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Dec

13

Press conference held as wireless 911 bill nears intro by Driehaus, Flowers


There are two reports on yesterday’s wireless 911 conference in the statehouse. Marc Kovac posted this piece for Vindy.com:

Republican Rep. Larry Flowers from the Columbus area and Democratic Rep. Steve Driehaus from the Cincinnati area announced their intentions during a press conference Wednesday to postpone the sunset on wireless E911 fees.

The event was attended by dozens of representatives from law enforcement and emergency responder agencies, who have called on lawmakers in recent months to preserve the funding stream.

Legislation approved two years ago established the 32-cent-per-month fee on cell phone users, with a provision that it expire as of December 2008. The funds have been used to pay for wireless 911 systems, including those that identify the location of callers seeking assistance.

Without the funding, law enforcement and emergency responders may not have access to those systems, proponents say.

And this one from WCPO states that the bill was introduced, but I just got off the phone with State Rep. for the 31st District and Minority Whip Steve Driehaus’ office (D-Price Hill) and the bill has not yet been introduced. I’m hoping to get some information on the bill’s specifics and will post what I can if there are elements that can be made public before the bill’s intro. (Some folks may know that the issue of publishing bill drafts is controversial and there have been lawsuits deeming such drafts as outside the public records rules.)

Specifics as to why this service is so crucial:

1.

“The public has an expectation that when they dial the number 911 – whether it’s from a land line or a cellular phone – that they’re going to be located and they’re going to get the help they need,” Hinkle said.

However, Reading Assistant Fire Chief Kim Fladung says that’s not always the case.

“About 50% of the counties in the State of Ohio do not have the 911 technology installed,” Fladung added.

He cited a case in Shelby County, Ohio, where a woman named Victoria Eilerman was kidnapped and put into the trunk of a car by her abductor.

“She had a cell phone with her and called police several times,” Fladung said. “However, because they didn’t have the technology, they weren’t able to locate her and she was killed.”

2.

Hinkle pointed out that many students at Virginia Tech tried to text 911 when a gunman opened fire inside a classroom building.

However, those calls for help couldn’t be received by the dispatch center.

Handling text emergency messages is one reason Hinkle and Fladung hope the surcharge is continued.

“We’d like to take that technology to the next level where we’ll be able to receive text messages, pictures and video,” said Fladung.

3.

Hinkle went one step further, since 60% of the calls to the Hamilton County Communications Center now come in via cell phones.

“We want to be able to provide you with the ability to take photographs of something you just witnessed, dial 911 and not only send up the call, but send us the photograph,” he said.

4.

[Driehaus and Flowers] say the yearly fee of $3.84 can save lives and is about the cost of a fast food meal or a cup of specialty coffee.

Some legislators are talking about seeking an increase in the $0.32 Ohio surcharge.

Indiana’s fee is $0.50 and Kentucky charges $0.70 a month.

Surcharge proceeds are currently distributed based on the number of cell phones in a particular county.

Consequently, urban areas tend to get more money have already installed the equipment to track cell phone 911 calls.

The minimum payment for a county is $25,000 a year, but that could be increased to $90,000 as part of the new legislative push.

Why do I care so much about wireless 911? Because I can see “it” coming. I just can. Also, I travel the highways alone more than a few times a year. And I have kids who will eventually be driving, sooner than I can believe. Because I have parents who drive out here from the East Coast and are older. Because it just seems like something a modernized, technologically capable society must provide – whomever we decide needs to provide and support it.

Can you name any good reason why we shouldn’t make sure we have wireless 911 as soon as possible throughout the state?


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By Jill Miller Zimon at 9:59 am December 13th, 2007 in Politics 

Comments

One Response to “Press conference held as wireless 911 bill nears intro by Driehaus, Flowers”

  1. 1 Wireless 911 report critical of Ohio; Flowers, Driehaus intro HB 550 to help | Writes Like She Talks on May 13th, 2008 1:33 pm

    [...] for more than a year. Ohio House Representatives Larry Flowers (R, 19) and Steve Driehaus (D, 31) announced last December that they would introduce a bill to head off and outright confront the changes in our habits so [...]

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