Bill Summary – FastDemocracy

Enrolled Copy                                                                        S.B. 212
              UTAH COMMUNICATIONS AUTHORITY AMENDMENTS
                                        2023 GENERAL SESSION
                                           STATE OF UTAH
                               Chief Sponsor: Wayne A. Harper
                                    House Sponsor: Ryan D. Wilcox
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 LONG TITLE
 General Description:
        This bill makes changes to the Utah Communications Authority Act.
 Highlighted Provisions:
        This bill:
        < defines terms;
        < requires the Retirement and Independent Entities Committee to provide
 recommendations regarding the Utah Communications Authority to the Legislative
 Management Committee;
        < increases the amount of funds that can be distributed to a qualifying public safety
 answering point ("PSAP");
        < requires a PSAP to be designated as an emergency medical service dispatch center
 to receive certain funds;
        < clarifies how long funds will not be distributed to a non-qualifying PSAP;
        < allows a public agency to create a PSAP to provide 911 service to non-contiguous
 areas in certain situations; and
        < makes technical and conforming changes.
 Money Appropriated in this Bill:
        None
 Other Special Clauses:
        None
 Utah Code Sections Affected:
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 AMENDS:
         63E-1-202, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2002, Chapter 250
         63H-7a-102, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2019, Chapter 509
         63H-7a-202, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2020, Chapter 368
         63H-7a-304.5, as enacted by Laws of Utah 2020, Chapter 368
         63H-7a-402, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2019, Chapter 509
         69-2-201, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2020, Chapter 368
         69-2-203, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2020, Chapter 368
         69-2-204, as enacted by Laws of Utah 2020, Chapter 368
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 Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
         Section 1. Section 63E-1-202 is amended to read:
         63E-1-202. Duties of the committee.
         (1) The committee shall:
         (a) study the scope of this title and determine what entities should be treated under this
 title as independent entities;
         (b) study the provisions of the Utah Code that govern each independent entity,
 including whether or not there should be consistency in these provisions;
         (c) study what provisions of the Utah Code, if any, from which each independent entity
 should be exempted;
         (d) study whether or not the state should receive services from or provide services to
 each independent entity;
         (e) request and hear reports from each independent entity;
         (f) review the annual audit of each independent entity that is performed in accordance
 with the statutes governing the independent entity;
         (g) comply with Part 3, Creation of Independent Entities, in reviewing a proposal to
 create a new independent entity;
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           (h) if the committee recommends a change in the organizational status of an
 independent entity as provided in Subsection (2) and subject to Part 4, Privatization of
 Independent Entities, recommend the appropriate method of changing the organizational status
 of the independent entity;
           (i) study the following concerning an entity created by local agreement under Title 11,
 Chapter 13, Interlocal Cooperation Act, if the state is a party to the agreement creating the
 entity:
           (i) whether or not the entity should be subject to this chapter;
           (ii) whether or not the state should receive services from or provide services to the
 entity;
           (iii) reporting and audit requirements for the entity; and
           (iv) the need, if any, to modify statutes related to the entity;
           (j) make a recommendation on the organizational status of each independent entity
 prior to the 2002 General Session; and
           (k) report annually to the Legislative Management Committee by no later than the
 Legislative Management Committee's November meeting.
           (2) The committee may:
           (a) establish a form for any report required under Subsection (1);
           (b) make recommendations to the Legislature concerning the organizational status of
 an independent entity;
           (c) advise the Legislature concerning issues involving independent entities; and
           (d) study issues related to the implementation of Title 49, Utah State Retirement and
 Insurance Benefit Act.
           (3) (a) By the November 2023 Legislative Management Committee meeting, the
 committee shall provide specific recommendations to the Legislative Management Committee
 for the Utah Communications Authority.
           (b) The report described in Subsection (3)(a) shall include recommendations regarding:
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        (i) the Utah Communication Authority's:
        (A) administration;
        (B) financial accountability;
        (C) current and future needs;
        (D) assets;
        (E) history; and
        (F) organizational status as an independent entity; and
        (ii) any need to modify statutes related to the entity.
        Section 2. Section 63H-7a-102 is amended to read:
        63H-7a-102. Utah Communications Authority -- Purpose.
        (1) This chapter establishes the Utah Communications Authority as an independent
 state agency.
        (2) The Utah Communications Authority shall:
        (a) provide administrative and financial support for statewide 911 emergency services;
 and
        (b) establish and maintain a statewide public safety communications network for [state
 agencies, public safety agencies, and public safety answering points.] all state, city, county, and
 local governmental entities.
        Section 3. Section 63H-7a-202 is amended to read:
        63H-7a-202. Powers and duties of the Utah Communications Authority.
        (1) The authority has the power to:
        (a) sue and be sued in the authority's own name;
        (b) have an official seal and power to alter that seal at will;
        (c) make and execute contracts and all other instruments necessary or convenient for
 the performance of the authority's duties and the exercise of the authority's powers and
 functions under this chapter, including contracts with public and private providers;
        (d) own, acquire, design, construct, operate, maintain, repair, and dispose of any
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 portion of a public safety communications network utilizing technology that is fiscally prudent,
 upgradable, technologically advanced, redundant, and secure;
         (e) borrow money and incur indebtedness;
         (f) enter into agreements with public agencies, private persons, the state, and federal
 government to provide public safety communications network services on terms and conditions
 the authority considers to be in the best interest of the authority;
         (g) acquire, by gift, grant, purchase, or by exercise of eminent domain, any real
 property or personal property in connection with the acquisition and construction of a public
 safety communications network and all related facilities and rights-of-way that the authority
 owns, operates, and maintains;
         (h) sell, lease, or trade public safety communications network capacity, except
 backhaul network capacity, to a state agency, a political subdivision of the state, or an agency
 of the federal government;
         (i) sell, lease, or trade backhaul network capacity to a state agency, a political
 subdivision of the state, or an agency of the federal government for a public safety purpose;
         (j) sell, lease, or trade backhaul network capacity to a state agency, a political
 subdivision of the state, or an agency of the federal government for a purpose other than a
 public safety purpose, subject to a maximum of 50 megabytes per second in the aggregate at
 any one location;
         (k) subject to Subsection (2):
         (i) sell, lease, or trade backhaul network capacity to a private person for a public safety
 purpose, subject to a maximum of 50 megabytes per second in the aggregate at any one
 location; or
         (ii) sell, lease, or trade public safety communications network capacity, except
 backhaul network capacity, to a private person for any purpose;
         (l) sell, lease, or trade public safety communications network capacity, if the sale,
 lease, or trade is under an agreement the authority entered into before June 30, 2020, or under
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 an extension of an agreement that the authority entered into before June 30, 2020;
         (m) review, approve, disapprove, or revise recommendations regarding the expenditure
 of funds disbursed by the authority under this chapter; and
         (n) perform all other duties authorized by this chapter.
         (2) (a) For a sale, lease, or trade to a private person under Subsection (1)(k), the
 authority shall require compensation from the private person that is:
         (i) at fair market prices and reasonable;
         (ii) competitively neutral;
         (iii) nondiscriminatory;
         (iv) open to public inspection; and
         (v) established to promote access by multiple telecommunication facility providers[;
 and].
         [(vi) set after the authority conducts a market analysis to determine the fair and
 reasonable value of public safety communications network capacity.]
         [(b) The authority shall conduct the market analysis required under Subsection
 (2)(a)(vi):]
         [(i) before a sale, lease, or trade to a private person under Subsection (1)(k); and]
         [(ii) thereafter no less frequently than every five years.]
         [(c)] (b) (i) Compensation charged under Subsection (2)(a) may be cash, in-kind, or a
 combination of cash and in-kind.
         (ii) In-kind compensation may not be charged without the agreement of the authority
 and the private person who will pay the in-kind compensation.
         (iii) The authority shall determine the present value of any in-kind compensation based
 on the incremental cost to the private person.
         (iv) The authority shall require the value of any in-kind compensation or combination
 of cash and in-kind compensation to be at least the amount of cash that would be paid if
 compensation were cash only.
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           (3) The authority shall work with PSAPs to identify and address deficiencies relating to
 PSAP staffing and training.
           Section 4. Section 63H-7a-304.5 is amended to read:
           63H-7a-304.5. Distributions from 911 account to qualifying PSAPs.
           (1) As used in this section:
           (a) "Certified statement" means a statement signed by a PSAP's director or other
 authorized administrator certifying the PSAP's compliance with the requirements of Subsection
 (2)(a).
           (b) "Fiscal year" means the period from July 1 of one year to June 30 of the following
 year.
           (c) "Proportionate share" means a percentage derived by dividing a PSAP's average
 911 call volume, as reported to the State Tax Commission under Section 69-2-302, for the
 preceding three years by the total of the average 911 call volume for the same three-year period
 for all PSAPs that have submitted a certified statement seeking a distribution of the applicable
 remaining funds.
           (d) "Qualifying PSAP" means a PSAP that:
           (i) meets the requirements of Subsection (2)(a) for the period for which remaining
 funds are sought; and
           (ii) submits a timely certified statement to the authority.
           (e) "Remaining funds" means the money remaining in the 911 account after deducting:
           (i) disbursements under Subsections 63H-7a-304(2)(a), (3), and (4);
           (ii) authority expenditures or disbursements in accordance with the authority's strategic
 plan, including expenditures or disbursements to pay for:
           (A) implementing, maintaining, or upgrading the public safety communications
 network or statewide 911 phone system; and
           (B) authority overhead for managing the 911 portion of the public safety
 communications network; and
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        (iii) money that the board determines should remain in the 911 account for future use.
        (f) "Required transfer rate" means:
        (i) a transfer rate of no more than 2%; or
        (ii) for a PSAP with a transfer rate for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2020, that is
 greater than 2%, and until June 30, 2023, the transfer rate that meets the requirement for the
 applicable period under Subsection 69-2-204(3)(a), (b), or (c).
        (g) "Transfer rate" means the same as that term is defined in Section 69-2-204.
        (2) (a) To qualify for a proportionate share of remaining funds, a PSAP shall, for the
 period for which remaining funds are sought:
        (i) have answered:
        (A) 90% of all 911 calls arriving at the PSAP within 15 seconds; and
        (B) 95% of all 911 calls arriving at the PSAP within 20 seconds;
        (ii) have adopted and be using the statewide CAD-to-CAD call handling and 911 call
 transfer protocol adopted by the board under Subsection 63H-7a-204(17);
        (iii) have participated in the authority's annual interoperability exercise; [and]
        (iv) have complied with the required transfer rate[.]; and
        (v) be designated as an emergency medical service dispatch center according to Section
 26-8a-303.
        (b) A PSAP that seeks a proportionate share of remaining funds shall submit a certified
 statement to the authority no later than July 31 following the end of the fiscal year for which
 remaining funds are sought.
        (c) Notwithstanding Subsection (2)(a):
        (i) a qualifying PSAP in a county with multiple PSAPs does not qualify for a
 proportionate share of remaining funds for a period beginning after June 30, 2023, unless every
 PSAP in that county is a qualifying PSAP; and
        (ii) a PSAP described in Subsection 69-2-203(5) does not qualify for remaining funds.
        (3) (a) Subject to Subsection (3)(b) [and beginning after July 2021], for PSAPs that
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 have become qualifying PSAPs for the previous fiscal year the authority shall distribute to each
 qualifying PSAP that PSAP's proportionate share of the remaining funds.
         (b) The authority may not distribute more than [15%] 20% of remaining funds to any
 single PSAP.
         (4) All money that a PSAP receives under this section is subject to Section 69-2-301.
         Section 5. Section 63H-7a-402 is amended to read:
         63H-7a-402. Radio Network Division duties.
         (1) The Radio Network Division shall:
         (a) provide and maintain the public safety communications network for [state agencies
 and local government public safety agencies] all political subdivisions in the state within the
 authority network, including the existing VHF and 700 and 800 MHz networks, in a manner
 that:
         (i) promotes high quality, cost effective service;
         (ii) evaluates the benefits, cost, existing facilities, equipment, and services of public
 and private providers; and
         (iii) where economically feasible, utilizes existing infrastructure to avoid duplication of
 facilities, equipment, and services of providers of communication services;
         (b) prior to issuing one or more requests for proposal:
         (i) prepare a report demonstrating the Radio Network Division has:
         (A) identified the locations and functional capabilities of existing public and private
 communications facilities in the state;
         (B) specifically evaluated the benefits, costs, and economic feasibility of utilizing
 existing facilities, equipment, and services of public and private providers; and
         (C) identified the public and private communications facilities that may be integrated
 with the public safety communications network; and
         (ii) present the report to the board at