Enrolled Bill Summary

            House Bill 1983 amends the Health and Safety Code to continue the Advisory Commission on State Emergency Communications until September 1, 2011, and changes the name to Commission on State Emergency Communications. The act changes the commission's composition and decreases its membership from 16 to 12 members. It establishes the commission as the state's authority on emergency communications and expands its duties to include coordinating services and providers, arranging cooperative purchases of equipment, and disseminating information on 9-1-1 services.

            The act directs the Councils of Government (COGs) to update regional plans submitted to the commission every biennium and to include two years of projected financial operating information and five years of strategic planning information. The act requires the commission to biennially prepare a state 9-1-1 strategic plan based upon information contained in the COGs' regional plans and information provided by the emergency communication districts and home-rule municipalities that operate 9-1-1 systems independent of the state systems and to submit it to the Legislative Budget Board and the governor. The act requires the commission to establish guidelines for districts and home-rule municipalities to submit information to be included in the strategic plan for statewide 9-1-1 services.

            House Bill 1983 establishes requirements for the commission's contracts with the COGs. The act requires telephone companies to remit the revenue collected from the emergency service fee directly to the commission instead of to the regional COGs. In addition, it requires telephone companies to submit collected surcharges to the commission in 30 days instead of the previous 60 days and decreases the administrative fee retained by the telephone companies from two percent to one percent. It further requires a dedicated account to be established in the state treasury for the revenue collected from the wireless service fee and the emergency service fee and specifies that the 9-1-1 fees are subject to the legislative appropriations process. The act transfers the responsibility of performing audits and collections from the commission to the comptroller.

            The act establishes that participation in a regional plan by a public agency or group of public agencies operating as an emergency communication district does not affect its authority to set its own fee under certain circumstances. It also establishes that a public agency or group of public agencies may withdraw from a regional plan and will be recognized and operate as an emergency communication district in the agency's or group's geographic jurisdiction.

            The act requires a service provider to provide to a poison control center the telephone number and address associated with the number for each call to the emergency line of the center. It establishes that the information provided is confidential and is not available for public inspection. The act establishes that the service provider is not liable for the release of information unless the act or omission constitutes gross negligence, recklessness, or intentional misconduct.

            In addition to these substantive changes, the act updates sections relating to sunset recommendations that are applied to all agencies.