HOUSE BILL REPORT
HB 1838
As Reported by House Committee On:
Criminal Justice & Corrections
Title: An act relating to school mapping.
Brief Description: Providing for a study and recommendations on school mapping.
Sponsors: Representatives Lovick (co‑prime sponsor), Lambert (co‑prime sponsor), O'Brien, Ballasiotes, Hatfield, Cooper, Dickerson, Edwards and Darneille.
Brief History:
Committee Activity:
Criminal Justice & Corrections: 2/19/01, 2/26/01 [DPS].
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Brief Summary of Substitute Bill
$Requires the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs (WASPC) to determine the feasibility and cost of doing school mapping for all K-12 schools within the state.
$Appropriates $450,000 from the general fund for the implementation of this act.
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HOUSE COMMITTEE ON CRIMINAL JUSTICE & CORRECTIONS
Majority Report: The substitute bill be substituted therefor and the substitute bill do pass. Signed by 8 members: Representatives Ballasiotes, Republican Co‑Chair; O'Brien, Democratic Co‑Chair; Ahern, Republican Vice Chair; Lovick, Democratic Vice Chair; Cairnes, Kagi, Kirby and Morell.
Staff: Yvonne Walker (786‑7841).
Background:
School mapping is a program that provides electronic pre-incident plans of a school. Each map created is a blue print of the physical structure of a school that shows the building=s floor plan and describes where every room is located within the school along with its dimensions. Mapping involves taking pictures of a school from the ground level, aerial views, and on the inside of the building.
School maps are designed to give a person as much information about the physical layout structure of a school as possible, without actually being inside the school. School maps are generally stored in an electronic centralized database such as a CD-ROM for easy accessibility. Coordinated response information can be made available to all county fire and police agencies equipped with portable computers. A single CD-ROM can hold all the schools in a single county.
Summary of Substitute Bill:
The WASPC and the Washington Association of Fire Chiefs (WAFC) must determine the practicability of doing school mapping across the state. The study must be submitted to the Legislature by January 1, 2002, and must include the feasibility and cost to do the following:
$To complete a school map for all K-12 schools within the state;
$To include all school maps on a computer disk;
$To provide all patrol cars with a mounted computer so that officers may use the computer disk to view pictures of the layout of each school, including a blueprint, aerial photographs, and photographs of each school room located in each individual school; and
$To provide for maintenance of the computer disks by the WASPC.
School mapping includes the following:
$Mapping out the physical structures of all schools;
$Taking aerial shots of each school;
$Creating a centralized database for school building layouts; and
$Providing for information sharing between the schools and emergency response teams.
An appropriation of $450,000 is appropriated from the general fund to the WASPC for the implementation of the act.
Substitute Bill Compared to Original Bill:
The WAFC must work with the WASPC in determining the feasibility and cost of doing school mapping for all K-12 schools
An appropriation of $450,000 is appropriated from the general fund to the WASPC for the implementation of the act.
Appropriation: The sum of $450,000.
Fiscal Note: Requested on February 18, 2001.
Effective Date of Substitute Bill: Ninety days after adjournment of session in which bill is passed.
Testimony For: This school mapping bill will help enhance school safety within the state as well as bring Washington into the 21st century. It will also show how planning and good communication is the critical piece to responding to an emergency situation.
Snohomish County has much of the school mapping concept done already and King County is well on its way. Since emergency services are typically autonomous agencies, the Legislature is needed to provide a bridge for that communication. This bill will help coordinate communication and school mapping throughout the rest of the state. In addition, the study of this concept in Snohomish County will help demonstrate its effectiveness and financial feasibility.
Furthermore, this proposal is critical for the first responders. For example, once a deputy is dispatched and arrives at a school, the deputy should be able to just click on a computer icon and the map of the school should be displayed on a screen. HAZMAT (hazardous material) response should also be included on the screen as well as current aerial photos, phone lists, digital images, and floor plans. Site owners should be responsible for picking up the cost of school mapping and since elementary schools are owned by the state then the state should contribute to this database.
(With concerns) This is a good bill, however any reference in the bill relating to computer disks or CD-ROM=s should be changed to electronic format. Also all the maintenance of the computer disks should be maintained by each individual county sheriff=s office instead of the WASPC. A total of $50,000 for the study and approximately $400,000 for the implementation of the school mapping process should be included in the bill.
Testimony Against: None.
Testified: (In support) Representative Lovick, co-prime sponsor and Representative Lambert, co-prime sponsor; Deputy Mike Roskin and Steve Dittoe, Snohomish County Sheriff; and Captain David Maehren, King County Sheriff=s Office.
(In support with amendments) George Walk, Pierce County.
(In support with concerns) Larry Erickson, Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs.