EXECUTIVE ORDER NO. 920

State Interoperability Executive Committee Restructuring

WHEREAS, the State of Mississippi through Executive Order No. 874, dated February 5, 2003, established the State Interoperability Executive Committee (the “SIEC”); and

WHEREAS, the SIEC is charged with fostering continued coordination across state agencies and providing recommendations for short and long-term improvement of public safety wireless communications interoperability and shared systems development throughout federal, state, and local entities; and

WHEREAS, there is a need to continue the work of the SIEC and to restructure the make up of said SIEC to provide for more input from various agencies in the state and to redefine the functions of said SIEC so as to allow it to function in an even more efficient and effective manner.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, Haley Barbour, Governor of the State of Mississippi, by the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the State of Mississippi, hereby take the following action:

Section 1. The Commissioner of Public Safety shall now serve as Chair of the SIEC, rather than have the voting members of the SIEC elect a Chair.

Section 2. The following individuals shall be added to the current list of appointed voting members of the SIEC:

1. Director of the Mississippi Office of Homeland Security
2. Executive Director, Mississippi Association of Supervisors (or his designee)
3. Executive Director, Mississippi Municipal League (or his designee)
4. Deputy Director, Transportation Security Administration, Jackson International Airport

Section 3. The following individuals shall be deleted from the current list of appointed advisory members of the SIEC:

1. Chairman, Mississippi Association of Supervisors (or his designee)
2. Chairman, Mississippi Municipal League (or his designee)

Section 4. The following individual shall be added to the current list of appointed advisory members of the SIEC:

1. A representative of SafeCity Initiative

Section 5. The portion of Executive Order No. 874 relating to the functions of the SIEC shall be replaced with the following, revised provision:

III. FUNCTIONS

The Chair of the SIEC may designate the establishment of sub-committees to counsel the Committee on specific issues, including, but not limited to, technical interoperability solutions, funding strategies, shared system development strategies, local government issues, interoperability assessment requirements and findings.

The SIEC shall make a concerted effort to establish a statewide plan for assessing and instituting voice and data wireless communications interoperability and system development throughout the state. The plan should address both near and long-term wireless communications interoperability and system development solutions, realizing that both are necessary. In forming its recommendations, the SIEC should, at a minimum:

1. Become thoroughly grounded in the fundamentals of interoperability and the technical solutions that currently exist so that they can serve as a central resource for unbiased information within the state

2. Involve as many agencies as possible that have recognized wireless communications interoperability and system development as a necessary capability within the public safety community

3. Examine needs and capabilities on a regional basis throughout the state (e.g., county by county)

4. Focus on leveraging or expanding the reach of existing resources and solutions wherever possible to reduce cost, time to implementation, and the total number of solutions needed

5. Identify appropriate locations to “pilot” solutions currently not in use somewhere else in the state as a way of proving their effectiveness

6. Consider the strategic procurement and placement of existing technical solutions (e.g., multiband switches or cross-system interconnects) as near-term interoperability fixes

7. Outline a method for prioritizing system connections and development both by region and statewide in order to start building a basic level of interoperability and a wireless communications system throughout the state (e.g., implement the connections that connect the most users first)

8. Provide initial estimates for new asset requirements to the Governor and Legislature based on the regional and statewide interoperability and wireless communications system needs and proposed implementation schedules

9. Continue with long-term planning for statewide wireless communications system and interoperability needs

10. Ensure that any near-term interoperability solutions examined could be incorporated into longer-term statewide wireless communications system development plans for infrastructure development

11. Investigate the need for additional state staff to manage and fully implement any shared wireless communications system(s) and/or interoperability solutions, to include mutual aid frequency coordination and management.

The initial report of the SIEC and corresponding recommendations shall be made to the Governor and the House of Representatives and the Senate on or before January 31, 2005, and on that date every year thereafter until the SIEC is dissolved.

Section 6. All other provisions of Executive Order No. 874, dated February 5, 2003, which are not inconsistent or in conflict with the provisions of this Order are hereby confirmed and ratified.

IN TESTIMONY WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Great Seal of the State of Mississippi to be affixed.

DONE at the Capitol in the City of Jackson, the 4th day of August, in the year of our Lord two thousand four, and of the Independence of the United States of America, the two hundred and twenty-ninth.

HALEY BARBOUR
GOVERNOR

BY THE GOVERNOR:

SECRETARY OF STATE

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