CERTIFICATION OF ENROLLMENT

SUBSTITUTE SENATE BILL 5555

Chapter 286, Laws of 2022

67TH LEGISLATURE

2022 REGULAR SESSION

PUBLIC SAFETY TELECOMMUNICATORS—CERTIFICATION BOARD

EFFECTIVE DATE: June 9, 2022

SUBSTITUTE SENATE BILL 5555

AS AMENDED BY THE HOUSE

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

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

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

(2) The legislature also recognizes that public safety telecommunicators are the only public safety professionals who are not required to be certified and do not have standard initial training requirements to perform their critical public safety function. Further, employers of public safety telecommunicators face challenges in attracting suitable candidates, training, and retaining of staff due to the high demand and high stress environment of this critical public safety profession.

(3) The legislature finds and declares that:

(a) Public safety telecommunicators must have a formal system of training, and certification and recertification standards, to ensure a standardized response is given when the public seeks assistance during an emergency and that standardized communications are in place to support public safety responders within Washington state.

(b) The quality of emergency response in most cases begins with the competence of public safety telecommunicators. To ensure the availability and quality of trained public safety telecommunicators, the legislature recognizes the need to adopt and implement standardized training programs and certification and recertification requirements.

(1) "Certification board" means the voluntary public safety telecommunicator certification board.

(2) "Public safety answering point" includes primary public safety answering points that receive 911 calls directly from the public and secondary public safety answering points that receive 911 calls only on a transfer or relay basis from the primary public safety answering point.

(3) "Public safety telecommunicator" means a first responder working in a primary public safety answering point, regardless of title, who has successfully completed the training, certification, or recertification standards established in the state of Washington. This includes an employee of the state, a local public agency, or an independent governmental agency whose primary responsibility is to receive, process, transmit, or dispatch 911 emergency and nonemergency calls for law enforcement, fire, emergency medical, and other public safety services by telephone, radio, or other communication devices and includes an individual who promoted from this position and supervises individuals who perform these functions.

(4) "State-approved training program" means a public safety telecommunicator certified training program approved by the certification board to meet the requirements of a state-approved public safety telecommunicator training, certification, and recertification standards. For community colleges, vocational-technical institutes, skill centers, and secondary schools as described in chapter 28B.50 RCW, public safety telecommunicator certified training programs shall be approved by the certification board in cooperation with the board for community and technical colleges or the superintendent of public instruction.

(1) Adopting bylaws for the certification board;

(2) Adopting rules, with the advice and assistance of the 911 advisory committee, to implement the provisions of this chapter including, but not limited to, rules to implement a state-approved training program for process, policy, and procedure;

(3) Reviewing and approving state-approved training programs biennially. State-approved training programs should be consistent with industry standards;

(4) Setting all public safety telecommunicator certification, registration, and renewal fees, and to collect and deposit all such fees in the 911 account established under RCW 38.52.540; and

(5) Establishing recertification requirements.

(1) The chair or vice chair of the 911 advisory committee;

(2) Two public safety answering point directors or 911 coordinators, one from the eastside and one from the westside of the Cascade mountains appointed by the 911 advisory committee;

(3) Two labor union representatives from labor unions representing public safety telecommunicators;

(4) One representative appointed by the Washington association of sheriffs and police chiefs;

(5) One representative appointed by the Washington state fire chiefs association;

(6) One representative from the Washington state association of counties appointed by the Washington state association of counties; and

(7) Two public safety telecommunicators from a public safety answering point, one from the eastside and one from the westside of the Cascade mountains appointed by the 911 advisory committee.

Sec. 6. RCW 38.52.520 and 2010 1st sp.s. c 19 s 15 are each amended to read as follows:

A state ((enhanced)) 911 coordination office, headed by the state ((enhanced)) 911 coordinator, is established in the emergency management division of the department. Duties of the office include:

(1) Coordinating and facilitating the implementation and operation of ((enhanced)) 911 emergency communications systems throughout the state;

(2) Seeking advice and assistance from, and providing staff support for, the ((enhanced)) 911 advisory committee;

(3) Providing staff support and assistance to the certification board established under section 3 of this act that includes, but may not be limited to:

(4) Recommending to the utilities and transportation commission by August 31st of each year the level of the state ((enhanced)) 911 excise tax for the following year;

(((4)))(5) Considering base needs of individual counties for specific assistance, specify rules defining the purposes for which available state ((enhanced)) 911 funding may be expended, with the advice and assistance of the ((enhanced)) 911 advisory committee; and

(((5)))(6) Providing an annual update to the ((enhanced)) 911 advisory committee on how much money each county has spent on:

(a) Efforts to modernize their existing ((enhanced)) 911 emergency communications system; and

(b) ((Enhanced)) 911 operational costs.

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