§ 1-306

(a) The Board shall coordinate the enhancement of county 9–1–1 systems.

(b) The Board’s responsibilities include:

(1) establishing planning guidelines for enhanced 9–1–1 system plans and deployment of wireless enhanced 9–1–1 service in accordance with this subtitle;

(2) establishing procedures to review and approve or disapprove county plans and to evaluate requests for variations from the planning guidelines established by the Board;

(3) establishing procedures for the request for reimbursement of the costs of enhancing a 9–1–1 system by a county or counties in which a 9–1–1 system is in operation, and procedures to review and approve or disapprove the request;

(4) transmitting the planning guidelines and procedures established under this section, and any amendments to them, to the governing body of each county;

(5) submitting to the Secretary each year a schedule for implementing the enhancement of county or multicounty 9–1–1 systems, and an estimate of funding requirements based on the approved county plans;

(6) developing, with input from counties, and publishing on or before July 1, 2004, an implementation schedule for deployment of wireless enhanced 9–1–1 service;

(7) reviewing and approving or disapproving requests for reimbursement of the costs of enhancing 9–1–1 systems, and submitting to the Secretary each year a schedule for reimbursement and an estimate of funding requirements;

(8) reviewing the enhancement of 9–1–1 systems;

(9) providing for an audit of county expenditures for the operation and maintenance of 9–1–1 systems;

(10) ensuring inspections of public safety answering points;

(11) reviewing and approving or disapproving requests from counties with operational enhanced 9–1–1 systems to be exempted from the expenditure limitations under § 1–312 of this subtitle;

(12) authorizing expenditures from the 9–1–1 Trust Fund that:

(i) are for enhancements of 9–1–1 systems that:

1. are required by the Board;

2. will be provided to a county by a third party contractor; and

3. will incur costs that the Board has approved before the formation of a contract between the county and the contractor; and

(ii) are approved by the Board for payment:

1. from money collected under § 1–310 of this subtitle; and

2. directly to a third party contractor on behalf of a county;

(13) establishing planning guidelines for Next Generation 9–1–1 services system plans and deployment of Next Generation 9–1–1 services in accordance with this subtitle;

(14) establishing minimum standards for records retention guidelines for 9–1–1 audio, pictures, video, text messages, and data;

(15) establishing training standards for public safety answering point personnel based on national best practices, including training concerning:

(i) Next Generation 9–1–1 topics;

(ii) individual psychological well–being and resilience; and

(iii) subject to subsection (e)(2) of this section, implicit bias training;

(16) establishing minimum standards for cybersecurity, oversight, and accountability of service level agreements between counties and core service providers of Next Generation 9–1–1 services; and

(17) supporting 9–1–1 specialist recruitment activities consisting of:

(i) a database that offers information on recruitment guidance, best practices, and strategies;

(ii) recruitment projects, including recruitment projects designed to reach minorities; and

(iii) a website that contains links to job opportunities throughout the State for 9–1–1 specialists.

(c) The guidelines established by the Board under subsection (b)(1) and (13) of this section:

(1) shall be based on available technology and equipment;

(2) shall require Next Generation 9–1–1 services systems to be interconnected and interoperable, as determined by the Board; and

(3) may be based on any other factor that the Board determines is appropriate, including population and area served by 9–1–1 systems.

(d) The standards established by the Board under subsection (b)(14) of this section shall include procedures for:

(1) the security of the records;

(2) the establishment and revision, in accordance with the regulations, of record retention and disposal schedules to ensure the prompt and orderly disposition of records, including electronic records, that are no longer needed for operation; and

(3) the maintenance of inventories of records series that are accurate and complete.

(e) (1) (i) The standards established by the Board under subsection (b)(15) of this section shall include onboarding standards for newly hired 9–1–1 specialists and minimum continuing education standards for 9–1–1 specialists.

(ii) The Board shall develop criteria and approve the initial and ongoing training curriculum for the training required under subsection (b)(15) of this section.

(2) Public safety answering point personnel shall be provided the implicit bias training required under subsection (b)(15)(iii) of this section:

(i) on or before October 1, 2024, for personnel hired by the public safety answering point on or before October 1, 2022;

(ii) at the time of hire for personnel hired by the public safety answering point after October 1, 2022; and

(iii) on a recurring basis with updates as determined by the Board, but at least once every 4 years.

(3) (i) At least once each year, the Board shall provide for an audit of each public safety answering point in order to ensure that 9–1–1 specialists and other personnel employed by the public safety answering point have satisfied the training requirements established in accordance with subsection (b)(15) of this section.

(ii) The audit described under subparagraph (i) of this paragraph may be conducted concurrently with an inspection of the public safety answering point in accordance with subsection (b)(10) of this section.

(iii) 1. If the Board determines that the personnel employed by a public safety answering point have not satisfied the training requirements established in accordance with subsection (b)(15) of this section, the Board and public safety answering point shall jointly develop a remediation plan and implementation timeline.

2. The Board may impose sanctions on a public safety answering point if the public safety answering point fails to comply with a remediation plan or implementation timeline developed under this subparagraph.

(f) The Board shall establish standards governing the processing of 9–1–1 requests for assistance that:

(1) minimize the transfer of those requests from the public safety answering point that received the request to other public safety answering points within or outside the State or federal emergency communication centers; and

(2) follow best practices for transferring requests to public safety agencies to ensure the optimal public safety response.

(g) The Board shall:

(1) establish minimum standards for 9–1–1 systems, enhanced 9–1–1 systems, and Next Generation 9–1–1 services that ensure improved access for individuals with disabilities and individuals who use assistive technologies, including mandatory connectivity requirements for core service providers for Next Generation 9–1–1 services to device–based and cloud–based data repositories; and

(2) update the standards adopted in accordance with item (1) of this subsection based on available technology and equipment.

(h) The Board may adopt regulations to implement and enforce this subtitle.