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House bill to move 9-1-1 rule enhancement fund to Arkansas 911 Board draws data requests, deferred for verification
Summary
Representative Lademan presented HB1156 to move an existing $3,000,000-per-year 9-1-1 rule enhancement fund from the Arkansas Division of Emergency Management to the Arkansas 911 Board; ADAM provided Smart911 and call-volume metrics but senators requested verified annualized numbers and agreed to revisit the bill Tuesday.
Representative Lademan presented House Bill 1156 to the Senate Insurance & Commerce Committee, proposing that the 9-1-1 rule enhancement fund — currently administered by the Arkansas Division of Emergency Management (ADAM) — be moved under the Arkansas 911 Board, which was created by 2019 legislation.
AJ Gary, director of ADAM, told the committee the fund is already funded at $3,000,000 per year and that the bill does not change the funding amount. "This bill has nothing to do with the funding," he said, and argued that placing the fund under the Arkansas 911 Board would create a single point of focus as the state works on Next Generation 9-1-1 upgrades.
Gary provided operational metrics he said were the most relevant recent figures: 82,101 safety profiles registered in Smart911 (about 2.7% of the state population), roughly 676,000 9-1-1 calls processed in the last 12 months, about 586,000 calls with precise caller location, and approximately 3,900 text-to-911 sessions. He framed moving administration of the fund as a way to centralize oversight while the Arkansas 911 Board evaluates NextGen and other statewide 9-1-1 issues.
Committee members raised questions about whether the figures Gary cited were annual or cumulative. Senators requested verified, annualized data and asked ADAM to email official, sourced numbers to committee members before further action. Members also questioned procurement and the emergency clause in the amendment: Gary said the underlying contract is treated as a sole source due to unique vendor capabilities and is reviewed annually; the contract renewal date was noted as June 30, and the sponsor included an emergency clause to allow continuity during transition.
Given outstanding requests for verified metrics and a desire by multiple senators to review annual trends and growth rates, the chair asked that Representative Lademan consider returning Tuesday with the bill or, if agreeable, Senator Hammer agreed to run the bill on the floor and present it for members if ADAM supplies the verified data. Committee members recorded a disclosure from Senator Larry Teague; the committee adjourned for the day.
Next steps: Committee asked ADAM to verify and circulate Smart911 and call-volume metrics (annualized and year-by-year trends) before the committee meets again; the bill may be reintroduced Tuesday for further consideration.
