APCO Makes Compelling Case to Reclassify 9-1-1 Professionals at the Federal Level
Today, APCO submitted comments to the Office of Management and Budget urging the agency to reclassify Public Safety Telecommunicators (PSTs) from the current Office and Administrative Support Occupations category to the Protective Service Occupations category in the Standard Occupational Classification (SOC).
APCO and NENA Express Disappointment in Committee Passage of Modified 9-1-1 SAVES Act
On July 10, the House Education and Workforce Committee passed an amended version of the 9-1-1 SAVES Act (H.R. 6319) which changes the legislation from directing the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to reclassify public safety telecommunicators to only consider changing the classification.
Public Safety Telecommunicator Attends State of the Union Address
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.
