HB 355

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

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