Maryland Public Safety Section 1-304

      (a)      Each county shall have in operation an enhanced 9-1-1 system.

      (b)      If implementation is preceded by cooperative planning, the enhanced 9-1-1 system required under subsection (a) of this section may operate as part of a multicounty system.

      (c)      (1)      Services available through a 9-1-1 system shall include police, fire fighting, and emergency ambulance services.

            (2)      Other emergency and civil defense services may be incorporated into the 9-1-1 system at the discretion of the county or counties served by the 9-1-1 system.

      (d)      (1)      The digits 9-1-1 are the primary emergency telephone number in the 9-1-1 system.

            (2)      A public safety agency whose services are available through the 9-1-1 system:

                  (i)      may maintain a separate secondary backup telephone number for emergency calls; and

                  (ii)      shall maintain a separate telephone number for nonemergency calls.

      (e)      Educational information that relates to emergency services made available by the State or a county:

            (1)      shall designate the number 9-1-1 as the primary emergency telephone number; and

            (2)      may include a separate secondary backup telephone number for emergency calls.

      (f)      (1)      Each public safety answering point shall notify the public safety agencies in a county 9-1-1 system of calls for assistance in the county.

            (2)      Written guidelines shall be developed to govern the referral of calls for assistance to the appropriate public safety agency.

            (3)      State, county, and local public safety agencies with concurrent jurisdiction shall have written agreements to ensure a clear understanding of which specific calls for assistance will be referred to which public safety agency.

      (g)      Counties, other units of local government, public safety agencies, and public safety answering points may enter into cooperative agreements for the allocation of maintenance, operational, and capital costs attributable to the 9-1-1 system.