or recertification
131	Any person who desires to be certified or recertified as a 911
132	public safety telecommunicator must emergency dispatcher may
133	apply to the department under oath on forms provided by the
134	department. The department shall establish by rule educational
135	and training criteria for the certification and recertification
136	of 911 public safety telecommunicators emergency dispatchers.
137	(d)(b)  The department shall determine whether the
138	applicant meets the requirements specified in this section and
139	in rules of the department and shall issue a certificate to any
140	person who meets such requirements. Such requirements must
141	include, but need not be limited to, the following:
142	1.  Completion of an appropriate 911 public safety
143	telecommunication emergency dispatcher training program that is
144	equivalent to the most recently approved emergency dispatcher
145	course of the Department of Education and consists of not less
146	than 208 hours;
147	2.  Completion and documentation of at least 2 years of
148	supervised full-time employment as a 911 emergency dispatcher
149	since January 1, 2002;
150	2.3.  Certification under oath that the applicant is not
151	addicted to alcohol or any controlled substance;
152	3.4.  Certification under oath that the applicant is free
153	from any physical or mental defect or disease that might impair
154	the applicant's ability to perform his or her duties;
155	4.5.  Submission of the application fee prescribed in
156	subsection (3); and
157	5.6.  Submission of a completed application to the
158	department which indicates compliance with subparagraphs 1., 2.,
159	and 3.;, and 4.
160	6.  Effective October 1, 2012, passage of an examination
161	administered by the department that measures the applicant's
162	competency and proficiency in the subject material of the public
163	safety telecommunication training program.
164	(e)(c)  The department shall establish by rule a procedure
165	that requires 20 hours of training for the biennial renewal
166	certification of 911 public safety telecommunicators emergency
167	dispatchers.
168	(f)(d)  A Each 911 public safety telecommunicator emergency
169	dispatcher certificate expires automatically if not renewed at
170	the end of the 2-year period and may be renewed if the holder
171	meets the qualifications for renewal as established by the
172	department. A certificate that is not renewed at the end of the
173	2-year period automatically reverts to an inactive status for a
174	period that may not exceed 180 days. Such certificate may be
175	reactivated and renewed within the 180-day period if the
176	certificateholder meets all other qualifications for renewal and
177	pays a $50 late fee. Reactivation shall be in a manner and on
178	forms prescribed by department rule.
179	(g)(e)  The department may suspend or revoke a certificate
180	at any time if it determines that the certificateholder does not
181	meet the applicable qualifications.
182	(h)(f)  A certificateholder may request that his or her 911
183	public safety telecommunicator emergency dispatcher certificate
184	be placed on inactive status by applying to the department
185	before his or her current certification expires and paying a fee
186	set by the department, which may not exceed $50 $100.
187	1.  A certificateholder whose certificate has been on
188	inactive status for 1 year or less may renew his or her
189	certificate pursuant to the rules adopted by the department and
190	upon payment of a renewal fee set by the department, which may
191	not exceed $50 $100.
192	2.  A certificateholder whose certificate has been on
193	inactive status for more than 1 year may renew his or her
194	certificate pursuant to rules adopted by the department.
195	3.  A certificate that has been inactive for more than 6
196	years automatically expires and may not be renewed.
197	(i)(g)  The department shall establish by rule a procedure
198	for the initial certification of 911 public safety
199	telecommunicators emergency dispatchers as defined in this
200	section who have documentation of at least 5 years of supervised
201	full-time employment as a 911 public safety telecommunicator or
202	an emergency dispatcher since January 1, 2002. This paragraph
203	expires October 1, 2012.
204	(j)  The department shall establish by rule a procedure for
205	the approval of public safety telecommunication training
206	programs required by this section.
207	(3)  FEES.-
208	(a)  The initial application fee for application for the
209	911 public safety telecommunicator emergency dispatcher original
210	certificate is $50 $75.
211	(b)  The examination fee for the 911 public safety
212	telecommunicator set by the department, which may not exceed
213	$75.
214	(c)(b)  The application fee for the 911 public safety
215	telecommunicator emergency dispatcher biennial renewal
216	certificate set by the department, which may not exceed $50 is
217	$100.
218	(d)  The application fee for department approval of a
219	public safety telecommunication training program set by the
220	department, which may not exceed $50.
221	(e)(c)  Fees collected under this section shall be
222	deposited into the Emergency Medical Services Trust Fund and
223	used solely for salaries and expenses of the department incurred
224	in administering this section.
225	(f)(d)  If a certificate issued under this section is lost
226	or destroyed, the person to whom the certificate was issued may,
227	upon payment of a fee set by the department, which may not
228	exceed $25, obtain a duplicate or substitute certificate.
229	(g)(e)  Upon surrender of the original 911 public safety
230	telecommunicator or emergency dispatcher certificate and receipt
231	of a replacement fee set by the department, which may not exceed
232	$25, the department shall issue a replacement certificate to
233	make a change in name.
234	(4)  STATE-OF-EMERGENCY WAIVER.-The provisions of this
235	section may be temporarily waived by the department in a
236	geographic area of the state where a state of emergency has been
237	declared by the Governor pursuant to s. 252.36.
238	Section 4.  The Legislature finds that this act fulfills an
239	important state interest.
240	Section 5.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2010.

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