Washington residents could benefit from a more modern and efficient 911 system, if a bill sponsored by Sen. Derek Stanford passes during the Washington State Legislature’s upcoming session. Stanford, a Democrat from Bothell, represents the 1st Legislative District that includes Mountlake Terrace and Brier.

“Anyone in an emergency who dials 911 should have confidence that our emergency services system is operating at peak performance on the most up-to-date technology,” he said in a statement. “That’s what this bill enables.”

SB 5571, which Stanford is sponsoring at the request of the Washington Military Department, decreases administrative costs, increases transparency, allows multi-county 911 service and also enables the implementation of state-of-the-art technology.

Stanford represents the 1st Legislative District, which includes Bothell, Brier, Mountlake Terrace, Alderwood Manor, Maltby, Cathcart, Clearview and Kirkland.

The 60-day legislative session begins on Jan. 10.

The proposed bill comes as the emergency response system is seeing other improvements throughout Washington in the year ahead, with a new 988 behavioral health crisis and suicide prevention hotline launching in July 2022. Implementation of the new 988 National Crisis Line and related crisis services will reduce reliance on emergency room services, as well as the use of law enforcement, for suicide prevention and responding to people in a behavioral health crisis.