HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.B. NO.

460

TWENTY-NINTH LEGISLATURE, 2017

H.D. 1

STATE OF HAWAII

 

 

 

 

 

 

A BILL FOR AN ACT

 

 

RELATING TO STATEWIDE INTEROPERABLE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMUNICATIONS.

 

 

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

 


     SECTION 1.  The legislature finds that the Oklahoma City bombing, the attacks of September 11, 2001, Hurricane Katrina in 2005, and other subsequent terrorist and natural disasters, have repeatedly exposed communication deficiencies faced by first responders.  This situation has negatively impacted the nationwide goal of establishing robust and sustainable interoperable public safety communications for emergency responders at all levels of government.

     The legislature further finds that communication deficiencies faced by first responders often result from insufficient essential public safety communications personnel, insufficient coordination and cooperation among agencies because personnel are in disparate organizations or entities, inadequate coordination in planning, insufficient policies and procedures, incompatible and outdated communications equipment, inconsistent or non-existent intra-agency or intra-entity coordination for equipment and resources that are in multiple and disparate locations, and funding limitations.

     To deal with interoperable communications issues, Congress passed Title XVIII of the Homeland Security Act of 2002, as amended, which requires the United States Department of Homeland Security, Office of Emergency Communications, to develop and update a national emergency communications plan that identifies capabilities and initiatives and sets strategic goals and national objectives to ensure that emergency responders at all levels of government and disciplines have interoperable communications.  To help states improve state and local communications interoperability, homeland security grants for communication interoperability initiatives require each state to establish a statewide communication interoperability plan that includes annual updates.

     The legislature finds that as a matter of policy, all efforts should be made to ensure that all county and state public safety agencies have interoperable communications and engage in coordinated planning, equipment purchases, and infrastructure development.  To achieve statewide interoperability, all stakeholders must be involved in the collaboration and development of shared objectives and strategies.

     The purpose of this Act is to establish a statewide interoperability executive board that shall collaborate with all levels of government to set statewide policy for statewide interoperable public safety communications.

     SECTION 2.  Chapter 128A, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new part to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:

"Part II.  Statewide public safety communications interoperability

     §128A-    Statewide interoperability executive board.  (a)  There is established within the department of defense for administrative purposes the statewide interoperability executive board, which shall be the primary steering group for public safety interoperable communications statewide.

     (b)  The members of the statewide interoperability executive board shall consist of the following members or the member's designee:

     (1)  The adjutant general, who shall serve as the chair of the board;

     (2)  The attorney general, who shall serve as the co-chair of the board;

     (3)  The deputy director of law enforcement of the department of public safety;

     (4)  The director of transportation;

     (5)  The chairperson of the board of land and natural resources;

     (6)  The director of health;

     (7)  The comptroller;

     (8)  The chief information officer, head of the office of enterprise technology services;

     (9)  The mayor of each county; provided that the designee of the mayor shall be the county managing director or the mayor's chief of staff;

    (10)  The chairperson of the Hawaii fire chiefs association;

    (11)  One chief of police or other designee selected by all chiefs of police in Hawaii;

    (12)  The chairperson of the enhanced 911 board; and

    (13)  The chairperson of the 700 MHz regional planning committee.

For purposes of this subsection, any designee shall have the authority to act on behalf of the member identified for membership.

(c)  Members of the board shall serve without compensation, but shall be reimbursed for expenses, including travel expenses, incurred in carrying out their duties relating to the board.  No member shall be made subject to chapter 84 solely because of that member's participation as a member of the board.

     §128A-    Duties of the statewide interoperability executive board.  The statewide interoperability executive board shall have the following duties:

     (1)  Develop, annually update, and monitor implementation of the statewide communications interoperability plan, which shall be designed to achieve statewide interoperable public safety communications;

     (2)  Establish, develop, and recommend policies and strategies to improve public safety communications interoperability among state and county public safety agencies and, where possible, federal agencies;

     (3)  Develop standards, plans, and policies to encourage and foster consistent design and development of public safety communications infrastructure and systems;

     (4)  Where appropriate, recommend changes and improvements in existing public safety communications infrastructure and governance as required or appropriate for implementation of interoperability plans;

     (5)  Develop recommendations for legislation to promote statewide public safety communications interoperability and governance at the state and county levels;

     (6)  Develop recommendations for development of state and county policies to promote statewide public safety communications interoperability;

     (7)  Coordinate state and county activities relating to obtaining, implementing, and using federal grants for support and coordination of public safety interoperable communications systems, resources, staffing, infrastructure, equipment, and training;

     (8)  Conduct an annual review of the interoperability plan and provide a yearly summary to the United States Department of Homeland Security, Office of Emergency Communications, or its successor, aligning the update with standards established in the National Emergency Communications Plan by the federal office;

     (9)  Coordinate statewide interoperability activities among state and county agencies, and, as appropriate, federal agencies;

    (10) Advise the governor and the legislature on implementation of the interoperability plan;

    (11) Submit a report to the legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of each regular session on the status of the interoperability plan and the activities of the board; and

    (12) Adopt rules not subject to chapter 91 necessary to carry out the board's duties and powers.

     §128A-    Statewide interoperability coordinator.  (a)  There shall be a statewide interoperability coordinator in the department of defense, office of homeland security, to serve as the central coordination point for the statewide communications interoperability plan and, through coordination and collaboration with agencies and entities in the homeland security and emergency response communities, assist in the implementation of the interoperability plan.

     (b)  The statewide interoperability coordinator shall have the following duties:

     (1)  Assist the statewide interoperability executive board in coordinating and collaborating with state and county responders and public safety communications providers in conducting and submitting annual updates to the statewide communications interoperability plan and other communications related documents;

     (2)  Ensure that the state and county interoperability plans align with and support local and national communications strategies;

     (3)  Identify funding opportunities for planned interoperability improvements and coordinate efforts to acquire funding;

     (4)  Engage stakeholders in coordinating and developing strategic interoperability plans;

     (5)  Represent the State as a member of the National Council of Statewide Interoperability Coordinators;

     (6)  Represent the State and the statewide interoperability executive board in local, regional, and national efforts to plan and implement changes required to ensure communications operability, interoperability, and continuity of communications for emergency responders in Hawaii;

     (7)  Perform an analysis of the current status of communications resources, where they exist, responsible agencies or entities, and policies and procedures currently in place and provide such information to the board for development of a state and county public safety interoperable communications strategy;

     (8)  If the statewide interoperability coordinator is not the first responder network authority state point of contact, the statewide interoperability coordinator shall coordinate with the state point of contact for all activities related to the nationwide public safety broadband network, also referred to as FirstNet;

     (9)  Review and approve homeland security grant applications, in coordination with the homeland security administrator, wherein public safety communications equipment is requested, pursuant to grant guidance; and

    (10) Perform other duties as necessary and as required by the adjutant general."

SECTION 3Chapter 128A, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by designating sections 128A-1 to 128A-5 as part I, entitled "General Provisions".

     SECTION 4.  This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2099.



 

Report Title:

Statewide Interoperable Executive Board; Public Safety Communications

 

Description:

Establishes the Statewide Interoperability Executive Board within the state Department of Defense to serve as the primary steering group for public safety interoperable communications statewide.  (HB460 HD1)

 

 

 

The summary description of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.