Maryland Senate Committee Scopes NG-911 Legislation
ANNAPOLIS -- The Maryland Senate Finance Committee heard testimony Wednesday on SB-339, designed to push the state into next-generation 911. Sen. Cheryl Kagan (D) introduced the bill, which honors Carl Henn, who was struck by lightning and died when he couldn’t reach 911. Supporters of the legislation, many of them in uniform, packed a hearing room.
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“Three people died in my district when 911 failed and that has inspired my efforts,” Kagan said. Maryland is behind 22 other states in moving to NG-911, she said. Today, if you’re in your house and are hiding from an intruder, you have to talk to a 911 operator, she said. With NG-911 “you’ll be able to send a text,” she said. “You can even send a photo of a bad guy. You can send a video.”
The legislation will help in other ways, too, Kagan said. “We have to talk about and figure out how to update technology, how to prepare for cybersecurity attacks that are not hypothetical, that have already happened around the country.” Maryland also must address a staffing shortage for 911 call centers, she said.
The current $1 per phone bill 911 fee covers only 37.5 percent of an average county’s such expenses, Kagan said. Under the legislation, the fee would rise to $1.25 monthly and each phone line on a family plan would be charged the fee. The state is unique in assessing a fee per phone bill rather than per device, said the Maryland Association of Counties.
Maryland Association of Counties Associate Director Kevin Kinnally wanted to leave the committee with one thought. “I can call an Uber on the phone and the Uber will just show up,” he said. If he calls or texts 911 and can’t say where he is, “they don’t know,” he said. “They know kind of where I am. They know the vicinity. … That is a major problem. We need to fix that.”
Anne Arundel is about to make a major investment in 911 call operations, said County Executive Steuart Pittman. “This is very timely." Pittman said his father was DOD assistant secretary in charge of civil defense during the Cuban missile crisis. “I grew up understanding that the most sacred obligation of government at every level is the protection of its citizens,” he said: “That starts with 911. … I can’t imagine any opposition to this bill. I can’t imagine any bill that’s more important or timely.”
Sean Looney, Comcast vice president-state government affairs, supported the bill. “I don’t testify in favor of many bills in this committee,” especially those assessing few fees. The committee was slated to also consider small-cell legislation, looked at by the House last week (see 1902210029), but was still hearing testimony on other legislation into the evening.