OHIO LEGISLATIVE SERVICE COMMISSION
Office of Research Legislative Budget
www.lsc.ohio.gov and Drafting Office
H.B. 445 Bill Analysis
134th General Assembly
Click here for H.B. 445’s Fiscal Note
Version: As Introduced
Primary Sponsors: Reps. Carfagna and K. Smith
Effective Date:
Rocky Hernandez, Attorney
Reid J. Fleeson, Research Analyst
Kathleen A. Luikart, Research Analyst
SUMMARY
9-1-1 Steering Committee
 Renames the “Emergency Services Internet Protocol Network Steering Committee” to
the “9-1-1 Steering Committee” (Steering Committee) and does the following:
 Requires the Steering Committee to advise and recommend policies or procedures
to effectively govern a statewide next generation 9-1-1 (NG 9-1-1) system.
 Requires each entity operating a public safety answering point (PSAP) must
cooperate with the Steering Committee and provide them with certain data.
 Requires the Steering Committee to meet at least once a quarter instead of once a
month as current law requires.
Subcommittees
 Allows for the Steering Committee’s subcommittees to meet either in person or utilize
telecommunication-conferencing technology.
 Establishes that a majority of the voting members of a subcommittee constitutes a
quorum.
 Requires the PSAP Operations subcommittee to include one member representing the
Division of Emergency Medical Services of the Department of Public Safety.
Rules and guidelines
 Requires all PSAPs that answer 9-1-1 calls for service to be subject to the PSAP operation
rules, with a two-year compliance window for PSAPs not originally subject to the rules
to become compliant.
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 Requires the Steering Committee to establish guidelines for the Tax Commissioner
regarding disbursing and using funds from the 9-1-1 Government Assistance Fund and
the NG 9-1-1 fund.
 Requires the Steering Committee to periodically review and adjust the guidelines, and to
report the changes to the Department of Taxation six months before they take effect.
Countywide 9-1-1 system
 Requires a countywide 9-1-1 system to include all of the territory of the townships and
municipal corporations, including portions that extend into an adjacent county with no
exception.
 Allows a countywide 9-1-1 system to be either an enhanced or NG 9-1-1 system, or
some combination of the two, and must be designed to provide access to emergency
services from all connected communications sources.
 Allows for a countywide 9-1-1 system to be provided directly by the county, by a
regional council of governments (RCOG), or by connecting directly to the statewide
NG 9-1-1 system for call routing and core services.
 Requires each county to appoint a county 9-1-1 coordinator to serve as the
administrative coordinator for all PSAPs participating in a countywide 9-1-1 system, and
to serve as liaison with other county coordinators and the 9-1-1 Program Office.
County 9-1-1 Program Review Committee
 Requires each county to maintain a county 9-1-1 Program Review Committee consisting
of six voting members.
 Changes the provisions governing who may be members of the Review Committee.
 Requires the Review Committee to consist of five members in counties with five or less
townships and a population in excess of 750,000.
 Requires each Review Committee to maintain and amend a final plan for implementing
and operating a countywide 9-1-1 system.
 Requires each Review Committee must convene at least once annually for the purposes
of maintaining or amending a final plan and requires any amendment to the final plan to
receive a two-thirds vote of the Committee.
 Requires, not later than March 1 each year, each Review Committee to submit a report
to the political subdivisions within the county and to the 9-1-1 Program Office detailing
the sources and amounts of revenue expended to support, and all costs incurred to
operate, the countywide 9-1-1 system.
Countywide final plan
 Makes various changes regarding countywide final plan, including the following changes
to what should be specified in the final plan:
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 Specifies how the PSAPs will be connected to a county’s preferred NG 9-1-1 system,
rather than a company’s telephone network as in current law;
 Requires either enhanced 9-1-1 or NG 9-1-1 service, repealing the ability to allow
basic 9-1-1 service to be provided.
 Details how originating service providers must connect to the core 9-1-1 system
identified by the final plan, and what methods will be used by the providers to
communicate with the system;
 Describes the capability of transferring or otherwise relaying information to the
entity that directly dispatches emergency services should a PSAP not properly
dispatch the needed services;
 Explaining how each emergency service provider (ESP) will respond to a misdirected
call or a false caller location, or if the call fails to meet FCC or other accepted
national standards.
 Requires, not later than six months after the bill’s effective date, each county Review
Committee to file a copy of its current final plan with the 9-1-1 Program Office and
requires any revisions or amendments to be filed no later than 90 days after adoption.
 Requires an amended final plan whenever there is an upgrade to the countywide 9-1-1
system, and whenever there is a change or removal of a 9-1-1 system service provider
as a participant in the countywide 9-1-1 system.
 Repeals the requirement that an entity wishing to be added as a participant in a 9-1-1
system to file a letter of intent to the board of county commissioners.
NG 9-1-1 core services & Ohio 9-1-1 Program Office
 Requires the 9-1-1 Program Office to coordinate and manage a statewide NG 9-1-1 core
services system, which must be capable of providing service for the entire state.
 Requires, not later than six months after the bill’s effective date, the Program Office to
draft, submit, or update an Ohio 9-1-1 plan to the Steering Committee, which must
include the following:
 A plan to address amendments made by the bill;
 Specify details regarding interoperability among counties, the states bordering Ohio,
and Canada;
 A progression plan for the system for sustainability within the funding method
provided by the bill.
 Requires the Steering Committee to make a determination on approval of the plan
within six months after it was submitted.
State 9-1-1 Program Office powers
 Allows the 9-1-1 Program Office to do the following:
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 Expend funds from the 9-1-1 Program Fund for 9-1-1 public education purposes;
 Ensure an effective statewide interconnected 9-1-1 system through proper
coordination, adoption, and communication of all necessary standards and
requirements;
 Collect and distribute data from, and to, PSAPs, service providers, and ESPs
regarding both the status and operation of the statewide 9-1-1 system, and certain
location information;
 Ensure that data collection and distribution meets legal privacy and confidentiality
requirements;
 With advice from the 9-1-1 Steering Committee, enter into various contracts to
implement statewide 9-1-1 services.
 Protects all data described above in accordance with relevant Ohio law and grants the
Steering Committee jurisdiction over the use of that data for purposes of 9-1-1.
 Allows for data and information that contributes to more effective 9-1-1 services to be
accessed and shared amongst 9-1-1 and emergency response functions.
Telecommunication service providers
 Requires every telecommunication service provider able to generate 9-1-1 traffic to do
the following:
 Register with the 9-1-1 Program Office and provide the Program Office a single point
of contact who has authority related to 9-1-1 location data;
 Provide accurate and valid location data for all 9-1-1 traffic to ensure proper routing
to the most appropriate PSAP or local NG 9-1-1 system.
 Requires service providers to correct any discrepancy in location data during the next
business day if notified by the Program Office.
 Subjects all the data described above to all applicable privacy laws and exempts it from
being a public record under the state public record laws.
Multiline telephone systems
 Requires each operator of a multiline telephone system (MTS) that was installed or
substantially renovated on or after the bill’s effective date to do the following:
 Provide the end user the same level of 9-1-1 service that is provided to other in-
state end users of 9-1-1 which includes the provision of certain services and data;
 Provide an emergency-response-location identifier as part of the location
transmission to the PSAP using certain technologies;
 Identify the caller’s location using an emergency response location that includes the
public street address of the building from which the call originated and other
location data.
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 Permits all locations provided to be either master-street-address-guide valid or next-
generation-9-1-1-location-validation-function valid.
Business service user
 Requires, not later than one year after the bill’s effective date, a business service user
(BSU) that provides residential or business facilities, owns or controls a MTS or voice
over internet protocol system (VOIP) in those facilities, and provides outbound dialing
capacity from those facilities, to ensure the following:
 For a MTS that can initiate a 9-1-1 call, that the system is connected so a caller using
9-1-1 is connected to the PSAP without requiring the user to dial any additional digit
or code;
 The system is configured to provide notification of any 9-1-1 call made through it to
a centralized location on the same site as the system and the BSU is not required to
have a person available at the location to receive a notification.
 Exempts, for two years after the bill’s effective date, a BSU from the requirements
described above if all of the following apply:
 The requirements would be unduly and unreasonably burdensome;
 The MTS or VOIP needs to be reprogrammed or replaced;
 The BSU made a good-faith attempt to reprogram or replace the system;
 The BSU agrees to place an instructional sticker next to the telephones that explain
how to access 9-1-1 and other information.
 Requires the BSU to submit an affidavit affirming that the conditions described above
apply to the BSU and must include the manufacturer and model number of the system.
County participation in statewide 9-1-1 operation
 Requires the following regarding participation in statewide 9-1-1:
 Counties must provide a single point of contact to the 9-1-1 Program Office that can
assist in location-data discrepancies, 9-1-1 traffic misroutes, and boundary disputes
between PSAPs;
 Requires, not later than five years after the bill’s effective date, each county, or
RCOG, if applicable, to provide NG 9-1-1 service for all areas to be covered as set
forth in the county’s final plan or the RCOG’s agreement.
 Requires a service provider operating within a county, or an area served by a RCOG, that
is participating in the statewide NG 9-1-1 core services system to deliver the 9-1-1 traffic
that originates in that geographic area to the NG 9-1-1 core for that area.
 Requires such service providers and counties to adhere to the standards of the 9-1-1
Program Office.
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Monthly charges
Charges for county 9-1-1
 Extends the monthly charge boards of county commissioners may impose on telephone
access lines to communication devices or services that meet certain requirements.
Wireless 9-1-1 charges
 Terminates, three months after the bill’s effective date, the wireless 9-1-1 charges
imposed on both wireless service subscribers and customers for the retail sale of
prepaid wireless calling services under current law.
 Exempts subscribers of wireless lifeline service and providers of such service from these
charges.
NG 9-1-1 access fee
 Replaces the wireless 9-1-1 charge with a NG 9-1-1 access fee that is imposed on certain
communications devices or services as follows:
 For a two-year period, a $0.25 fee per device/service per month;
 For a subsequent five-year period, $0.25 fee per device/service per month, or an
alternate amount determined by the Steering Committee not exceeding $0.30 and
not more than $0.02 higher than the previous year;
 After the five-year period and beyond, $0.25 fee per device/service per month.
 Allows the Steering Committee to raise the NG 9-1-1 access fee only if there are
outstanding transitional costs associated with the NG 9-1-1 system and requires any
action to increase the fee to be reported to the General Assembly.
 Imposes the NG 9-1-1 access fee on each communications device or service for which a
subscriber is billed.
 Requires, for MTS, the fee must be paid with a separate fee per line, and for VOIP, the
subscriber must pay a separate fee for each call path available to the system.
 Exempts the following from the NG 9-1-1 access fee:
 A subscriber of wireless lifeline service;
 Wholesale transactions between telecommunications service providers where the
service is a component of a service provided to an end user, as well as network
access and interconnection charges paid to a local exchange carrier.
 Requires service providers and resellers to collect the NG 9-1-1 access fee as an
expressly designated specific line item on each subscriber’s monthly bill or point of sale
invoice.
 Requires, if the NG 9-1-1 access fee exceeds $0.25 per month, for the excess amount
collected that is attributable to the difference between the actual amount and $0.25 to
be deposited into the 9-1-1 Government Assistance Fund.
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 Requires, not later than one year after the effective date of this section, the Steering
Committee to submit a report to the General Assembly on the effectiveness of the
NG 9-1-1 access fee.
 Requires the Steering Committee to also submit a report to the General Assembly
regarding a future amount for the access fee once the five-year period described above
is expired.
 Requires, not later than 24 months after the bill’s effective date, the Steering
Committee, in conjunction with the Tax Commissioner, to deliver a report to the
General Assembly detailing recommendations concerning the collection and use of the
NG 9-1-1 access fees.
 Requires, for one year after the installatio