Brief ⁽¹⁾

Senate Sub. for HB 2945 would establish an enhanced 911 task force to develop a strategy for funding and deploying wireless emergency service. The task force would submit a report to the House Committee on Utilities and the Senate Committee on Commerce during the first week of the 2001 Legislature with its recommendations and, if applicable, proposed legislation.

Scope of Task Force Review

The task force would make recommendations and propose legislation, if appropriate, on the following:

• �The mechanism for administering wireless 911 service, with a focus on whether it should be administered on a centralized basis;



• �The possible formation of an oversight board to address future technological, coordination, and regulatory issues related to deployment of wireless emergency telephone service;



• �The fairness and adequacy of the mechanism for funding such service;



• �The method for recovering costs incurred by public safety answering points;



• �The mechanism, if any, by wireless telecommunications service providers, in providing such service; and



• �Any other issues deemed relevant by the task force pertaining to deployment of emergency telephone service.

Task Force Membership

The task force would consist of 18 members. The Legislative Coordinating Council would appoint 12 non-legislative members: two representatives of wireless telecommunications carriers; and, in response to recommendations from umbrella associations specified in the bill, a local telephone company that is not a rural telephone company; a rural telephone company; a firefighter; a person with a communications disability; an emergency medical services representative; a representative of the police force; two county representatives; and two city representatives.

Four legislators would be appointed (two Democrats, one from each house; two Republicans; one from each house.) The Legislative Coordinating Council would designate a legislator as the chairperson of the task force.

The remaining two members would be either the agency head or designated staff of the Highway Patrol and the Kansas Corporation Commission.

Legislative staff would be responsible for providing technical support to the task force and for preparing the report and any recommended legislation.

Background

The Senate Commerce Committee's version of HB 2945 was originally a modified version of SCR 1641, which was requested by the Kansas Association of Counties. This resolution resulted from a recommendation included in the second of two reports by the Legislative Division of Post Audit on Reviewing the 911 Emergency Phone Systems in Kansas. That recommendation called for the Legislature or the Governor to study and develop comprehensive 911 legislation that would cover such things as the issues outlined in the resolution and task force representation which, to some extent, is specified in the resolution.

Proponents of the resolution included: the Legislative Services Director of the Kansas Association of Counties; the Director of Policy Development, League of Kansas Municipalities; and spokespersons for the Kansas Telecommunications Industry Association, Sprint, and Cellular One. The Intergovernmental Relations Coordinator of Johnson County; the Director of Sedgwick County Emergency Communications; and the Management Services Director of Olathe provided written testimony in support of the resolution.

The Senate Commerce Committee amended the resolution to increase the number of task force members from 15 to 16. The Committee also recommended modifications to the composition of the task force. Specifically, the Chairman of the Kansas Corporation Commission or designee and a person with a communications disability were added and the Secretary of Revenue or designee was deleted. Moreover, the Committee recommended that all non-state agency and non-legislative appointments be made by the Legislative Coordinating Council although specified umbrella organizations could recommend members to the Council. The Senate Committee of the Whole amended the bill to add the emergency medical services representative, thus making the task force 17 members.

HB 2945, as amended by the House Committee on Utilities, took a somewhat different approach to establishment of an enhanced 911 task force. The House version would establish a 13-member task force; including a member representing an emergency telephone answering service point. By contrast, the Senate's version of HB 2945 includes among its proposed 18-member task force four legislators and a member representing the Highway Patrol. The House version would authorize the Governor to appoint most of the task force members, whereas the Senate Committee's version would authorize the Legislative Coordinating Council to appoint most of the non-legislative members. The House would require the Kansas Corporation Commission to provide staff support, whereas the Senate would require legislative staff to provide technical support.

1. *Supplemental notes are prepared by the Legislative Research Department and do not express legislative intent. The supplemental note and fiscal note for this bill may be accessed on the Internet at http://www.ink.org/public/legislative/bill_search.html