HB4150 95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB095 13951 HLH 39748 b

95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2007 and 2008
HB4150

Introduced , by Rep. Monique D. Davis

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

50 ILCS 750/15.7 new
50 ILCS 751/15

Amends the Emergency Telephone System Act and the Wireless Emergency Telephone Safety Act. Provides that all 9-1-1 dispatchers must stay on the line with callers until emergency responders arrive at the scene or until the emergency is resolved. Provides that, if the dispatcher is unable to stay on the line with the caller, the dispatcher must contact emergency personnel to ensure that they respond to the call.

A BILL FOR

AN ACT concerning local government.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 5. The Emergency Telephone System Act is amended by adding Section 15.7 as follows:

(50 ILCS 750/15.7 new)

Sec. 15.7. Dispatcher required to stay on line. In addition to any other rule or requirement imposed by the Commission, all 9-1-1 dispatchers must stay on the line with callers until emergency responders arrive at the scene or until the emergency is resolved. If the dispatcher is unable to stay on the line with the caller, the dispatcher must contact emergency personnel to ensure that they respond to the call.

Section 10. The Wireless Emergency Telephone Safety Act is amended by changing Section 15 as follows:

(50 ILCS 751/15)

(Section scheduled to be repealed on April 1, 2008)

Sec. 15. Wireless emergency 9-1-1 service. The digits "9-1-1" shall be the designated emergency telephone number within the wireless system.

(a) Standards. The Illinois Commerce Commission may set non-discriminatory, uniform technical and operational standards consistent with the rules of the Federal Communications Commission for directing calls to authorized public safety answering points. These standards shall not in any way prescribe the technology or manner a wireless carrier shall use to deliver wireless 9-1-1 or wireless E9-1-1 calls and these standards shall not exceed the requirements set by the Federal Communications Commission. However, standards for directing calls to the authorized public safety answering point shall be included. In addition to any other rule or requirement imposed by the Illinois Commerce Commission, all 9-1-1 dispatchers must stay on the line with callers until emergency responders arrive at the scene or until the emergency is resolved. If the dispatcher is unable to stay on the line with the caller, the dispatcher must contact emergency personnel to ensure that they respond to the call. The authority given to the Illinois Commerce Commission in this Section is limited to setting standards as set forth herein and does not constitute authority to regulate wireless carriers.

(b) Wireless public safety answering points. For the purpose of providing wireless 9-1-1 emergency services, an emergency telephone system board or, in the absence of an emergency telephone system board, a qualified governmental entity may declare its intention for one or more of its public safety answering points to serve as a primary wireless 9-1-1 public safety answering point for its jurisdiction by notifying the Chief Clerk of the Illinois Commerce Commission and the Director of State Police in writing within 6 months after the effective date of this Act or within 6 months after receiving its authority to operate a 9-1-1 system under the Emergency Telephone System Act, whichever is later. In addition, 2 or more emergency telephone system boards or qualified units of local government may, by virtue of an intergovernmental agreement, provide wireless 9-1-1 service. The Department of State Police shall be the primary wireless 9-1-1 public safety answering point for any jurisdiction not providing notice to the Commission and the Department of State Police. Nothing in this Act shall require the provision of wireless enhanced 9-1-1 services.

The Illinois Commerce Commission, upon a joint request from the Department of State Police and a qualified governmental entity or an emergency telephone system board, may grant authority to the emergency telephone system board or a qualified governmental entity to provide wireless 9-1-1 service in areas for which the Department of State Police has accepted wireless 9-1-1 responsibility. The Illinois Commerce Commission shall maintain a current list of all 9-1-1 systems and qualified governmental entities providing wireless 9-1-1 service under this Act.

Any emergency telephone system board or qualified governmental entity providing wireless 9-1-1 service prior to the effective date of this Act may continue to operate upon notification as previously described in this Section. An emergency telephone system board or a qualified governmental entity shall submit, with its notification, the date upon which it commenced operating.

(c) Wireless Enhanced 9-1-1 Board. The Wireless Enhanced 9-1-1 Board is created. The Board consists of 7 members appointed by the Governor with the advice and consent of the Senate. It is recommended that the Governor appoint members from the following: the Illinois Chapter of the National Emergency Numbers Association, the Illinois State Police, law enforcement agencies, the wireless telecommunications industry, an emergency telephone system board in Cook County (outside the City of Chicago), an emergency telephone system board in the Metro-east area, and an emergency telephone system board in the collar counties (Lake, McHenry, DuPage, Kane, and Will counties). Members of the Board may not receive any compensation but may, however, be reimbursed for any necessary expenditure in connection with their duties.

Except as provided in Section 45, the Wireless Enhanced 9-1-1 Board shall set the amount of the monthly wireless surcharge required to be imposed under Section 17 on all wireless subscribers in this State. Prior to the Wireless Enhanced 9-1-1 Board setting any surcharge, the Board shall publish the proposed surcharge in the Illinois Register, hold hearings on the surcharge and the requirements for an efficient wireless emergency number system, and elicit public comment. The Board shall determine the minimum cost necessary for implementation of this system and the amount of revenue produced based upon the number of wireless telephones in use. The Board shall set the surcharge at the minimum amount necessary to achieve the goals of the Act and shall, by July 1, 2000, file this information with the Governor, the Clerk of the House, and the Secretary of the Senate. The surcharge may not be more than $0.75 per month per CMRS connection.

The Wireless Enhanced 9-1-1 Board shall report to the General Assembly by July 1, 2000 on implementing wireless non-emergency services for the purpose of public safety using the digits 3-1-1. The Board shall consider the delivery of 3-1-1 services in a 6 county area, including rural Cook County (outside of the City of Chicago), and DuPage, Lake, McHenry, Will, and Kane Counties, as well as counties outside of this area by an emergency telephone system board, a qualified governmental entity, or private industry. The Board, upon completion of all its duties required under this Act, is dissolved.

(Source: P.A. 91-660, eff. 12-22-99.)