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Delegate seeks to align Baltimore County job titles with state statute for 911 personnel in HB 316
Summary
House Bill 316 would add the term "911 technician" to the statutory classification for emergency communications personnel to address a local title inconsistency in Baltimore County.
Delegate Robin Graham presented House Bill 316 to address a local inconsistency in job titles for public-safety communications personnel. Graham said Baltimore County refers to some dispatch staff as "911 technicians," while state statute and more recent changes use the term "911 specialists," and that the local title difference has led at least one constituent to report he believed staff were not receiving benefits he expected.
Graham said an early advocate, James Friedline, had collected examples but died during the outreach; the delegate said she and the bill's drafters could not yet document specific benefit disparities in Baltimore County but wanted the committee to consider clarifying statutory language.
The fiscal note and local responses suggested most jurisdictions consider technicians to fall within the current statutory definition and that the bill is likely clarifying rather than creating new costs. Joel McCrae of the Maryland State Firefighters Association testified in opposition, saying he did not find evidence Baltimore County dispatchers were losing benefits and urged local solutions. McCrae and committee members urged local governments to harmonize titles and recommended further outreach before statutory change.
The committee asked the sponsor to follow up with Baltimore County leadership; Graham said she would continue outreach and report back.
