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Senate panel advances bill to help counties adopt Next Generation 911 system
Summary
The Senate Public Safety Committee voted unanimously to give House Bill 423 a “do pass” recommendation after testimony that the measure would let counties opt into a statewide Next Generation 911 network and add technical expertise to the Georgia Emergency Communications Authority.
The Georgia Senate Public Safety Committee voted unanimously to give House Bill 423 a “do pass” recommendation after lawmakers heard that the measure would allow counties to opt into a statewide Next Generation 911 system and add technical expertise to the Georgia Emergency Communications Authority.
Representative James Wade, the bill’s sponsor, told the committee the bill is an agency bill for GEMA Homeland Security and partner organizations including the Georgia Emergency Communications Authority (GECA). He said the bill would permit counties that choose to opt in to upgrade their 911 centers to a Next Generation standard and would not mandate statewide adoption.
“A lot of the States that are contiguous to us have already been advancing this technology,” Wade said. “This would allow for the opportunity for any person calling from their cell phone…to know exactly where you were when you sent that, and they can continue to keep you connected so that you can receive the services that you’re in need of in that moment of time.”
Alicia Rucker Wright, deputy executive director for the Georgia Emergency Communications Authority with GEMA Homeland Security, told the committee the state has 156 911 centers and that a voluntary January survey produced responses from 143 centers; she reported that roughly 83% of respondents indicated interest in joining a statewide solution. Wright said some counties that have implemented local solutions also expressed interest in migrating to a statewide option once their contracts end.
Wright described the upgrade as replacing legacy copper-based connections with Internet-based voice and data delivery for 911 calls. “What we’re doing in our Next Generation 911 upgrade is we’re basically building the Internet specifically for 911 calls,” she said. Committee members pressed on questions of cost, interoperability and incentives for slower adopters. Senator Mike Williams noted a $5,750,000 allocation in the supplemental budget for initial work on the project; Wright said a fee-study will assess long-term sustainability and that cost estimates provided to the committee are population-based.
Lawmakers and witnesses discussed redundancy and mutual-aid benefits. Representative Wade and others said Next Gen 911 would make it easier for centers to roll over calls to sister centers during mass events or equipment failures, and could support richer data like text, photos and video. Committee members also discussed consolidation of 911 centers as a potential efficiency measure.
Dante Handel of the Association County Commissioners of Georgia (ACCG) told the committee ACCG supports the bill. Newly introduced GEMA Director Lamb also addressed the committee and expressed support for continued collaboration.
Senator Robertson moved a “do pass” recommendation; Senator Williams seconded. The committee voiced its approval and the motion carried unanimously; the committee recorded no roll-call vote in the transcript.
The bill would expand GECA’s responsibilities to include procuring and overseeing Next Generation 911 and add board representation for information technology, cybersecurity and geographic information systems (GIS). Committee discussion indicated the proposal includes an expanded GECA board membership to provide that technical oversight.
The committee chair closed by saying the bill will move forward for further consideration.
