Bills › 88th General Assembly
Relating to communications systems of the department of public safety and the department of homeland security and emergency management and the statewide interoperable communications system board
Where it is now
- Done: IntroducedFebruary 19, 2020
- Done: SubcommitteeFebruary 19, 2020
- Stopped: House committeeDied when the General Assembly ended
- Next: Passes the House
- Next: Senate committee
- Next: Passes the Senate
- Next: To the Governor
- Next: Signed into law
Died when the session ended The 2020 session adjourned on June 14, 2020, the General Assembly’s last regular session. Bills that didn’t pass both chambers died. What’s a funnel?
What’s in it
AI summary The Department of Public Safety will give radios to its officers based on what each person needs for their job. It also requires the department to keep certain communication equipment running unless all local sheriffs agree it is no longer useful. Additionally, the state will move the group that manages communication systems to a different department and change how its members are chosen.1
Read the official explanation
COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEMS. This bill directs the department of public safety to issue portable or mobile radios to peace officers of the department of public safety according to each peace officer’s determination of the officer’s specific communication needs. The bill also directs the department to provide individual programming of portable or mobile radios according to the communication needs of each peace officer. The bill directs the department to hold or renew federal communications commission licenses for all existing law enforcement area frequencies and to maintain all communications centers and repeaters until January 1, 2025. The bill allows the department to decommission a frequency, communications center, or repeater before that date only if all sheriffs of all counties within that specific law enforcement area certify to the department in writing that the frequency, communications center, or repeater is no longer of use to law enforcement officers in those counties. STATEWIDE INTEROPERABLE COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEM BOARD. The bill transfers the statewide interoperable communications system board from the purview of the department of public safety and the department of transportation to the department of homeland security and emergency management. The bill increases the number of voting members on the board, removing some designated members of relevant organizations and adding others. The bill provides a procedure to elect representatives from each of the six homeland security planning regions, and provides election procedures for the chairperson and vice chairperson of the board. The bill eliminates several duties of the statewide interoperable communications system board.
House subcommittee
Named February 19, 2020. It hasn’t reported yet.
Three legislators hear a bill first and recommend what the committee should do; it’s the best time to weigh in. How to take part