(a) For the purposes of this section, the term “readiness” refers to the capability of a district, including a public safety answering point, to expedite the answering, receiving, and transferring of 911 calls and texts to efficiently dispatch the appropriate emergency service provider as soon as possible to a correct location where property or life may be in jeopardy. (b) The 911 Board shall establish a system that is based upon best practices as adopted by nationally recognized associations such as the National Emergency Number Association and the Association of Public Safety Communications Officials to measure the readiness of district public safety services through the collection of data related to a district’s answering, receiving, transferring, and dispatching functions relating to 911 calls, including voice, text messages, photos, and videos. (c) The 911 Board may collect data including, but not limited to, all of the following for each district in the state: (1) 911 call volume. (2) Time to answer 911 calls. (3) Time to process emergency calls in accordance with Section 11-98-11. (4) Number of answered emergency calls versus unanswered emergency calls. (5) Number of dropped calls. (6) Number of calls reporting a crime. (d) Compliance by the 911 Board with this section may be funded as an advisory service pursuant to Section 11-98-5.2(b)(7)b. or from any outside source of funding received by the 911 Board. (e)(1) The Attorney General, based upon a complaint received concerning the performance of a local communication district, may refer the matter to the 911 Board, which shall conduct a performance audit to review and evaluate the readiness of the district. (2) A performance audit of a district by the 911 Board may include any of the following: a. Interviewing any individual who may have knowledge concerning district performance, including members of the district board of commissioners, the director of the PSAP, public safety telecommunicators, heads of local emergency service providers, first responders, and residents who have submitted a complaint. b. On-site inspection of a PSAP, inspection of PSAP equipment or technical functionality, and monitoring of PSAP operations in real time. (3)a. Upon completion of a performance audit or no later than 60 days from commencement of the audit, the 911 Board shall approve and submit a formal written report to the Attorney General which contains: (i) an evaluation of the district’s readiness; and (ii) findings of specific operational deficiencies confirmed or disclosed by the audit. b. If operational deficiencies are confirmed, the audit report required under paragraph a. shall include a remediation plan that prescribes measures to bring the district to an acceptable level of readiness, including, but not limited to, any of the following: 1. Training requirements for public safety telecommunicators. 2. Hiring additional public safety telecommunicators. 3. Upgrade of technology, including replacement or acquisition of PSAP communications hardware or software. 4. Amendment of PSAP operating protocols, scripts, and recordkeeping. c. The audit report shall be made public and may be posted on the website of the Attorney General or the 911 Board. (4) Pursuant to the performance audit, the 911 Board is authorized to supervise the implementation of a remediation plan in the district. (f) The 911 Board shall adopt rules in accordance with the Alabama Administrative Procedure Act which are necessary to implement the system described in this section.
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