Effective: September 29, 2015
Latest Legislation: House Bill 64 - 131st General Assembly
Except as otherwise provided in section 128.571 of the Revised Code:
(A) A countywide 9-1-1 system receiving a disbursement under section 128.55 of the Revised Code shall provide countywide wireless enhanced 9-1-1 in accordance with this chapter beginning as soon as reasonably possible after receipt of the first disbursement or, if that service is already implemented, shall continue to provide such service. Except as provided in divisions (B), (C), and (E) of this section, a disbursement shall be used solely for the purpose of paying either or both of the following:
(1) Any costs of designing, upgrading, purchasing, leasing, programming, installing, testing, or maintaining the necessary data, hardware, software, and trunking required for the public safety answering point or points of the 9-1-1 system to provide wireless enhanced 9-1-1, which costs are incurred before or on or after May 6, 2005, and consist of such additional costs of the 9-1-1 system over and above any costs incurred to provide wireline 9-1-1 or to otherwise provide wireless enhanced 9-1-1. Annually, up to twenty-five thousand dollars of the disbursements received on or after January 1, 2009, may be applied to data, hardware, and software that automatically alerts personnel receiving a 9-1-1 call that a person at the subscriber's address or telephone number may have a mental or physical disability, of which that personnel shall inform the appropriate emergency service provider. On or after the provision of technical and operational standards pursuant to section 128.021 of the Revised Code, a regional council of governments operating a public safety answering point or a subdivision shall consider the standards before incurring any costs described in this division.
(2) Any costs of training the staff of the public safety answering point or points to provide wireless enhanced 9-1-1, which costs are incurred before or on or after May 6, 2005.
(B) A subdivision or a regional council of governments that certifies to the steering committee that it has paid the costs described in divisions (A)(1) and (2) of this section and is providing countywide wireless enhanced 9-1-1 may use disbursements received under section 128.55 of the Revised Code to pay any of its personnel costs of one or more public safety answering points providing countywide wireless enhanced 9-1-1.
(C) After receiving its July 2013 disbursement under division (A) of section 128.55 of the Revised Code as that division existed prior to the amendments to that division by H.B. 64 of the 131st general assembly, a regional council of governments operating a public safety answering point or a subdivision may use any remaining balance of disbursements it received under that division, as it existed prior to the amendments to it by H.B. 64 of the 131st general assembly, to pay any of its costs of providing countywide wireless 9-1-1, including the personnel costs of one or more public safety answering points providing that service.
(D) The costs described in divisions (A), (B), (C), and (E) of this section may include any such costs payable pursuant to an agreement under division (J) of section 128.03 of the Revised Code.
(E)(1) No disbursement to a countywide 9-1-1 system for costs of a public safety answering point shall be made from the wireless 9-1-1 government assistance fund or the next generation 9-1-1 fund unless the public safety answering point meets the standards set by rule of the steering committee under section 128.021 of the Revised Code.
(2) The steering committee shall monitor compliance with the standards and shall notify the tax commissioner to suspend disbursements to a countywide 9-1-1 system that fails to meet the standards. Upon receipt of this notification, the commissioner shall suspend disbursements until the commissioner is notified of compliance with the standards.
(F) The auditor of state may audit and review each county's expenditures of funds received from the wireless 9-1-1 government assistance fund to verify that the funds were used in accordance with the requirements of this chapter.