Committee backs amendment to require SAR notification, include tribes in Search and Rescue Act

The Senate Indian Rural Cultural Affairs Committee voted to give a do-pass recommendation, as amended, to Senate Bill 353, which adds a formal definition of a "SAR emergency," requires dispatchers to notify the state Search and Rescue (SAR) resource officer when those criteria are met, and inserts "federally recognized Indian nations, tribes, and Pueblos" into several jurisdictional references in the statute.

The amendment passed without objection and the committee later approved the bill 4-0. Committee chair Senator Pinto presided over the proceeding.

Why it matters: Sponsors and first responders told the committee the change is intended to speed deployment of specialized search-and-rescue teams, improve incident reporting to the state and governor's office, and ensure tribal jurisdictions are explicitly included in the statute's notification and training requirements.

Senator Steinborn, the bill sponsor, said the bill adds a new statutory definition for a SAR emergency to make clear when a dispatcher should escalate a report to the state and to ensure the state can dispatch technical teams. "When a dispatcher gets a search and rescue call, they recognize it as such. They call the state police, and the local jurisdiction will then get the technical support a SAR team can offer," Steinborn said.

Bob Rogers, the state SAR resource officer with the Department of Public Safety, told the committee the amendment "helps me do my job by getting the information that I do not currently receive from the other agencies." Rogers said he currently only receives incident notifications that are provided to the state police and that other local agencies do not always forward their calls in a timely way. He told the committee he coordinates roughly 938 volunteers who provide technical rescue skills and equipment, and that many volunteer teams are self-funded.

Committee members questioned whether parts of the bill merely restate practices the SAR office already carries out. Senator Solis asked if the state officer could establish standardized criteria now without a statutory mandate; Rogers and the sponsor responded that the bill makes notification and training a required, uniform process rather than optional practice. The sponsor said training and a statutory notification requirement are necessary because some dispatch centers currently do not notify the state, and delays have led to slower SAR deployment in some incidents.

The amendment inserts tribal governments into four places in the statute and adds language directing the state SAR resource officer to develop standardized criteria and provide training to local dispatchers, emergency response personnel and public safety answering points. The bill also requires that when a public-safety dispatcher receives a request for aid that meets SAR criteria, the dispatcher shall promptly notify the state SAR resource officer.

Action: Senator Maestas moved a do-pass motion as amended and Senator Sanchez seconded. The committee recorded a 4-0 vote in favor (Maestas — yes; Sanchez — yes; Solis — yes; Pinto — yes).

The bill will proceed to the next committee or the Senate calendar per legislative process rules.