WEST virginia Legislature

2017 regular session

Introduced

House Bill 2605

By Delegate Walters

[Introduced February 21, 2017; Referred
to the Committee on Government Organization.]

A BILL to amend the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by adding thereto a new section, designated §24-2-20, relating to requiring the Public Service Commission to create a plan within twelve months to consolidate all of the emergency communications centers and emergency telephone centers in the state into not more than six centers; setting scheduling and reporting requirements.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:

That the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended by adding thereto a new section, designated §24-2-20, to read as follows:

ARTICLE 2.  POWERS AND DUTIES OF PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION.

§ 24-2-20.  Plan required to consolidate work of emergency communications centers.

The Legislature finds that advances in technology provide an opportunity to combine duties spread among emergency communications centers throughout the state into far fewer centers while providing the same services statewide.  The Legislature also finds that savings gained from consolidating the state’s many centers will result in significant reductions in 911 fees.

The Public Service Commission shall formulate and present to the Legislature by January 1, 2018, a plan to consolidate the states emergency communications centers authorized by section three-cc, article one, chapter seven of this code into no fewer than three and no more than six emergency communications centers throughout the state within a period not to exceed four years from the time a consolidation plan is accepted by the Legislature.

NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to require the Public Service Commission to present to the Legislature a plan to consolidate the work of all of the state’s emergency communications centers into no more than six centers, within a time certain.

Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from a heading or the present law and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.