The Alaska House Community and Regional Affairs Committee heard testimony Thursday on legislation that would reclassify emergency dispatchers as first responders and adjust their retirement benefits to match those of peace officers and firefighters.

House Bill 234, sponsored by Representative Carolyn Hall of West Anchorage, would move emergency dispatchers who work for police, fire, and state trooper offices from the general employee category in the Public Employees' Retirement System to the peace officer and firefighter category. The change would allow dispatchers to retire after 20 years of service instead of 30. The substitute bill is scheduled for referral to the House Labor and Commerce Committee following action in Community and Regional Affairs.

Hall told the committee that emergency dispatchers have evolved from simple radio operators to highly trained professionals who provide life-saving instructions before other first responders arrive.

"Today, our emergency dispatchers are highly trained to provide critical pre-arrival instructions to individuals experiencing often traumatic events," Hall said. "They deliver life-saving instructions before other first responders arrive, quickly calm people experiencing the worst day of their lives, obtain an accurate address and critical details, give instructions, and coordinate emergency responders within a few minutes of receiving that call."

The bill would affect a relatively small number of employees statewide. Anchorage has the largest cluster with 10 dispatchers who would be affected. The youngest of those currently eligible for normal retirement could do so on June 30, 2036.

For Tier 3 members of the retirement system, the legislation would raise employee contributions from 6.75 percent to 7.5 percent and change pension calculations from a highest five-year average to a highest three-year average. Tier 4 members in the defined contribution plan would gain access to medical coverage at any age after 25 years of service, rather than needing to reach age 65 with 10 years of service or fulfill 30 years of service.

Shane Westcott, representing the Alaska Professional Firefighters Association, emphasized the mental health toll on dispatchers who handle traumatic calls without the closure that field responders experience.

"When I go to a patient, I get to see the patient. I have an in-person interaction with that person. I get to bring them to the hospital and pass them on to a continuation of care," Westcott said. "What these dispatchers go through when they answer a phone, when someone is screaming in their ear calling for help and needing assistance, answering that call and dealing with it and getting the appropriate resources to them in a few moments, coaching them through CPR or coaching them through this catastrophic event that they are going through, to then hang up the phone and take the next call. There is no closure."