HB 4156 Text

H. B. 4156

(By Delegates Love, Facemyer, Fantasia, Heck,
Higgins, Stewart and Walters)
[Introduced January 26, 1994; referred to the
Committee on Political Subdivisions.]

A BILL to amend and reenact section five, article six, chapter twenty-four of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to local emergency telephone systems; requiring the successful completion of a nationally recognized forty-hour training course for dispatchers; and requiring each affected county or municipality to appoint an enhanced emergency telephone system advisory committee to monitor the operation of the system.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:

That section five, article six, chapter twenty-four of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:

ARTICLE 6. LOCAL EMERGENCY TELEPHONE SYSTEM.

§ 24 - 6 - 5. Enhanced emergency telephone system requirements.

(a) An enhanced emergency telephone system, at a minimum, shall provide that:

(1) All the territory in the county, including every municipal corporation in the county, which is served by telephone company central office equipment that will permit such a system to be established shall be included in the system;
(2) Every emergency service provider that provides emergency service within the territory of a county participate in the system;
(3) Each county answering point be operated constantly;
(4) Each emergency service provider participating in the system maintain a telephone number in addition to the one provided for in the system; and
(5) If the county answering point personnel reasonably determine that a call is not an emergency the personnel provide the caller with the number of the appropriate emergency service provider.
(b) To the extent possible, enhanced emergency telephone systems shall be centralized.
(c) In developing an enhanced emergency telephone system, the county commission or the department of public safety shall seek the advice of both the telephone companies providing local exchange service within the county and the local emergency providers.
(d) As a condition of continued employment, persons employed to dispatch emergency calls shall successfully complete a forty-hour nationally recognized training course for dispatchers within six months of the date of their employment; except that persons employed to dispatch emergency calls prior to the effective date of this subsection, as a condition of continuing employment, shall successfully complete such a course not later than the first day of December, one thousand nine hundred ninety-four.
(e) Each county or municipality shall appoint for each answering point an enhanced emergency telephone system advisory board to monitor the operation of the system. The board shall be appointed by the county or municipality, and shall include at least one member from affected fire service providers, law enforcement providers, state police detachment providers, emergency medical providers and emergency services providers participating in the system and at least one member from the county or municipality. The board may make recommendations to the county or municipality concerning the operation of the system.

NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to require the successful completion of a nationally recognized training course for West Virginia's E-911 dispatchers and to mandate the creation of advisory boards for each county or municipal E-911 system.

Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.

This bill is recommended by the Joint Standing Committee on Government Organization for passage during the 1994 Regular Session.

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