The National 911 Program and the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) released a summary of 2020 key enacted legislation.
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Since 2012, the 911 Legislation Tracking Database has served as a resource for states looking to improve their emergency communications operations or gather insight into neighboring legislative efforts. It allows states to easily compare recently enacted laws involving 9-1-1 as well as modifications to existing laws.
A few legislative highlights from 2020 include:
• Four states – California, Connecticut, New Jersey and Washington – enacted legislation establishing or enhancing penalties for false 9-1-1 calls, in particular, when the purpose of the call was harassing another person because of that person's characteristics, including their race, gender, nationality, religion, disability or sexual orientation.
• Five states – Alabama, Colorado, Indiana, Tennessee and West Virginia – established or increased statewide or local 9-1-1 fees.
• Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia enacted legislation to authorize and foster cooperation between public-safety answering points (PSAPs), ensure resilience and redundancy, and offer reliable service.
• South Dakota and Wyoming enacted legislation authorizing phone companies to provide real-time cellphone location information to PSAPs in emergent situations.
The database is easy to use and provides searchable filters to quickly find a bill. Users can search by state, topic, keyword, status, bill number, year and author. Topics include:
• 9-1-1 administration, plans, boards and commissions
• 9-1-1 fee, service fee or surcharge
• 9-1-1 funding and appropriations
• 9-1-1 privacy and confidentiality
• Enhanced 9-1-1
• Next-generation/advanced 9-1-1
• Wireless 9-1-1
Find more information on the database here.
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