HB414 Summary

• Authorizes the statewide 911 Board to establish a certification program for public safety telecommunicators employed at primary PSAPs, including minimum core competency topics, training hours, and written examination requirements.

• Requires 911 operators at PSAPs to remain on emergency calls until the caller is connected with the appropriate emergency service provider, regardless of the response method selected by the district.

• Mandates that each communications district select one or more reasonable alternative methods to respond to emergency calls in case the primary method fails or becomes temporarily unavailable.

• Establishes that new public safety telecommunicators must be certified by the 911 Board within 180 days of hire, while existing employees as of June 30, 2022 are grandfathered from certification requirements.

• Makes conforming changes to definitions including renaming "public safety agency" to "emergency service provider" and adds new definitions for "first responder" and "public safety telecommunicator."