(1)(a) Beginning July 1, 2027,
an alerting authority shall disseminate emergency alerts in English and in a
predominant minority language if the alerting authority covers a county or city in
which at least two thousand or two and one-half percent of residents who are
eighteen years of age or older speak the predominant minority language and speak
English less than very well, as reported by the United States census bureau's
American community survey or comparable available and validated census data.
(b)An emergency alert must be sent in the timeliest manner possible when
using emergency messaging systems and emergency notification systems. An
alerting authority may disseminate emergency alerts by using preloaded resident
data and voluntary registrations. An alerting authority sh
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(1) (a) Beginning July 1, 2027,
an alerting authority shall disseminate emergency alerts in English and in a
predominant minority language if the alerting authority covers a county or city in
which at least two thousand or two and one-half percent of residents who are
eighteen years of age or older speak the predominant minority language and speak
English less than very well, as reported by the United States census bureau's
American community survey or comparable available and validated census data.
(b) An emergency alert must be sent in the timeliest manner possible when
using emergency messaging systems and emergency notification systems. An
alerting authority may disseminate emergency alerts by using preloaded resident
data and voluntary registrations. An alerting authority shall comply with 42 U.S.C.
sec. 12101 et seq., when disseminating emergency alerts.
(c) Emergency alerts must be in plain language.
(d) Emergency alerts sent in English via an emergency messaging system
must also be sent by alerting authorities in predominate minority languages that
the system supports.
(2) In addition to compliance with the requirements in subsection (1) of this
section, the state, counties, municipalities, and alerting authorities are encouraged
to use available technology to issue emergency alerts in as many languages as
possible in the same method as an English alert.
(3) (a) The state may provide assistance to counties, municipalities, and
alerting authorities in implementing this section.
(b) Each alerting authority that is required to send emergency alerts in a
predominant minority language pursuant to subsection (1) of this section is
encouraged to conduct community outreach to inform people with limited English
proficiency of the availability of language interpretation and translation options for
emergency alerts. Existing emergency notification systems installed or subscribed
to by an alerting authority must adhere to this section as the alerting application
allows and in the timeliest manner. Alerting authorities that are required to send
emergency alerts in a predominant minority language pursuant to subsection (1) of
this section may meet the requirements by any available method, including
technology, employees, or vendors.
(4) The 911 services enterprise created in section 29-11-108 may distribute
grants to municipal or county alerting authorities to implement language and
accessibility services for emergency alerts. The enterprise board of directors shall
determine the total amount of the grants and the manner of distribution of the
grants. The 911 services enterprise shall use enterprise funds to support distribution
of the grants.
(5) For purposes of this section, unless the context otherwise requires:
(a) Alerting authority means a jurisdiction with the designated authority to
alert and warn the public when there is an impending natural or human-made
disaster, threat, or dangerous or missing person.
(b) Emergency alert means critical life safety information disseminated by
an alerting authority that advises the public to prepare to take action or take action
immediately due to an imminent life threat.
(c) Emergency messaging system means emergency messages from
authorized federal, state, local, and territorial public alerting authorities that may
be sent in multiple delivery formats, via federal alerting gateways to commercial
mobile service providers or broadcasters or via state or local alerting platforms to
pre-enabled devices in a locally targeted area. The system utilizing federal alerting
gateways is a partnership among the federal emergency management agency, the
federal communications commission, and wireless providers to enhance public
safety.
(d) Emergency notification system means a communications system or
network of systems, as defined by the alerting authority, that does not utilize
federal alerting gateways and is designed to quickly alert the public to critical life
safety information through multiple communications channels including, but not
limited to, text messages, phone calls, emails, or desktop alerts.
(e) Predominant minority language means a language spoken by at least
two thousand or two and one-half percent of residents who are eighteen years of
age or older who also speak English less than very well in a city or county within an
alerting authority's jurisdiction, as reported by the American community survey
data or comparable available and validated census data.