Richard Montoya Jr., a public safety telecommunicator with the Los Angeles Police Department, attended President Biden’s State of the Union Address as the guest of Representative Norma Torres (D-CA).
APCO President Meets with Congressman and Former 9-1-1 Dispatcher Dale Strong
On February 12, APCO President Becky Neugent met with Congressman Dale Strong (R-AL) in Birmingham, Alabama, to raise awareness of the issues facing the 9-1-1 community and how Congress can help address these challenges.
APCO Welcomes Senate Bill, Highlights Efforts to Fix the Federal Reclassification of 9-1-1 Professionals
At the end of 2023 APCO welcomed a new Senate bill – the Enhancing First Response Act (S. 3556) – that would fix the federal classification of 9-1-1 professionals, improve the information shared during 9-1-1 outages, and examine the enhancements being made for 9-1-1 calls made from multi-line telephone systems.
More Information than You Ever Wanted about Fixing the Federal Classification of 9-1-1 Professionals
For all the complexity of our campaign to fix an obscure federal data system, it really boils down to the fact that 9-1-1 professionals perform lifesaving work, and labeling them as “administrative” personnel is ridiculous.
The 9-1-1 SAVES Act has been reintroduced. You might be asking members of Congress to co-sponsor the bill and explaining why congressional action is needed. Thus, it’s time for a deep dive on correcting the federal classification of 9-1-1 professionals. Even for those who have been following the issue closely, there’s likely new information here that will be of interest.
Standing Up, Standing Behind the 9-1-1 SAVES Act
My fellow Atlantic Chapter of APCO member Tim Cunningham and I were honored to have been invited to literally stand behind Rep. Norma J. Torres (CA-D-34) and Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (PA-R-1) along with other members of the 9-1-1 community as they gave their remarks during the introduction ceremony for H.R. 6319 9-1-1 SAVES Act.
APCO Welcomes Reintroduction of the 9‑1‑1 SAVES Act
Today, Congresswoman Norma Torres (CA) and Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick (PA), along with several of their colleagues, reintroduced the Supporting Accurate Views of Emergency Services Act of 2023, or the “9-1-1 SAVES Act.”
APCO 2023: Second General Business Session
APCO International’s new second vice president is Mark Spross of the Oregon chapter, selected by the assembled membership at the second General Business Session of APCO 2024 held Tuesday in Nashville, Tennessee.
Legislative and Regulatory Issues Impacting APCO Members
APCO’s Government Relations team provided an overview of some of APCO’s top advocacy priorities. The presentation featured updates on the progress of important legislative issues, such as securing federal funding for Next Generation 9-1-1, establishing health and wellness resources for 9-1-1 professionals, and APCO’s efforts to reclassify public safety telecommunicators at the federal level.
APCO’s 2023 Advocacy Priorities (with one-pagers of talking points)
During the prior session of Congress, APCO made substantial progress on its legislative goals, including coming closer than ever to securing significant federal funding for Next Generation 9‑1‑1. With the start of a new Congress, legislation APCO had been championing will need to be reintroduced, and we’ll seek to build upon the momentum to get these bills passed into law. This blog describes APCO’s legislative priorities, APCO’s efforts, and next steps.
Talking Points for APCO’s Legislative Priorities
APCO members often contact us to ask for talking points to prepare for meetings with their U.S. Senators and Representatives. Having accurate talking points to speak from – or leave with the congressional staffers you meet with – can ensure that you use your meeting time efficiently and are prepared to answer key questions about the issues. Following up on the blog describing APCO’s advocacy priorities for 2022, here are talking points for our top legislative issues: 1) securing federal funding for Next Generation 9-1-1; 2) correcting the federal classification of public safety telecommunicators; and 3) funding health and wellness programs for 9-1-1 professionals.
