Presentation Theater: Advocacy Priorities for APCO International

Monday, August 16 | 12:45-1:15 p.m. 
Jeff Cohen, APCO International

APCO’s Chief Counsel Jeff Cohen provided updates on APCO’s top advocacy priorities. Topics included the 9-1-1 SAVES Act, which would reclassify public safety telecommunicators as “Protective Service Occupations” and efforts to secure significant federal funding to modernize 9-1-1 systems nationwide and advance interoperability and cybersecurity.

 Legislative and Regulatory Issues Impacting APCO Members 

Monday, August 16, 2:00-3:00 p.m.
Moderated by Mark Reddish, APCO International

APCO’s Senior Counsel Mark Reddish provided an overview of APCO’s top legislative and regulatory topics – the 9-1-1 SAVES Act, the PROTECT 9-1-1 Act, 9-1-1 location accuracy, and network outage notifications – and a panel of 9-1-1 directors described how these issues impact emergency communications centers.

Panelists included Cheryl Konarski, CPE, RPL, Communications Manager, Joplin Police Department; Maureen Will, CPE, Director of Emergency Communications, Newtown, CT; Domonique Curry, CPE, Chief of Staff, Orleans Parish Communications District; and Ken Murphy, Lt./Director Emergency Communications Division, Austin Police Department

The 9-1-1 directors shared examples of health and wellness programs in their 9-1-1 centers and the importance of timely outage notifications.