Substitute Senate Bill 5555 — Public Safety Telecommunicators (Washington, 2022 Regular Session)

Summary

Substitute Senate Bill 5555 of the State of Washington, 67th Legislature, 2022 Regular Session, by the Senate State Government & Elections committee, read first time January 27, 2022. The act relates to public safety telecommunicators, amends RCW 38.52.520 and adds a new chapter to Title 38 RCW. Section 1 states that requests to 911 are managed by public safety telecommunicator professionals, and that these telecommunicators are the only public safety professionals not required to be certified and without standard initial training requirements. Section 7 provides that Sections 1 through 5 of the act constitute a new chapter in Title 38 RCW.

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Full text

     S-3935.1

                           SUBSTITUTE SENATE BILL 5555


     State of Washington         67th Legislature        2022 Regular Session

     By Senate State Government & Elections (originally         sponsored   by
     Senators Van De Wege, Hunt, Mullet, and Randall)

     READ FIRST TIME 01/27/22.




 1       AN ACT Relating to public safety telecommunicators; amending RCW
 2   38.52.520; and adding a new chapter to Title 38 RCW.


 3   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:


 4       NEW SECTION.    Sec. 1.   (1) The legislature acknowledges that a
 5   primary responsibility of government is to ensure public safety and
 6   that almost always an emergency response begins with a request to 911
 7   for assistance. Requests to 911 and subsequent emergency response
 8   communications   are   managed   by   public   safety   telecommunicator
 9   professionals. These first responders are essential workers who
10   continue public service throughout the pandemic, who are essential to
11   triage requests for emergency responses and provide lifesaving
12   instructions and guidance to those who call 911, ensuring the
13   appropriate response for the situation; law enforcement, behavioral
14   health,   fire,    and    emergency   medical.    The    public   safety
15   telecommunicator also dispatches, tracks, processes, and transmits
16   information from the public and continually communicates with
17   responders providing an additional layer of safety. The legislature
18   takes special note of the contributions made by public safety
19   telecommunicators   whose   tasks   are   arduous   and   whose  working
20   conditions may be contributing to the high and often critical
21   turnover among the principal cadre of professionals who receive and
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 1   process requests from the public for emergency response and provide
 2   emergency communications with public safety responders.
 3       (2)   The  legislature   also   recognizes   that   public safety
 4   telecommunicators are the only public safety professionals who are
 5   not required to be certified and do not have standard initial
 6   training requirements to perform their critical public safety
 7   function. Further, employers of public safety telecommunicators face
 8   challenges in attracting suitable candidates, training, and retaining
 9   of staff due to the high demand and high stress environment of this
10   critical public safety profession.
11       (3) The legislature finds and declares that:
12       (a) Public safety telecommunicators must have a formal system of
13   training, and certification and recertification standards, to ensure
14   a standardized response is given when the public seeks assistance
15   during an emergency and that standardized communications are in place
16   to support public safety responders within Washington state.
17       (b) The quality of emergency response in most cases begins with
18   the competence of public safety telecommunicators. To ensure the
19   availability and quality of trained public safety telecommunicators,
20   the legislature recognizes the need to adopt and implement
21   standardized training programs and certification and recertification
22   requirements.


23       NEW SECTION.    Sec. 2.     The definitions in this section apply
24   throughout   this   chapter   unless  the   context   clearly   requires
25   otherwise.
26       (1) "Certification board" means the voluntary public safety
27   telecommunicator certification board.
28       (2) "Public safety answering point" includes primary public
29   safety answering points that receive enhanced 911 calls directly from
30   the public and secondary public safety answering points that receive
31   enhanced 911 calls only on a transfer or relay basis from the primary
32   public safety answering point.
33       (3) "Public safety telecommunicator" means a first responder
34   working in a primary public safety answering point, regardless of
35   title, who has successfully completed the training, certification, or
36   recertification standards established in the state of Washington.
37   This includes an employee of the state, a local public agency, or an
38   independent governmental agency whose primary responsibility is to
39   receive,   process,    transmit,   or   dispatch  911    emergency   and
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 1   nonemergency calls for law enforcement, fire, emergency medical, and
 2   other public safety services by telephone, radio, or other
 3   communication devices and includes an individual who promoted from
 4   this position and supervises individuals who perform these functions.
 5       (4) "State-approved training program" means a public safety
 6   telecommunicator   certified   training   program   approved   by   the
 7   certification board to meet the requirements of a state-approved
 8   public   safety    telecommunicator   training,   certification,    and
 9   recertification   standards.   For  community   colleges,   vocational-
10   technical institutes, skill centers, and secondary schools as
11   described in chapter 28B.50 RCW, public safety telecommunicator
12   certified training programs shall be approved by the certification
13   board in cooperation with the board for community and technical
14   colleges or the superintendent of public instruction.


15       NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. The certification board is established in
16   the state enhanced 911 coordination office to create a certification
17   and training program for public safety telecommunicators throughout
18   the state.


19       NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. Duties of the certification board include:
20       (1) Adopting bylaws for the certification board;
21       (2) Adopting rules, with the advice and assistance of the
22   enhanced 911 advisory committee, to implement the provisions of this
23   chapter including, but not limited to, rules to implement a state-
24   approved training program for process, policy, and procedure;
25       (3) Reviewing and approving state-approved training programs
26   biennially. State-approved training programs should be consistent
27   with industry standards;
28       (4) Setting all public safety telecommunicator certification,
29   registration, and renewal fees, and to collect and deposit all such
30   fees in the enhanced 911 account established under RCW 38.52.540; and
31       (5) Establishing recertification requirements.


32       NEW SECTION.   Sec. 5.   The certification board shall represent
33   diverse stakeholders of the 911 system and shall consist of the
34   following volunteer members:
35       (1) The chair or vice chair of the enhanced 911 advisory
36   committee;


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 1       (2) Two public safety answering point directors or 911
 2   coordinators, one from the eastside and one from the westside of the
 3   Cascade mountains appointed by the 911 advisory committee;
 4       (3)   Two   labor   union  representatives   from   labor  unions
 5   representing public safety telecommunicators;
 6       (4) One representative appointed by the Washington association of
 7   sheriffs and police chiefs;
 8       (5) One representative appointed by the Washington state fire
 9   chiefs association;
10       (6) One representative from the Washington state association of
11   counties appointed by the Washington state association of counties;
12   and
13       (7) Two public safety telecommunicators from a public safety
14   answering point, one from the eastside and one from the westside of
15   the Cascade mountains appointed by the 911 advisory committee.


16       Sec. 6.    RCW 38.52.520 and 2010 1st sp.s. c 19 s 15 are each
17   amended to read as follows:
18       A state enhanced 911 coordination office, headed by the state
19   enhanced 911 coordinator, is established in the emergency management
20   division of the department. Duties of the office include:
21       (1)   Coordinating   and  facilitating   the  implementation  and
22   operation of enhanced 911 emergency communications systems throughout
23   the state;
24       (2) Seeking advice and assistance from, and providing staff
25   support for, the enhanced 911 advisory committee;
26       (3) Providing staff support and assistance to the certification
27   board established under section 3 of this act that includes, but may
28   not be limited to:
29       (a) Establishing forms and procedures necessary to administer
30   chapter 38.--- RCW (the new chapter created in section 7 of this
31   act);
32       (b) Issuing a public safety telecommunicator registration and
33   certification to any applicant who has met the requirements for
34   certification under chapter 38.--- RCW (the new chapter created in
35   section 7 of this act); and
36       (c) Maintaining the official record for the department of all
37   applicants and persons with registrations and certificates under
38   chapter 38.--- RCW (the new chapter created in section 7 of this
39   act).
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 1       (4) Recommending to the utilities and transportation commission
 2   by August 31st of each year the level of the state enhanced 911
 3   excise tax for the following year;
 4       (((4))) (5) Considering base needs of individual counties for
 5   specific assistance, specify rules defining the purposes for which
 6   available state enhanced 911 funding may be expended, with the advice
 7   and assistance of the enhanced 911 advisory committee; and
 8       (((5))) (6) Providing an annual update to the enhanced 911
 9   advisory committee on how much money each county has spent on:
10       (a) Efforts to modernize their existing enhanced 911 emergency
11   communications system; and
12       (b) Enhanced 911 operational costs.

13       NEW SECTION.     Sec. 7.    Sections 1   through   5   of   this   act
14   constitute a new chapter in Title 38 RCW.

                                  --- END ---




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