SB673: Bill Text

Analysis by the Legislative Reference Bureau

Under current law, the Department of Administration, Department of Health Services, and Department of Military Affairs share responsibility for and oversight of various statewide emergency number functions. In addition, DMA must issue grants to public safety answering points, more commonly known as 911 call centers, for a variety of purposes related to advanced 911 operations, known as Next Generation 911.

This bill provides that DMA is primarily responsible for the statewide emergency number system functionality and adds to DMA's responsibilities relating to the statewide emergency number system. Under the bill, DMA must do all of the following:

1. Collect data from and distribute data to public safety answering points regarding the status and operation of the components of a statewide emergency number system.

2. Participate in activities to implement and operate interconnecting statewide emergency number systems with public safety answering points, other states, and the federal government.

3. Ensure the statewide emergency number system is compliant with any applicable legal requirements.

4. Develop, coordinate, and communicate technical and operational standards or requirements that, to the greatest extent feasible, rely on industry standards and best practices for establishing a statewide emergency number system.

5. Develop and implement a statewide plan for the implementation, operation, and maintenance of a statewide emergency number system based on recommendations from the 911 subcommittee.

6. Complete these responsibilities in a manner that is competitively and technologically neutral.

7. By November 1 of each even-numbered year, submit a report to the governor and to the legislature on the status of Next Generation 911 implementation, operation, and maintenance.

This bill also creates an additional grant program, under which DMA must issue grants to county land information offices for the purpose of preparing geographic information systems data to help enable Next Generation 911. Under the bill, the appropriate purposes and eligibility criteria for the grants must be developed by DMA policy. Grant purposes may include data preparation, data gathering, data creation, geographic information system staffing, data preparation and collection contracts, and training, if these purposes enable Next Generation 911, but may not include general overhead or costs for providing emergency services or emergency services equipment. DMA may not award more than one such grant per county per fiscal year. Under the bill, DMA must provide grants to counties for geographic information systems from the same appropriation that is currently used for providing grants to public safety answering points.

For further information see the state and local fiscal estimate, which will be printed as an appendix to this bill.

The people of the state of Wisconsin, represented in senate and assembly, do enact as follows:

SB673,1 Section 1. 20.465 (3) (qm) of the statutes, as affected by 2021 Wisconsin Act 58, is amended to read:

SB673,2,7 20.465 (3) (qm) Next Generation 911. Biennially, from the police and fire protection fund, the amounts in the schedule for the department to make and administer contracts under s. 256.35 (3s) (b) and provide grants under s. 256.35 (3s) (bm) and (br) and for the 911 subcommittee to administer its duties under s. 256.35 (3s) (d).

SB673,2 Section 2. 256.35 (1) (d) of the statutes is amended to read:

SB673,3,3 256.35 (1) (d) “Department" means the department of administration military affairs.

SB673,3 Section 3. 256.35 (1) (es) of the statutes is created to read:

SB673,3,7 256.35 (1) (es) “Originating service provider” means an entity that provides a service that may be used to generate a request for emergency assistance and that may connect to an emergency number system.

SB673,4 Section 4. 256.35 (1) (gm) of the statutes is amended to read:

SB673,3,13 256.35 (1) (gm) “Public safety answering point" means a facility to which a call on a basic or sophisticated an emergency number system is initially routed for response, and on which a public agency directly dispatches the appropriate emergency service provider, relays a message to the appropriate emergency service provider or transfers the call to the appropriate emergency services provider.

SB673,5 Section 5. 256.35 (3s) (a) 1. of the statutes is repealed.

SB673,6 Section 6 . 256.35 (3s) (bm) (title) of the statutes is amended to read:

SB673,3,17 256.35 (3s) (bm) (title) Competitive grant program for public safety answering points.

SB673,7 Section 7 . 256.35 (3s) (br) of the statutes is created to read:

SB673,3,21 256.35 (3s) (br) Competitive grant program for geographic information systems. 1. The department shall award grants to county land information offices for the purposes identified under subd. 2. using the criteria in subd. 3.

SB673,4,2 2. Grants under subd. 1. shall be issued based on the purposes recommended by the 911 subcommittee under par. (d) 4m. Grant purposes may include data preparation, data gathering, data creation, geographic information system staffing, data preparation and collection contracts, and training, if these purposes enable Next Generation 911. Grant purposes may not include general county overhead or costs for providing emergency services or emergency services equipment.

SB673,4,5 3. The department shall develop a policy setting forth eligibility criteria for grants under subd. 1. based on the recommendations of the 911 subcommittee under par. (d) 4m.

SB673,4,7 4. The department may not award more than one grant under subd. 1. per county per fiscal year.

SB673,8 Section 8 . 256.35 (3s) (d) 4m. of the statutes is created to read:

SB673,4,11 256.35 (3s) (d) 4m. Advise the department or any other state agency on awarding geographic information system grants under par. (br), including advising on appropriate grant purposes and eligibility criteria for the grants.

SB673,9 Section 9. 256.35 (4) of the statutes is renumbered 256.35 (4) (intro.) and amended to read:

SB673,4,17 256.35 (4) Departmental advisory authority duties. (intro.) The department may provide information to public agencies, public safety agencies and telecommunications utilities relating to the development and operation of emergency number systems. shall do all of the following:

SB673,10 Section 10. 256.35 (4) (a) to (g) of the statutes are created to read:

SB673,4,21 256.35 (4) (a) Collect data from and distribute data to public safety answering points and other entities authorized by the department regarding the status and operation of the components of a statewide emergency number system.

SB673,4,24 (b) Participate in activities to implement and operate interconnecting statewide emergency number systems with public safety answering points, other states, and the federal government.

SB673,5,2 (c) Ensure the statewide emergency number system is compliant with any applicable legal requirements.

SB673,5,6 (d) Develop, coordinate, and communicate technical and operational standards or requirements that, to the greatest extent feasible, rely on industry standards and best practices for establishing a statewide emergency number system, pertaining to all of the following:

SB673,5,7 1. Delivery and routing of requests for emergency assistance.

SB673,5,10 2. Procedures for the interconnection of the statewide emergency number system with originating service providers as required under 47 USC 251 and 47 USC 252 and for statewide emergency number system implementation and maintenance.

SB673,5,13 3. Establishing and implementing statewide emergency number system performance and security testing protocols, in coordination with the division of enterprise technology in the department of administration.

SB673,5,14 4. Public safety answering point basic training guidelines.

SB673,5,17 5. Interoperability across all public safety answering points with respect to telecommunications services and data systems, including geographic information systems.

SB673,5,19 6. Consolidation of public safety answering point functions when consolidation would provide improved service, increased efficiency, or cost savings.

SB673,5,22 (e) Develop and implement a statewide plan for the implementation, operation, and maintenance of a statewide emergency number system based on recommendations from the 911 subcommittee under sub. (3s) (d) 2.

SB673,5,24 (f) Complete the duties under this subsection in a manner that is competitively and technologically neutral.

SB673,6,4 (g) No later than November 1 of each even-numbered year and in consultation with the 911 subcommittee under sub. (3s) (d) 1., submit a report to the governor and to the legislature in the manner provided under s. 13.172 (2) on the status of Next Generation 911 implementation, operation, and maintenance.

SB673,6,5 (End)