JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – The recent flooding the possibility of more severe weather will undoubtedly leave many people across Missouri scrambling for their cell phones to call emergency services to report car accidents, downed power lines and trees and any other matter of public hazard.
However, the most common number used under such circumstances, 911, may not work for all Missourians.
Fifteen counties from all corners of the state have only basic 911 service or no 911 service at all, according to the National Emergency Number Association. While mainly rural counties fall within that distinction, larger communities like Bolivar and some in the Bootheel also lack the service. Rep. Jeanie Lauer, R-Blue Springs, has proposed legislation that would make the system more efficient and user-friendly by upgrading technology in those areas and consolidating certain call centers.
Lauer argues these changes as well as a few others would help the system accomplish its purpose: providing a safety net for citizens in dire circumstances.
“Think about how important it is to get someone to you quickly,” Lauer says. “Time is critical. When there are emergencies happening… the seconds are critical.”
As with any government service, 911 call centers cost money to maintain, and currently the counties fulfill that role. Some of them have too little revenue to upgrade a deteriorating or inferior system. The provisions in Lauer’s bill would give counties the ability to put system fee increases to a vote or use the service of a neighboring county with better.
It would also solve a growing problem of classification in current statute by redefining “phone” to include cell phones. Many of the fees levied by 911 call centers come from a flat cost per call, but that currently does not include cell phones, which more and more people are growing entirely dependent on as their sole means of communication.
“Only about 20 percent of [911] calls come from landlines, and cell phone users are not paying anything,” Lauer says.
The law would also add the ability to text 911 for assistance in those areas. Lauer says in cases of domestic violence or a physical disability like deafness or muteness a person may not have the ability to dial a phone number and speak. It would also add a “silver alert:” essentially an amber alert for senior citizens that have become lost.
Lauer says the legislation almost made it to the governor’s desk in the 2015 session, passing the House before stalling in the Senate during the last week of session. She is confident the measure will pass this year.
“Everyone understands the need for it,” she says.
