Committee advances bill to create statewide campus mapping program for emergencies

At a meeting of the Education and Public Works full committee, members voted to report H.5179 favorably as amended, a bill that would create a statewide campus mapping data program within the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) to improve emergency responses at state-supported colleges, universities and technical institutions. The committee approved the measure by a roll-call vote of 17 to 0 with one member absent.

Lieutenant Colonel Alex Carney, co-founder of Critical Response Group, testified that college campuses ‘‘are like a mini city of tactical nightmares’’ with many buildings, mixed uses and overlapping jurisdictions that complicate first-responder work. Carney said the bill would require mapping data compatible with software already used by local and state public-safety agencies, and that the maps be maintained so they remain usable over time. "This is very practical, it's scalable, and it's focused on what saves lives," Carney told the committee.

Several members asked how responders would access the mapping data on scene. Representative Tipple asked whether the data would be publicly available; Carney replied, "It would not be," and said the bill protects the data as confidential. Carney described multiple delivery methods — integration with 9-1-1 center software, vehicle-mounted maps, mobile tactical apps and even printed map books for rural patrols — and said the vendor would work with each agency's existing systems.

The committee adopted an amendment requiring colleges to share their mapping information with SLED at least once every two years so the vendor can update maps. That amendment was announced adopted by a roll-call tally of 17 to 0 with one absent. A separate amendment to more explicitly invoke the state's consolidated procurement code — proposed to add procurement guardrails and prevent sole-source contracting as the vendor market grows — was debated and then tabled by a vote of 13 to 3 with two members absent.

The committee clerk called the final question on whether to report H.5179 favorably as amended; the clerk announced the bill was reported favorably as amended by a vote of 17 to 0 with one absent. Chairwoman (name not specified in the transcript) and several members praised the work and said the program would help keep students safer while also producing facilities-management benefits for campuses. The committee adjourned with no further business.

Actions at the meeting included adoption of the biennial-update amendment, tabling of the procurement-code amendment, and the committee vote to report the bill out favorably. Implementation details — including final procurement steps, contract awards, and program budget impacts — were not specified in the testimony on the record.