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ARIZONA STATE SENATE
Fifty-Fourth Legislature, Second Regular Session
appropriations; DPS: school safety program.
Purpose
Establishes the Arizona School Safety Fund (School Safety Fund) to be administered by the Department of Public Safety (DPS) for school safety programs. Appropriates a total of $7,500,000 from the state General Fund (state GF) from FY 2021 to FY 2023.
Background
The Public Safety Interoperability Fund (Interoperability Fund) is administered by DPS and is subject to legislative appropriation. Monies in the Interoperability Fund must be used for interoperable communication systems (A.R.S. § 41-1733). Currently, the Interoperability Fund contains a $1,500,000 balance from a deposit made in FY 2020 (JLBC baseline).
The Joint Ad Hoc Committee on Statewide Emergency Communications adopted, on January 23, 2020, recommendations to establish a Public Safety Communications Advisory Commission (PSCC) to review, or require the Director of DPS to review, new technologies relating to the expansion of statewide emergency communications regarding school safety, both visual and audible, across the state and to report findings to DPS by December 1, 2020. DPS is prohibited from moving forward on any request for proposal or solicitation pursuant to an existing statewide contract for goods and services before hearing a report from the PSCC. DPS or the PSCC may not expend more $10,000,000 to expand the entire interoperability system.
S.B. 1524 appropriates $1,500,000 from the state GF in FY 2021, $3,000,000 from the state GF in FY 2022 and $3,000,000 from the state GF in FY 2023.
Provisions
1. Renames the Interoperability Fund as the School Safety Fund.
2. Specifies that monies in the School Safety Fund be used only for school safety programs rather than interoperable communication systems.
3. Appropriates to the School Safety Fund from the state GF:
a) $1,500,000 in FY 2021;
b) $3,000,000 in FY 2022; and
c) $3,000,000 in FY 2023.
4. Requires DPS to establish a school safety program using the School Safety Fund that:
a) enables the statewide deployment of a secure, multimedia data communication system to a user base consisting of public safety agencies and public and private schools providing instruction in any combination of kindergarten programs and grades 1 through 12;
b) provides a communications solution environment that allows for identification of system users and operational statuses during an incident, secure text messaging and file sharing, secure sharing of collaborative resources between schools and public safety agencies, integration of manually activated panic alarm systems and the use of multiple forms of real-time communications and information collaboration;
c) is capable or has the capability of being deployed to end users on existing communications assets owned by participating entities;
d) encrypts all media communications; and
e) ensures student and staff privacy.
5. Specifies that monies appropriated in FY 2021, FY 2022 and FY 2023 are exempt from lapsing.
6. Becomes effective on the general effective date.
Prepared by Senate Research
February 10, 2020
ZD/ML/kja