Bill to protect 911 dispatchers, 211 and 988 operators discussed in committee

BISMARCK, N.D. — North Dakota House Judiciary Committee heard testimony on a bill that would grant 911 dispatchers, operators working 211 information, and 988 suicide hotlines from lawsuits.

Currently, North Dakota has no protections for 911 and other hotline operators.

SB 2145 would not protect operators from lawsuits made due to gross negligence or misconduct.

Similar efforts have been made at the federal level.

FirstLink executive director Jennifer Illich testified in favor of the bill.

“Our call takers have to make split-second decisions in time of high pressure and no matter how much training they have, no matter if we’re following the accreditation, miscommunication can happen and we just want to make sure that we’re protecting our helpseekers, that we’re protecting our call specialists,” Illich said.

Washington and Kansas are currently the only states that have laws protecting 988 service operators.

The committee gave the bill a Do-Pass recommendation.