Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 118.djvu/3873

 118 STAT. 3843 PUBLIC LAW 108–458—DEC. 17, 2004 members of the emergency forces of that party and representa- tives of deceased members of such forces if such members sustain injuries or are killed while rendering aid to the District of Columbia, the Federal Government, the State of Maryland, the Commonwealth of Virginia, or a locality, under a mutual aid agreement or engaged in training activities under a mutual aid agreement. (f) LICENSES AND PERMITS.—If any person holds a license, cer- tificate, or other permit issued by any responding party evidencing the meeting of qualifications for professional, mechanical, or other skills and assistance is requested by a receiving jurisdiction, such person will be deemed licensed, certified, or permitted by the receiving jurisdiction to render aid involving such skill to meet a public service event, emergency or training for any such events. SEC. 7303. ENHANCEMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY COMMUNICATIONS INTEROPERABILITY. (a) COORDINATION OF PUBLIC SAFETY INTEROPERABLE COMMU- NICATIONS PROGRAMS.— (1) PROGRAM.—The Secretary of Homeland Security, in con- sultation with the Secretary of Commerce and the Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, shall establish a program to enhance public safety interoperable communica- tions at all levels of government. Such program shall— (A) establish a comprehensive national approach to achieving public safety interoperable communications; (B) coordinate with other Federal agencies in carrying out subparagraph (A); (C) develop, in consultation with other appropriate Fed- eral agencies and State and local authorities, appropriate minimum capabilities for communications interoperability for Federal, State, and local public safety agencies; (D) accelerate, in consultation with other Federal agen- cies, including the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the private sector, and nationally recognized standards organizations as appropriate, the development of national voluntary consensus standards for public safety interoperable communications, recognizing— (i) the value, life cycle, and technical capabilities of existing communications infrastructure; (ii) the need for cross-border interoperability between States and nations; (iii) the unique needs of small, rural communities; and (iv) the interoperability needs for daily operations and catastrophic events; (E) encourage the development and implementation of flexible and open architectures incorporating, where pos- sible, technologies that currently are commercially avail- able, with appropriate levels of security, for short-term and long-term solutions to public safety communications interoperability; (F) assist other Federal agencies in identifying prior- ities for research, development, and testing and evaluation with regard to public safety interoperable communications; (G) identify priorities within the Department of Home- land Security for research, development, and testing and 6 USC 194. VerDate 11-MAY-2000 13:54 Nov 10, 2005 Jkt 029194 PO 00000 Frm 00377 Fmt 6580 Sfmt 6581 C:\STATUTES\2004\29194PT4.001 APPS10 PsN: 29194PT4

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