1.1 	A bill for an act
1.2 	relating to public safety; establishing public safety telecommunicator training and 
1.3 	continuing education requirements; establishing Public Safety Telecommunicator 
1.4 	Training and Standards Board; authorizing rulemaking; requiring a report; 
1.5 	appropriating money;amending Minnesota Statutes 2022, section 403.02, 
1.6 	subdivision 17c; Minnesota Statutes 2023 Supplement, section 403.11, subdivision 
1.7 	1; proposing coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 403.
1.8 	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

1.9 	Section 1. Minnesota Statutes 2022, section 403.02, subdivision 17c, is amended to read:
1.10 		Subd. 17c.911 Public safety telecommunicator. "911 Public safety telecommunicator" 
1.11 	means a person employed by a primary, secondary, or Tribal public safety answering point, 
1.12 	an emergency medical dispatch service provider, or both, who is qualified and serves as an 
1.13 	initial first responder to answer incoming emergency telephone calls or provide for the 
1.14 	appropriate emergency response either directly or through communication with the 
1.15 	appropriate public safety answering point. Public safety telecommunicator includes persons 
1.16 	who supervise public safety telecommunicators. Pursuant to section 403.055, public safety 
1.17 	telecommunicators and those who directly manage or supervise public safety 
1.18 	telecommunicators must be certified by the commissioner.

1.19 	EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective August 1, 2024.

1.20 	Sec. 2. [403.053] PUBLIC SAFETY TELECOMMUNICATOR TRAINING AND 
1.21 	STANDARDS BOARD.
1.22 		Subdivision 1.Membership. (a) The Public Safety Telecommunicator Training and 
1.23 	Standards Board consists of the following members:
2.1 	(1) the commissioner or a designee;
2.2 	(2) six sheriffs, including one from each of the Minnesota Sheriffs' Association districts, 
2.3 	appointed by the Minnesota Sheriffs' Association;
2.4 	(3) one representative from an emergency medical services secondary public safety 
2.5 	answering point appointed by the Minnesota Ambulance Association;
2.6 	(4) one representative of emergency medical service providers appointed by the Minnesota 
2.7 	Ambulance Association;
2.8 	(5) one chief of police appointed by the Minnesota Chiefs of Police Association;
2.9 	(6) one fire chief appointed by the Minnesota State Fire Chiefs Association;
2.10 	(7) one elected county official appointed by the Association of Minnesota Counties;
2.11 	(8) one elected city official appointed by the League of Minnesota Cities; and
2.12 	(9) ten members from among the following public safety answering points' personnel:
2.13 	(i) one member from each of the six Minnesota Sheriffs' Association districts appointed 
2.14 	by the Minnesota Sheriffs' Association;
2.15 	(ii) one member from the State Patrol public safety answering points appointed by the 
2.16 	chief of the State Patrol;
2.17 	(iii) one member from a Tribal public safety answering point;
2.18 	(iv) one member from a municipal public safety answering point appointed by the League 
2.19 	of Minnesota Cities; and
2.20 	(v) one member from a nontraditional public safety answering point appointed by the 
2.21 	Statewide Emergency Communications Board.
2.22 	(b) For purposes of this subdivision, "nontraditional public safety answering point" 
2.23 	includes the following public safety answering points: University of Minnesota, Dakota 
2.24 	911, Ramsey County, Anoka County, the Metropolitan Airports Commission, Metro Transit, 
2.25 	Red River Regional Dispatch Center, Rice-Steele, Rochester-Olmsted, Nobles County, and 
2.26 	Fort Snelling.
2.27 		Subd. 2.Terms; compensation; removal; vacancies; meetings. (a) Members of the 
2.28 	board may serve four-year terms.
2.29 	(b) Members serve without compensation.
3.1 	(c) A member may be removed by their respective appointing authority at any time for 
3.2 	cause or after missing three consecutive meetings of the board. The chair of the board must 
3.3 	inform the appointing authority of a member missing three consecutive board meetings. 
3.4 	Vacancies must be filled according to the appointments made under subdivision 1.
3.5 	(d) Members elect a chair biennially.
3.6 	(e) Meetings must be called at the request of the chair or upon the written request of a 
3.7 	majority of the members of the board.
3.8 	(f) Membership on the board does not constitute the holding of a public office, and 
3.9 	members of the board are not required to take and file oaths of office or submit a public 
3.10 	official's bond before serving on the board.
3.11 	(g) No member of the board is disqualified from holding any public office or employment 
3.12 	by reason of appointment to the board. Notwithstanding any general, special, or local 
3.13 	restriction, ordinance, or city charter to the contrary, no member must forfeit any public 
3.14 	office or employment by reason of appointment to the board.
3.15 	(h) All other matters relating to board operations are governed by chapter 214.
3.16 		Subd. 3.Powers and duties. (a) The board must:
3.17 	(1) establish public safety telecommunicator certification requirements;
3.18 	(2) oversee the public safety telecommunicator training and certification program;
3.19 	(3) certify public safety telecommunicators who satisfy certification requirements;
3.20 	(4) make recommendations regarding public safety telecommunicator training needs;
3.21 	(5) establish standards for education programs and develop procedures for continuing 
3.22 	oversight of the programs; and
3.23 	(6) establish qualifications for public safety telecommunicator instructors.
3.24 	(b) The board may:
3.25 	(1) hire or contract for technical or professional services according to section 15.061;
3.26 	(2) pay expenses necessary to carry out its duties;
3.27 	(3) apply for, receive, and accept grants, gifts, devices, and endowments that any entity 
3.28 	may make to the board for the purposes of this section and may use any money given to it 
3.29 	consistent with the terms and conditions under which the money was received and for the 
3.30 	purposes stated;
4.1 	(4) accept funding from the 911 emergency telecommunications service account in the 
4.2 	special revenue fund and allocate funding to Minnesota public safety answering points in 
4.3 	the form of reimbursements that are consistent with the board's recommendations, local 
4.4 	expenditure reimbursement under section 403.113, subdivision 3, and Federal 
4.5 	Communications Commission regulations;
4.6 	(5) set guidelines regarding how the allocated reimbursement funds must be disbursed;
4.7 	(6) set and make available to the public safety answering points standards governing the 
4.8 	use of funds reimbursed under this section;
4.9 	(7) make recommendations to the legislature to improve the quality of public safety 
4.10 	telecommunicator training;
4.11 	(8) collect and provide data subject to section 13.03;
4.12 	(9) conduct studies and surveys and make reports; and
4.13 	(10) conduct other activities necessary to carry out its duties.
4.14 		Subd. 4.Certification requirements; rulemaking. (a) No later than July 1, 2026, the 
4.15 	board must adopt rules with respect to certification requirements for public safety 
4.16 	telecommunicators and establish in rule criteria for training, certification, and continuing 
4.17 	education that incorporate the requirements set forth in paragraph (b).
4.18 	(b) Rules established under this subdivision must define:
4.19 	(1) a set of learning objectives that ensure the professional competency of public safety 
4.20 	telecommunicators;
4.21 	(2) the minimum course of study required for public safety telecommunicators to 
4.22 	demonstrate professional competence;
4.23 	(3) the term of certification;
4.24 	(4) the term of recertification;
4.25 	(5) the certification of existing public safety telecommunicators;
4.26 	(6) the certification of public safety telecommunicators with out-of-state certifications; 
4.27 	and
4.28 	(7) the certification application and approval process.
4.29 	(c) Certification of a public safety telecommunicator must occur within one year of the 
4.30 	date of hire unless an exception is sought, as defined in rules.
5.1 		Subd. 5.Reporting requirements. In conjunction with each biennial budget process 
5.2 	under section 16A.10, the board must submit a report to the governor and to the chairs and 
5.3 	ranking minority members of the legislative committees with jurisdiction over public safety 
5.4 	finance and policy.

5.5 	EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective August 1, 2024.

5.6 	Sec. 3. [403.055] PUBLIC SAFETY TELECOMMUNICATORS; CERTIFICATION; 
5.7 	TRAINING; CONTINUING EDUCATION.
5.8 		Subdivision 1.Certification required. A public safety telecommunicator must be 
5.9 	certified by the commissioner under this section.
5.10 		Subd. 2.Certification requirements; rulemaking. (a) The commissioner of public 
5.11 	safety, in coordination with the Statewide Emergency Communications Board, must adopt 
5.12 	rules for certification requirements for public safety telecommunicators and establish criteria 
5.13 	in rule for training, certification, and continuing education that incorporate the requirements 
5.14 	set forth in paragraph (b).
5.15 	(b) Candidates for public safety telecommunicator certification and recertification must 
5.16 	demonstrate, at a minimum, proficiency in the following areas:
5.17 	(1) public safety telecommunicator roles and responsibilities;
5.18 	(2) applicable legal concepts;
5.19 	(3) interpersonal skills;
5.20 	(4) emergency communications technology and information systems;
5.21 	(5) 911 call processing;
5.22 	(6) emergency management;
5.23 	(7) radio communications for public safety telecommunicators;
5.24 	(8) stress management; and
5.25 	(9) quality performance standards management.
5.26 		Subd. 3.Continuing education. To maintain certification under this section, a public 
5.27 	safety telecommunicator must complete 48 hours of approved continuing education 
5.28 	coursework every two years.

6.1 	Sec. 4. Minnesota Statutes 2023 Supplement, section 403.11, subdivision 1, is amended 
6.2 	to read:
6.3 		Subdivision 1.Emergency telecommunications service fee; account. (a) Each customer 
6.4 	of a wireless or wire-line switched or packet-based telecommunications service provider 
6.5 	connected to the public switched telephone network that furnishes service capable of 
6.6 	originating a 911 emergency telephone call is assessed a fee based upon the number of 
6.7 	wired or wireless telephone lines, or their equivalent, to cover the costs of ongoing 
6.8 	maintenance and related improvements for trunking and central office switching equipment 
6.9 	for 911 emergency telecommunications service, to offset administrative and staffing costs 
6.10 	of the commissioner related to managing the 911 emergency telecommunications service 
6.11 	program, to make distributions provided for in section 403.113, and to offset the costs, 
6.12 	including administrative and staffing costs, incurred by the State Patrol Division of the 
6.13 	Department of Public Safety in handling 911 emergency calls made from wireless phones.
6.14 	(b) Money remaining in the 911 emergency telecommunications service account after 
6.15 	all other obligations are paid must not cancel and is carried forward to subsequent years 
6.16 	and may must be appropriated from time to time to the commissioner to provide financial 
6.17 	assistance to counties for the improvement of local emergency telecommunications services, 
6.18 	including but not limited to public safety telecommunicator training, certification, and 
6.19 	continuing education.
6.20 	(c) The fee may not be more than 95 cents a month for each customer access line or 
6.21 	other basic access service, including trunk equivalents as designated by the Public Utilities 
6.22 	Commission for access charge purposes and including wireless telecommunications services. 
6.23 	With the approval of the commissioner of management and budget, the commissioner of 
6.24 	public safety shall establish the amount of the fee within the limits specified and inform the 
6.25 	companies and carriers of the amount to be collected. When the revenue bonds authorized 
6.26 	under section 403.27, subdivision 1, have been fully paid or defeased, the commissioner 
6.27 	shall reduce the fee to reflect that debt service on the bonds is no longer needed. The 
6.28 	commissioner shall provide companies and carriers a minimum of 45 days' notice of each 
6.29 	fee change. The fee must be the same for all customers, except that the fee imposed under 
6.30 	this subdivision does not apply to prepaid wireless telecommunications service, which is 
6.31 	instead subject to the fee imposed under section 403.161, subdivision 1, paragraph (a).
6.32 	(d) The fee must be collected by each wireless or wire-line telecommunications service 
6.33 	provider subject to the fee. Fees are payable to and must be submitted to the commissioner 
6.34 	monthly before the 25th of each month following the month of collection, except that fees 
6.35 	may be submitted quarterly if less than $250 a month is due, or annually if less than $25 a 
7.1 	month is due. Receipts must be deposited in the state treasury and credited to a 911 
7.2 	emergency telecommunications service account in the special revenue fund. The money in 
7.3 	the account may only be used for 911 telecommunications services.
7.4 	(e) Competitive local exchanges carriers holding certificates of authority from the Public 
7.5 	Utilities Commission are eligible to receive payment for recurring 911 services.

7.6 	Sec. 5. PUBLIC SAFETY TELECOMMUNICATOR CERTIFICATION AND 
7.7 	TRAINING REIMBURSEMENT; APPROPRIATION.
 7.8 	$1,450,000 in fiscal year 2024 is appropriated from the 911 emergency 
7.9 	telecommunications service account in the special revenue fund to the commissioner of 
7.10 	public safety for administrative and software costs and rulemaking to establish and review 
7.11 	911 public safety telecommunicator certification and continuing education standards as 
7.12 	described in Minnesota Statutes, section 403.055. The base is $1,000,000 in fiscal year 2025 
7.13 	and each year thereafter.

7.14 	EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective the day following final enactment.