Florida Senate - 2010                              CS for SB 742
       
       
       
       By the Committee on Health Regulation; and Senator Detert
       
       
       
       
       588-02213-10                                           2010742c1
    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 the department to establish a procedure for
   16         the approval of public safety telecommunication
   17         training programs; providing for temporary waiver of
   18         certification requirements in an area of the state for
   19         which the Governor has declared a state of emergency;
   20         providing a declaration of important state interest;
   21         providing an effective date.
   22  
   23  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   24  
   25         Section 1. Paragraphs (a) and (b) of subsection (9) of
   26  section 365.172, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
   27         365.172 Emergency communications number “E911.”—
   28         (9) AUTHORIZED EXPENDITURES OF E911 FEE.—
   29         (a) For purposes of this section, E911 service includes the
   30  functions of database management, call taking, dispatching,
   31  location verification, and call transfer.
   32         (b) All costs directly attributable to the establishment or
   33  provision of E911 service and contracting for E911 services are
   34  eligible for expenditure of moneys derived from imposition of
   35  the fee authorized by this section. These costs include the
   36  acquisition, implementation, and maintenance of Public Safety
   37  Answering Point (PSAP) equipment and E911 service features, as
   38  defined in the Public Service Commission’s lawfully approved 911
   39  and E911 and related tariffs or the acquisition, installation,
   40  and maintenance of other E911 equipment, including call
   41  answering equipment, call transfer equipment, ANI controllers,
   42  ALI controllers, ANI displays, ALI displays, station
   43  instruments, E911 telecommunications systems, visual call
   44  information and storage devices, recording equipment, telephone
   45  devices and other equipment for the hearing impaired used in the
   46  E911 system, PSAP backup power systems, consoles, automatic call
   47  distributors, and interfaces, including hardware and software,
   48  for computer-aided dispatch (CAD) systems, integrated CAD
   49  systems for that portion of the systems used for E911 call
   50  taking, network clocks, salary and associated expenses for E911
   51  call takers for that portion of their time spent taking and
   52  transferring E911 calls, salary and associated expenses for a
   53  county to employ a full-time equivalent E911 coordinator
   54  position and a full-time equivalent mapping or geographical data
   55  position and a staff assistant position per county for the
   56  portion of their time spent administrating the E911 system,
   57  training costs for PSAP call takers, supervisors, and managers
   58  in the proper methods and techniques used in taking and
   59  transferring E911 calls, costs to train and educate PSAP
   60  employees regarding E911 service or E911 equipment, including
   61  fees collected by the Department of Health for the certification
   62  and recertification of 911 public safety telecommunicators as
   63  required under s. 401.465, and expenses required to develop and
   64  maintain all information, including ALI and ANI databases and
   65  other information source repositories, necessary to properly
   66  inform call takers as to location address, type of emergency,
   67  and other information directly relevant to the E911 call-taking
   68  and transferring function. Moneys derived from the fee may also
   69  be used for next-generation E911 network services, next
   70  generation E911 database services, next-generation E911
   71  equipment, and wireless E911 routing systems.
   72         Section 2. Paragraphs (g) and (k) of subsection (1) of
   73  section 401.411, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
   74         401.411 Disciplinary action; penalties.—
   75         (1) The department may deny, suspend, or revoke a license,
   76  certificate, or permit or may reprimand or fine any licensee,
   77  certificateholder, or other person operating under this part for
   78  any of the following grounds:
   79         (g) Unprofessional conduct, including, but not limited to,
   80  any departure from or failure to conform to the minimal
   81  prevailing standards of acceptable practice under this part as
   82  an emergency medical technician or paramedic, including
   83  undertaking activities that the emergency medical technician, or
   84  paramedic, health care professional, or other professional is
   85  not qualified by training or experience to perform.
   86         (k) Practicing as an emergency medical technician,
   87  paramedic, or other health care professional, or other
   88  professional operating under this part without reasonable skill
   89  and without regard for the safety of the public to patients by
   90  reason of illness, drunkenness, or the use of drugs, narcotics,
   91  or chemicals or any other substance or as a result of any mental
   92  or physical condition.
   93         Section 3. Section 401.465, Florida Statutes, is amended to
   94  read:
   95         401.465 911 public safety telecommunicator emergency
   96  dispatcher certification.—
   97         (1) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section, the term:
   98         (a) “911 public safety telecommunicator emergency
   99  dispatcher” means a person employed by a state agency or local
  100  government as a public safety dispatcher or 911 operator whose
  101  duties and responsibilities include the answering, receiving,
  102  transferring, and dispatching functions related to 911 calls;
  103  dispatching law enforcement officers, fire rescue services,
  104  emergency medical services, and other public safety services to
  105  the scene of an emergency; providing real-time information from
  106  federal, state, and local crime databases; or supervising or
  107  serving as the command officer to a person or persons having
  108  such duties and responsibilities. However, the term does not
  109  include administrative support personnel, including, but not
  110  limited to, those whose primary duties and responsibilities are
  111  in accounting, purchasing, legal, and personnel.
  112         (b) “Department” means the Department of Health.
  113         (c) “Public safety telecommunication training program”
  114  means a 911 emergency public safety telecommunications training
  115  program that the department determines to be equivalent to the
  116  public safety telecommunication training program curriculum
  117  framework developed by the Department of Education and consists
  118  of not less than 232 hours.
  119         (2) PERSONNEL; STANDARDS AND CERTIFICATION.—
  120         (a) Effective October 1, 2011, any person employed as a 911
  121  public safety telecommunicator at a public safety answering
  122  point, as defined s. 365.172(3)(a), must be certified by the
  123  department.
  124         (b) A public safety agency, as defined s. 365.171(3)(d),
  125  may employ a 911 public safety telecommunicator trainee for a
  126  period not to exceed 12 months if the trainee works under the
  127  direct supervision of a certified 911 public safety
  128  telecommunicator, as determined by rule of the department, and
  129  is enrolled in a public safety telecommunication training
  130  program.
  131         (c)(a)An applicant for certification or recertification
  132  Any person who desires to be certified or recertified as a 911
  133  public safety telecommunicator must emergency dispatcher may
  134  apply to the department under oath on forms provided by the
  135  department. The department shall establish by rule educational
  136  and training criteria for the certification and recertification
  137  of 911 public safety telecommunicators emergency dispatchers.
  138         (d)(b) The department shall determine whether the applicant
  139  meets the requirements specified in this section and in rules of
  140  the department and shall issue a certificate to any person who
  141  meets such requirements. Such requirements must include, but
  142  need not be limited to, the following:
  143         1. Completion of an appropriate 911 public safety
  144  telecommunication emergency dispatcher training program that is
  145  equivalent to the most recently approved emergency dispatcher
  146  course of the Department of Education and consists of not less
  147  than 208 hours;
  148         2. Completion and documentation of at least 2 years of
  149  supervised full-time employment as a 911 emergency dispatcher
  150  since January 1, 2002;
  151         2.3. Certification under oath that the applicant is not
  152  addicted to alcohol or any controlled substance;
  153         3.4. Certification under oath that the applicant is free
  154  from any physical or mental defect or disease that might impair
  155  the applicant’s ability to perform his or her duties;
  156         4.5. Submission of the application fee prescribed in
  157  subsection (3); and
  158         5.6. Submission of a completed application to the
  159  department which indicates compliance with subparagraphs 1., 2.,
  160  and 3.;, and 4.
  161         6. Effective October 1, 2011, passage of an examination
  162  administered by the department which measures the applicant’s
  163  competency and proficiency in the subject material of the public
  164  safety telecommunication training program.
  165         (e)(c) The department shall establish by rule a procedure
  166  that requires 20 hours of training for the biennial renewal
  167  certification of 911 public safety telecommunicators emergency
  168  dispatchers.
  169         (f)(d)A Each 911 public safety telecommunicator emergency
  170  dispatcher certificate expires automatically if not renewed at
  171  the end of the 2-year period and may be renewed if the holder
  172  meets the qualifications for renewal as established by the
  173  department. A certificate that is not renewed at the end of the
  174  2-year period automatically reverts to an inactive status for a
  175  period that may not exceed 180 days. Such certificate may be
  176  reactivated and renewed within the 180-day period if the
  177  certificateholder meets all other qualifications for renewal and
  178  pays a $50 late fee. Reactivation shall be in a manner and on
  179  forms prescribed by department rule.
  180         (g)(e) The department may suspend or revoke a certificate
  181  at any time if it determines that the certificateholder does not
  182  meet the applicable qualifications.
  183         (h)(f) A certificateholder may request that his or her 911
  184  public safety telecommunicator emergency dispatcher certificate
  185  be placed on inactive status by applying to the department
  186  before his or her current certification expires and paying a fee
  187  set by the department, which may not exceed $50 $100.
  188         1. A certificateholder whose certificate has been on
  189  inactive status for 1 year or less may renew his or her
  190  certificate pursuant to the rules adopted by the department and
  191  upon payment of a renewal fee set by the department, which may
  192  not exceed $50 $100.
  193         2. A certificateholder whose certificate has been on
  194  inactive status for more than 1 year may renew his or her
  195  certificate pursuant to rules adopted by the department.
  196         3. A certificate that has been inactive for more than 6
  197  years automatically expires and may not be renewed.
  198         (i)(g) The department shall establish by rule a procedure
  199  for the initial certification of 911 public safety
  200  telecommunicators emergency dispatchers as defined in this
  201  section who have documentation of at least 5 years of supervised
  202  full-time employment as a 911 public safety telecommunicator or
  203  an emergency dispatcher since January 1, 2002. This paragraph
  204  expires October 1, 2011.
  205         (j) The department shall establish by rule a procedure for
  206  the approval of public safety telecommunication training
  207  programs required by this section.
  208         (3) FEES.—
  209         (a) The initial application fee for application for the 911
  210  public safety telecommunicator emergency dispatcher original
  211  certificate is $50 $75.
  212         (b) The examination fee for the 911 public safety
  213  telecommunicator shall be set by the department and may not
  214  exceed $75.
  215         (c)(b) The application fee for the 911 public safety
  216  telecommunicator emergency dispatcher biennial renewal
  217  certificate shall be set by the department and may not exceed
  218  $50 is $100.
  219         (d) The application fee for department approval of a public
  220  safety telecommunication training program shall be set by the
  221  department and may not exceed $50.
  222         (e)(c) Fees collected under this section shall be deposited
  223  into the Emergency Medical Services Trust Fund and used solely
  224  for salaries and expenses of the department incurred in
  225  administering this section.
  226         (f)(d) If a certificate issued under this section is lost
  227  or destroyed, the person to whom the certificate was issued may,
  228  upon payment of a fee set by the department, which may not
  229  exceed $25, obtain a duplicate or substitute certificate.
  230         (g)(e) Upon surrender of the original 911 public safety
  231  telecommunicator or emergency dispatcher certificate and receipt
  232  of a replacement fee set by the department, which may not exceed
  233  $25, the department shall issue a replacement certificate to
  234  make a change in name.
  235         (4) STATE-OF-EMERGENCY WAIVER.—The provisions of this
  236  section may be temporarily waived by the department in a
  237  geographic area of the state where a state of emergency has been
  238  declared by the Governor pursuant to s. 252.36.
  239         Section 4. The Legislature finds that this act fulfills an
  240  important state interest.
  241         Section 5. This act shall take effect July 1, 2010.