60FF-4.003. Application and Approval Process

(1) Agencies wishing to use the Statewide Law Enforcement Radio System shall complete the SLERS Partner Application and Agreement for access to the Statewide Law Enforcement Radio System (Form No.DMS-SLERS-1), which is hereby incorporated by reference and available online at www.myflorida.com or by writing to: Statewide Law Enforcement Radio System, SLERS System Manager, Department of Management Services, 4030 Esplanade Way, Suite 180, Tallahassee, Florida 32399-0950.

(2) Upon receipt of the application, the Department of Management Services will within seven (7) days notify the Contractor that the application has been received. The Contractor will then submit a proposal to the applicant and, upon Contractor and the applicant reaching agreement, submit the proposed agreement to the Department.

(3) The proposed agreement shall contain the terms and conditions; term of subscription; number of radios and users, by phase if a phased implementation; radio coverage requirements; site usage; necessary frequencies and licensing; an overview of equipment including use of encrypted radios; talk group structure including the number of talk groups and use of interoperability talk groups, by phases of implementation if applicable; overview of network operation, maintenance and reporting; and an analysis of traffic load impact to the system. The proposed agreement must include a proposed Statement of Responsibilities which defines roles and responsibilities of the Contractor, the SLERS Partner and the Department. The proposed agreement shall include a projection of the applicant’s growth and impact on the system in terms of additional radio users expected through June 2021.

(4) After receipt of the proposed agreement, the Department will review it for compliance with Chapter 60FF-4, F.A.C., and for completeness of the information in subsection 60FF-4.003(3), F.A.C. The Department shall review the proposed agreement to confirm that:

(a) The applicant meets the definition of a SLERS Partner in subsection 60FF-4.002(1), F.A.C.;

(b) The proposed use of the system by the applicant in no way diminishes the State’s use of SLERS, other SLERS Partners’ use of SLERS and that the proposed use will not cause the hourly average waiting time per call to exceed 0.5 seconds at any site; and

(c) The proposed use of the system by the applicant will not cause degradation to security or existing operations; and,

(d) It does not conflict with the applicant’s or the State’s right to control its FCC licenses.

(5) The Department shall review the proposed agreement within sixty (60) days and provide the Contractor and applicant with recommendations, if any, regarding the proposed agreement and requested changes or additions to ensure compliance with subsection 60FF-4.003(4), F.A.C. The Department may request changes to the proposed number of radios and users, by phase if a phased implementation; changes in requested area of radio coverage and associated site usage; provision of frequencies to be added to accommodate the additional users; use of encrypted radios for identified groups of uses; and changes in the proposed talk group structure including the number of talk groups and use of interoperability talk groups, by phases of implementation if applicable.

(6) If in response to a proposal the Department requests an applicant to provide radio frequencies for the system, the applicant shall submit with the final proposal a letter to the System Manager listing the frequencies and authorizing their licensing and use.

(7) Upon satisfactory review of the proposed or amended agreement, the Department shall present the applicant to the Technical and Standard Operations Procedures Committees of the Joint Task Force on State Agency Law Enforcement Communications, and present the proposed agreement to the Joint Task Force on State Agency Law Enforcement Radio Communications for its comments. Following the Joint Task Force review and comments, if the Department makes recommendations regarding the proposed agreement, the Contractor shall prepare a final proposed agreement and re-submit the proposed agreement to the Department.

(8) Upon satisfactory completion of the procedures set forth in subsections 60FF-4.003(1)-(7), F.A.C., the Department shall authorize, in writing, SLERS Partner use of the system by the applicant. Such written approval may include special conditions for applicant’s use of SLERS. Special conditions for acceptance include limits on the approved number of radios and users; a phased implementation in concert with incremental growth of the radio system’s capacities, requiring the applicant to provide frequencies to be licensed to provide for system growth; use of encrypted radios for identified groups of uses; and specified talk group structure, by phases of implementation if applicable.

Rulemaking Authority 282.702(9) FS. Law Implemented 282.709 FS. History–New 5-11-08.