HOUSE JOINT MEMORIAL 19

49th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2009

INTRODUCED BY

Debbie A. Rodella

FOR THE INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AND

TELECOMMUNICATIONS OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE

A JOINT MEMORIAL

REQUESTING THAT THE LOCAL LEVEL E911 ADVISORY COMMITTEE AND THE STATE E911 COORDINATING COMMITTEE CREATED BY EXECUTIVE ORDER PRESENT THEIR FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS BY OCTOBER 31, 2009 TO LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEES.

     WHEREAS, enhanced 911, commonly referred to as "E911", provides a telecommunications system that automatically associates a physical address or location with the calling party's telephone number and routes a call to the closest or most appropriate public service answering point, called a "PSAP", for that address or location; and

     WHEREAS, the legislature enacted the Enhanced 911 Act "to further the public interest and protect the safety, health and welfare of the people of New Mexico by enabling the development, installation and operation of enhanced 911 emergency reporting systems to be operated under shared state and local governmental management and control"; and

     WHEREAS, the time from when someone calls 911 to when help actually arrives, the end-to-end solution involves an immense array of intertwined data; computer, radio and transmission equipment and software; public safety infrastructure; various personnel resources; and a variety of complex, technical and expensive response equipment; and

     WHEREAS, the enhanced 911 fund is limited to the costs of providing E911 services but does not include or extend to end-to-end solutions, which are funded by somewhat uncoordinated and unreliable federal, state and local funding mechanisms; and

     WHEREAS, the consolidation of some PSAPs, the lack of interoperability and an ever-expanding array of public and private technology create challenges to fund and deliver adequately effective E911 services throughout the state; and

     WHEREAS, the governor issued Executive Order 2007-005 to establish the local level E911 advisory committee to advise the state on matters that affect the operations of local PSAPs and the emergency response system within New Mexico; and

     WHEREAS, the governor issued Executive Order 2007-006 to establish the state E911 coordinating committee to coordinate efforts among state agencies to ensure an end-to-end public safety solution, radio interoperability among responders and coordinated funding; and

     WHEREAS, the local level E911 advisory committee has been working on a needs assessment and gap analysis for local governments and the state E911 coordinating committee has been focusing on the funding needs of a statewide end-to-end emergency response system; and

     WHEREAS, both the local level E911 advisory committee and the state E911 coordinating committee expect to have their findings and recommendations available by early fall 2009; and

     WHEREAS, the information technology and telecommunications oversight committee has received testimony and made recommendations over several years regarding the technological and financial needs of an E911 system;

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that the local level E911 advisory committee and the state E911 coordinating committee be requested to ensure that, in addition to the agencies and other entities with which the committees are required to work by executive order, the committees ensure broad consensus by also working with the department of finance and administration, the taxation and revenue department, the homeland security and emergency management department, the department of information technology, the New Mexico state police, the department of public safety, the public regulation commission and the department of health; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the local level E911 advisory committee and the state E911 coordinating committee review the Enhanced 911 Act, the Emergency Medical Services Act, the Homeland Security and Emergency Management Department Act, the Department of Information Technology Act, the Public Safety Telecommunicator Training Act and other relevant statutes or rules with a focus on identifying conflicts, overlaps or uncoordinated policies as well as funding considerations; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the local level E911 advisory committee and the state E911 coordinating committee jointly present their findings and recommendations to the information technology and telecommunications oversight committee or its successor committee, the legislative finance committee and the office of the governor by October 31, 2009; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be transmitted to the local level E911 advisory committee, the state E911 coordinating committee, the department of finance and administration, the taxation and revenue department, the homeland security and emergency management department, the department of information technology, the New Mexico state police, the department of public safety, the public regulation commission and the department of health.

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