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Subcommittee advances bill to create confidential campus mapping data program for public colleges
Summary
Senate Bill 5179 would require SLED, subject to funding, to contract for interoperable campus mapping data for public colleges and make that data available to institutions and public safety agencies; testimony from vendor founder Lt. Col. Alex Kearney emphasized response-time and interoperability benefits.
A legislative subcommittee advanced Senate Bill 5179, a proposal to create a school-mapping program that would provide interoperable campus mapping data to public institutions of higher education and public-safety agencies.
Miss Grinstead told the panel that, subject to funding, SLED would contract with a vendor to provide mapping data for each public higher-education institution; the data would be supplied to the institution, local law enforcement and other public-safety agencies. The bill requires institutions to review campus facilities and infrastructure at least every two years to report material changes to SLED and the mapping vendor, and the mapping information would be treated as confidential and excluded from disclosure under FOIA.
Lieutenant Colonel Alex Kearney, founder of Critical Response Group, testified in support of the bill. Kearney said college campuses can be "tactical nightmare mini-cities" for first responders, and that interoperable, vendor-agnostic maps help coordinate multi-agency responses and reduce delays. "Mapping data that's usable across agencies in that circumstance can be the difference between coordinating response, and having a delayed one," he told the committee.
Committee members asked whether procurement would follow the state's procurement code and whether private institutions could opt in. Miss Grinstead and a staff member said the intention is to run a competitive procurement; Kearney said private institutions could contract with vendors independently and that vendors commonly supply maps in multiple formats to accommodate different public-safety software.
The subcommittee adopted two related amendments clarifying the statutory definition of "institution of higher learning" and stating that SLED would be responsible for maintenance costs "subject to funding." Members then moved and approved a favorable report on 5179 as amended. The transcript does not provide a numeric roll-call vote tally.
