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Minutes for HB2690 - Committee on Energy, Utilities and Telecommunications
Short Title
Abolishing the 911 coordinating council and establishing the state 911 board; abolishing the 911 operations fund, 911 state fund and 911 state grant fund outside of the state treasury and establishing the state 911 operations fund, state 911 fund and state 911 grant fund in the state treasury; and authoring counties to contract with other counties for the provision of 911 PSAP services.
Minutes Content for Tue, Feb 13, 2024
Chairperson Delperdang opened the hearing on HB2690.
Nick Myers provide an overview of the bill.(Attachment8) Mr. Myers responded to questions from the committee members.
Chair recognized proponent testimony as follows:
Representative Hoffman, (Attachment9) testified in support of the bill. Representative Hoffman explained the bill would create the 911 Board, moving the 911 Coordinating Council into a fee funded state agency by July 2025. He added the bill as written, would allow the council to begin the process of hiring and Executive Director on July 1, 2024, a new 911 Board, agency, would be formed on July 1, 2025 and then all funds would be required to be transferred to the state treasury by January 2026. Representative Hoffman explained from that point on the board would function as a fee funded agency much like other agencies we have now and the process was laid out in order to give plenty of time to fix unanticipated issues next session and give the council time to work with the budget director on budgetary issues.
Ed Klumpp, Kansas Association of Chiefs of Police, Kansas Sheriffs Association and Kansas Peace officers Association (Attachment10) testified in support of the bill. Mr. Klumpp believes the changes proposed in the bill will strengthen the work currently being done by the Council through better organization and improved personnel management.
The conferees responded to questions from the committee members.
Chair recognized opponents testimony as follows:
Joshua Michaelis, Kansas Chapter of Association of Public Safety Communications, APCO, (Attachment11) testified as an opponent on the bill. Mr. Michaelis explained the bill would abolish the 911 Coordinating Council and establish the State 911 Board, this suggests abolishing the 911 operations funds outside of the state treasury, replacing it with the state 911 operations funds within the state treasury. He added the Next Generation 911 ecosystem underscores the need for a governance structure that is flexible and adaptable, as exemplified by the current Kansas 911 Coordinating Council.
The conferee responded to questions from the committee members.
Opponent-Written only testimony as follows:
Joshua Michaelis, Rice County Emergency Communications (Attachment12)
Chair recognized neutral testimony as follows:
Kari Rinker, American Heart Association (Attachment13) testified as neutral on the bill. Ms. Rinker recommended that 911 telecommunicators that provide dispatch for emergency medical conditions be trained in telecommunicator cardiopulmonary resuscitation (T-CPR). She added people in rural areas should be entitled to the same access to a cardiac chain of survival as their urban counterparts and are deserving of the same chance at life.
Chair Delperdang asked the audience if anyone would like to speak.
Sherry Massey, GIS/Tech Specialist, works for KU support center who provided neutral testimony on the bill.
The conferee responded to questions from the committee members.
Neutral-Written only testimony as follows:
James Jamison, AT&T (Attachment14)
Patrick Fucik, T-Mobile (Attachment15)
Emily Papa, Dickinson County Emergency Communications Center (Attachment16)
Michael Koss, City of Overland Park (Attachment17)
Chairperson Delperdang asked the committee for any further questions.
Chair Delperdang closed the hearing on HB2690.
The next committee meeting is scheduled for Thursday, February 15.
Chair adjourned the meeting at 10:47am.
