Authority: §§ 18.2-308.2:2, 19.2-387, 19.2-388, 27-55, 52-4, 52-4.4, 52-8.5, 52-12, 52-13, 52-15, 52-16, 52-25 and 52-31 through 52-34, Code of Virginia.
A.1. It is the intent of the General Assembly that wireless 911 calls be delivered directly by the Commercial Mobile Radio Service (CMRS) provider to the local Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP), in order that such calls be answered by the local jurisdiction within which the call originates, thereby minimizing the need for call transfers whenever possible.
2. Notwithstanding the provisions of Article 7, Chapter 15, Title 56, Code of Virginia, $3,700,000 the first year and $3,700,000 the second year from the Wireless E-911 Fund is included in this appropriation for telecommunications to offset dispatch center operations and related costs incurred for answering wireless 911 telephone calls.
B. Out of the Motor Carrier Special Fund, $900,000 the first year and $900,000 the second year shall be disbursed on a quarterly basis to the Department of State Police.
C.1. This appropriation includes $9,175,535 the first year and $9,175,535 the second year from the general fund for maintaining the Statewide Agencies Radio System (STARS).
2. The Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security, in conjunction with the STARS Management Group and the Superintendent of State Police, shall provide a status report on (1) annual operating costs; (2) the status of site enhancements to support the system; (3) the project timelines for implementing the enhancements to the system; and (4) other matters as the secretary may deem appropriate. This report shall be provided to the Governor and the Chairmen of the House Appropriations and Senate Finance Committees no later than October 1 of each year.
3. Any bond proceeds authorized for the STARS project that remain after the full implementation of the STARS network shall be made available for the STARS equipment needs of the Department of Military Affairs.
4. Any general fund appropriation given for STARS operating and maintenance under the service area 30204, is designated for such purposes. If the Department of State Police cannot expend its STARS appropriation within a given fiscal year, there shall remain an appropriation balance at the end of the fiscal year. The Department may request a discretionary re-appropriation in the subsequent year as provided in
D. The department shall deposit to the general fund an amount estimated at $100,000 the first year and $100,000 the second year resulting from fees generated by additional criminal background checks of local job applicants and prospective licensees collected pursuant to § 15.2-1503.1 of the Code of Virginia.
E. 1. Notwithstanding the provisions of §§ 19.2-386.14, 38.2-415, 46.2-1167 and 52-4.3, Code of Virginia, the Department of State Police may use revenue from the State Asset Forfeiture Fund, the Insurance Fraud Fund, the Drug Investigation Trust Account – State, and the Safety Fund to modify, enhance or procure automated systems that focus on the Commonwealth's law enforcement activities and information gathering processes.
2. Included within this appropriation is $2,050,000 the first year and $2,050,000 the second year from the Safety Fund's 2018 year-end balances to support the enhancements to the department's Computerized Criminal History System.
F. The Superintendent of State Police is authorized to and shall establish a policy and reasonable fee to contract for the bulk transmission of public information from the Virginia Sex Offender Registry. Any fees collected shall be deposited in a special account to be used to offset the costs of administering the registry. The State Superintendent of State Police shall charge no fee for the transfer of any information from the Virginia Sex Offender Registry to the Statewide Automated Victim Notification (SAVIN) system.
G. The Virginia State Police shall, upon request, provide to the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services any information it possesses as a result of carrying out the provisions of §§ 19.2-389, 37.2-819 and 64.2-2014, Code of Virginia, to enable the Department to make anonymous the data held pursuant to those provisions and link it with other relevant data held by the Commonwealth for the purpose of evaluating the impact of carrying out these provisions on the public health and safety, pursuant to a grant from the National Science Foundation to Duke University and a subcontract with the University of Virginia.
H. Included in the amounts provided for this Item is $99,479 the first year and $99,479 the second year from the general fund for the public safety information exchange program with those states that share a border with Canada or Mexico and are willing to participate in the exchange program pursuant to § 2.2-224.1, Code of Virginia.
I. Included in this appropriation is $620,371 the first year and $620,371 the second year from the general fund for the annual debt service for the Department to purchase fixed repeaters for the Statewide Agencies Radio System (STARS) through the Department of Treasury's Master Equipment Leasing Program.
J. Included within this appropriation is $340,000 the first year and $340,000 $350,200 the second year from the general fund to support maintenance costs of the state's Commonwealth Link to Interoperable Communications (COMLINC) system.
K. Included within this appropriation is $627,900 the second year for training costs and four positions to support the upgrade and expansion of the COMLINC system.
L. Included in the amounts provided for in this Item is $675,000 the second year for training and project management costs to upgrade the STARS system. Of this amount, $500,000 shall not be allotted until the project management costs are determined to be ineligible costs for a bond-funded capital project.
K. M. Included in the amounts provided for this item is $1,678,929 the first year and $262,329 the second year from the general fund for the Department to implement and operate an electronic summons system in Division 7. The Department shall work in cooperation with the Office of the Executive Secretary of the Supreme Court to implement the system, and shall provide a report on its activities and the outcomes of the system implementation to the Director, Department of Planning and Budget, and the Chairmen of the House Appropriations and Senate Finance Committees by November 1, 2019.
N. In the introduced budget for the biennium beginning on July 1, 2020, the Department of Planning and Budget shall create a new program within the Department of State Police for the appropriations related to operation and maintenance of the Statewide Agencies Radio System. Appropriation under this item for the service area for Telecommunications and Statewide Agencies Radio System (STARS) (30204), shall be transferred into the new item created pursuant to this paragraph. The program shall allocate the funding into appropriate service areas to identify: vehicle radio maintenance for State Police vehicles, vehicle radio maintenance for other agency vehicles, site maintenance, subscriber equipment, network maintenance, and equipment, as appropriate.
O. Included within the amounts for this item is $197,920 in the first year from the general fund for a modification to the Central Criminal Records Exchange and $211,947 and three positions in the second year from the general fund for the Department to address the recommendation of the Crime Commission to provide a reference to the "Hold File" for criminal history records checks.