New Jersey-2016-S1245-Introduced

An Act concerning emergency telecommunications and supplementing Title 52 of the Revised Statutes.

Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

1. As used in this act:

"Computer aided dispatch system" means the computer system and software utilized by public safety answering points, public safety dispatch points, and medical public safety dispatch points to dispatch a police department, fire department, or emergency medical service or other related personnel.

"Emergency call center" means a public safety answering point, public safety dispatch point, or medical public safety dispatch point.

"Master street address guide" means the computerized geographical database that consists of all street and address data within a 9-1-1 system.

"Medical public safety dispatch point" means a publicly or privately owned dispatch center that receives medical 9-1-1 calls and transfers for the purpose of dispatching advanced life support and basic life support services as defined by section 2 of P.L.1992, c.96 (C.26:2K-49).

"Public safety answering point" means the first point of reception of a 9-1-1 call.

"Public safety dispatch point" means a publicly or privately owned dispatch center which provides dispatch services for one or more public safety agencies.

"9-1-1 address data" means the geographic location from which a 9-1-1 call is made.

2. Each public safety dispatch point and medical public safety dispatch point operating in this State shall be regulated in the same manner as public safety answering points and shall meet all State requirements set forth in administrative rules and regulations pertaining to the operation of public safety dispatch points including, but not limited to, the inspection of call centers, required and recommended equipment, staffing levels, operational standards, network features, and network design.

3. a. Each emergency call center operating in this State shall be equipped with a master street address guide or computer aided dispatch system that allows the emergency call center to share 9-1-1 address data electronically.

b. Following receipt of a 9-1-1 emergency call, it shall be a standard operating procedure for the appropriate police department, fire department, or emergency medical service to be dispatched within 90 seconds from the time that an initial 9-1-1 emergency call is made, regardless of whether the call was transferred between emergency call centers.

c. It shall be standard operating procedure for each emergency call center to maintain a record of every 9-1-1 call received. The record shall include, but not be limited to, the following information:

(1) the 9-1-1 address data as defined in section 1 of P.L. , c. C (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill), which shall include the name of the municipality from which the 9-1-1 call was made;

(2) the exact time at which a police department, fire department, or emergency medical service or other related personnel was dispatched to the scene of the emergency;

(3) the exact time at which a police department, fire department, or emergency medical service or other related personnel arrived at the scene of an emergency and the length of time that emergency personnel remained at the scene of the emergency; and

(4) a summary of the disposition of each dispatched call which shall include:

(a) information as to whether a person required emergency medical transportation, or basic life support or advanced life support emergency care as defined in section 2 of P.L.1992, c.96 (C.26:2K-49);

(b) the name and address of any medical facility to which a person was transported after a police department, fire department, or emergency medical service or other related personnel arrived at the scene of the emergency; and

(c) information as to whether the 9-1-1 call was cancelled or medical treatment was refused at the scene of the emergency.

d. Following the effective date of this act, the information collected and maintained pursuant to subsection c. of this section shall be submitted for review on the first day of each month to the Director of the State Office of Emergency Management. The information shall be a government record available for public inspection and copying pursuant to the provisions of P.L.1963, c.73 (C.47:1A-1 et seq.), except that prior to allowing access to the information, the custodian thereof shall redact all personal identifying information regarding the individuals involved in the 9-1-1 call, which shall include the name and address of the person who called 9-1-1 and the person who received emergency care.

4. Pursuant to the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), the Director of Emergency Telecommunications Services in the Office of Information Technology, with the concurrence of the Director of the State Office of Emergency Management in the Division of State Police in the Department of Law and Public Safety, shall adopt regulations to effectuate the provisions of this act.

5. This act shall take effect on the first day of the fourth month following enactment, but the Office of Emergency Telecommunications Services and the State Office of Emergency Management may take any anticipatory administrative action in advance thereof as shall be necessary for the implementation of this act.

STATEMENT

This bill establishes certain equipment requirements and standard operating procedures for 9-1-1 public safety dispatch points and public safety answering points (PSAPs).

Specifically, the bill requires all publicly and privately owned public safety dispatch points operating in New Jersey to meet the same standards and procedures imposed on 9-1-1 public safety answering points. In many instances, when a 9-1-1 call is made by a member of the public, the PSAP transfers the call to a public safety dispatch point, which then dispatches the appropriate emergency service personnel to the scene of an emergency. Under the New Jersey administrative code (N.J.A.C. 17:24-1.1 et seq.), PSAPs are required to meet certain operational, equipment, and staffing standards. This bill requires publicly and privately owned public safety dispatch points, which are instrumental to facilitating effective emergency response and safety services, to also meet the standards imposed on PSAPs under the administrative code. The bill clarifies that the standards imposed by the administrative code would apply to medical dispatch centers that transmit calls to advanced life support and basic life support service personnel.

In addition, the bill imposes certain equipment and operating procedures on both public safety dispatch points and PSAPs. Under the bill, each public safety dispatch point and PSAP is required to be equipped with a master street address guide or computer aided dispatch system that allows each call center to electronically share 9-1-1 address data. The bill also requires public safety dispatch points and PSAPs to dispatch the appropriate police department, fire department, or emergency medical service within 90 seconds from the time that an initial 9-1-1 emergency call is made, regardless of whether the call was transferred between call centers.

The bill further requires public safety dispatch points and PSAPs to maintain a record of every 9-1-1 call received. The record is to include the address of the location from which the 9-1-1 call was made, the time at which emergency personnel was dispatched, and the emergency personnel's arrival time and the length of time spent at the scene of the emergency. The record also is to include information as to whether a person required emergency medical transportation and basic or advanced life support emergency care. Information as to whether the 9-1-1 call was cancelled or medical treatment was refused is also to be included in the record. The bill requires that the address of any medical facility to which a person was transported also be included in the record.

The bill requires the information in the report to be submitted for review on the first day of each month to the Director of the State Office of Emergency Management. The information collected by public safety dispatch points and PSAPs would be made available for public inspection under the open public records act (P.L.1963, c.73 (C.47:1A-1 et seq.)). However, any personal identifying information pertaining to the individuals involved in the 9-1-1 call would be redacted.