The measure\u2019s sponsor, Hollywood Sen. Jason Pizzo, noted that during his time as a prosecutor, playing a 911 call would often be the most effective thing to do to sway a jury.<\/p>\n
\u201c911, what\u2019s your emergency? He\u2019s going to kill me! He\u2019s going to kill me! Now, imagine hearing that 12 times a day, 15 times a day,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cTwo years ago, you all voted to require these 911 operators to be proficient in CPR so they could administer (it) over the phone. And they\u2019re not considered first responders? They are first responders, and they\u2019ve been grossly overlooked and screwed, and this brings some remedy.\u201d<\/p>\n
SB 774 would add 911 dispatchers to the group of \u201cfirst responders\u201d covered by Florida\u2019s special workers\u2019-compensation rules for employment-related mental or nervous injuries. It would apply the same framework to them as other first responders for mental health claims.<\/p>\n Essentially, if you\u2019re a 911 dispatcher and develop post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety or similar mental health injuries from traumatic calls, SB 774 would make it so you can get workers\u2019 comp-covered treatment and that your claim is handled under the same special rules lawmakers already set for other first responders \u2014 without certain time-limit restrictions that typically apply to mental injury benefits.<\/p>\n Several dispatchers signaled or spoke in favor of the bill, as did representatives from the Florida Police Chiefs Association, Florida Sheriffs Association and Consolidated Dispatch Agency.<\/p>\n Jennifer Dana, a dispatcher with the Palm Beach Sheriff\u2019s Office, noted that in a Senate analysis<\/a> of SB 774, there\u2019s a list of disturbing things first responders see and do on the job, from seeing dead children and witnessing murders to helping severely injured people, including those who commit suicide.<\/p>\n What it doesn\u2019t include, she said, is that 911 dispatchers also witness those things.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re seeing and hearing it,\u201d she said. \u201cWe have the technology for people to livestream it now, so it\u2019s a double-whammy for us, and we want to make sure we have the protections.\u201d<\/p>\n Kim Powell, a licensed and clinical mental health counselor who oversees an employee behavioral health program at a 911 communications center in Leon County, detailed several examples of what dispatchers experience: a woman struggling to breathe while dying from a gunshot wound inflicted by her child\u2019s father; an officer\u2019s final words moments before his murder; the sound of a mother discovering her deceased infant; the 800 or so calls received in the wake of the Florida State University shooting<\/a> last April.<\/p>\n \u201cThese are not isolated events; they are part of the job,\u201d she said. \u201cThe trauma compounds over time with repeat exposure.\u201d<\/p>\n St. Petersburg Republican Sen. Nick DiCeglie thanked Pizzo for carrying the bill and expressed gratitude to the \u201c3,500 dispatchers\u201d across Florida for their work.<\/p>\n \u201cFor me personally, (this) could be one of the most important bills that we have this Session because of the importance there is for your well-being and your quality of life,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Melbourne Republican Sen. Debbie Mayfield, who chairs the committee, echoed DiCeglie\u2019s remarks.<\/p>\n Pizzo reminded the panel that four years ago, during COVID, a $280 million set-aside for payments to first responders and front-line workers did not extend to 911 dispatchers.<\/p>\n \u201cThey never stopped working,\u201d he said, adding that Mayfield at the time acknowledged the oversight and pledged that the Legislature would get it right in the future. \u201cSo, it\u2019s serendipitous that you were kind and gracious enough to put us on the agenda.\u201d<\/p>\n SB 774 will next go to the Senate Appropriations Committee on Agriculture, Environment and General Government, after which it has one more stop before reaching a floor vote.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/FL-Legislators-Digital-Banners-728x90_1.png\")
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