New Mexico expected to launch new 911 system in August

Yahoo

11-04-2025

The Bernalillo County Emergency Communications Department is helping all the other 45 dispatch centers across New Mexico conduct testing for a new internet-based 911 dispatch system. (Photo courtesy of Bernalillo County)
When New Mexicans call 911 in an emergency, the first question dispatchers ask is where the caller is located. Under a new statewide emergency dispatch system expected to launch in August and funded by a newly signed law, dispatchers won't have to rely on the caller and instead will be able to track the cell phone's location data.
Later on, perhaps in 2026, the broadband internet powering the new 911 system is expected to allow callers to send and receive text messages from dispatchers, and share photos, live streams, videos and surveillance camera footage to help responders better understand the scene of an emergency before they get there.
Bernalillo County in Central New Mexico announced Thursday that state officials have selected its Emergency Communications Department in Albuquerque as the beta site for a new call handling software that will move 911 calls away from the old wired- and radio-based network to a new one that will run through the internet.
The new system, five years in the making, is called Next Generation 911. The public won't immediately notice a difference and will still have to dial 911 to receive help, but officials expect the more precise location data to result in faster emergency response times.
It isn't just an upgrade in technology but will require a 'cultural shift,' Bernalillo County Emergency Communications Director Robbie McCormick told Source NM in a phone interview on Thursday.
'With any kind of advancement, it's work, but it's a blessing. It's a good thing and it's change, but we will have to take it one step at a time,' McCormick said. 'I know that it can help many, many people having this type of technology.'
If someone is a victim of domestic violence, for example, it would be more safe to text a dispatcher instead of call them, McCormick said. It could also prove helpful for someone who is injured in such a way that they cannot speak, she said.
Sometime further in the future, the live stream and video features could help first responders better understand a wildfire's intensity and direction, McCormick said.
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Stephen Weinkauf, NM 911 bureau chief at the state Department of Finance and Administration's Local Government Division, told Source NM on Thursday that every dispatch center in the state will transition to the new system over the next three months, starting with Valencia, Guadalupe and De Baca counties.
He said once the entire state is plugged in, dispatchers will be able to reroute a 911 call anywhere in the state.
'The end goal of NextGen911 is to provide a more accurate 911 call-routing, and a more reliable 911 network to ensure that we can increase the level of data and situational awareness to the 911 center and then out to the first responder,' Weinkauf said. 'This will reduce the level of call transfers, and our end goal is to reduce response times.'
Next Generation 911 will be able to reach all 46 emergency dispatch centers across the state because of an increase in the 911 surcharge already paid by New Mexicans who use cell phones and landlines.
Customers pay $0.51 per line per month to the telecommunications companies, who then pass that money on to the government. Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham on Monday signed Senate Bill 535, a package of bills that includes an increase to the 911 surcharge to $1 per line per month, which will raise more than $13 million in the next year and even more money in future years, according to legislative analysts.
Cecilia Mavrommatis, Local Government Division director for the state Department of Finance and Administration, told Source NM on Thursday that the increased surcharge will make 911 services more equitable statewide.
'I think we're more prepared now, after this legislative session,' Mavromattis said. 'We're talking about a direct impact on people's lives. This is going to save a life somewhere, at some point.'
SB535 also makes a series of changes to state laws governing the 988 Lifeline; workers' compensation; the Public Regulation Commission; and autonomy for New Mexicans with disabilities and older adults.
It increases the telecommunications relay service surcharge for phone calls to other states, from 0.33% to 1.66%, which will help pay for the 988 Lifeline.
'This investment in 988 is an investment in saving lives,' Health Care Authority Secretary Kari Armijo said in a statement on Monday. 'Every New Mexican should have access to compassionate, immediate support during a mental health crisis — this funding helps make that possible.'
Since 988 launched in July 2022, the HCA has paid for 988 with various temporary sources of money, agency spokesperson Marina Pina told Source NM. SB535 allows the lifeline to receive sustained annual funding, she said.
The money will also go toward other crisis services that people receive through 988, including mobile crisis teams, behavioral health clinics, and crisis triage centers and other behavioral and mental health services, she said.
SB535, starting in July, raises how much employers and workers pay each quarter into the Workers' Compensation Administration and the Uninsured Employers' Fund, and raises the payments again in 2028 and 2033.
Employers' fees will go from $2.30 to $2.80 per quarter, and workers' fees will go from $2.00 to $2.50.
SB535 also increases the Public Regulation Commission's inspection and supervision fee, charged to the utilities it supervises, from 0.506% to 0.59% of their total revenues, and creates an automatic annual increase based on a cost index published by the federal government.
The increased 911 funding was initially proposed in Senate Bill 137, which passed the Senate on March 1 but never received a hearing in the House of Representatives. However, the House Appropriations and Finance Committee amended it into SB535, which began as a zombie bill.
During floor debate on SB535, the House passed a floor amendment to include the Supported Decision-Making Act, which establishes a new program within the New Mexico Developmental Disabilities Planning Council's Office of Guardianship for supported decision-making agreements, an alternative to adult guardianships.
The program is intended to enable adults to receive decision-making support without losing their rights. The New Mexico Aging and Long-Term Services Department will help people get connected to the new program, the agency said in a news release on Thursday afternoon. 'Providing more pathways to autonomy and self-determination strengthens our communities,' ALTSD Cabinet Secretary Emily Kaltenbach said in a statement. 'This legislation will help ensure that those who need it have the necessary support to make informed decisions while maintaining their independence and dignity.'
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