A bipartisan bill sponsored by State Sen. Cheryl Kagan (D-District 17) to alleviate 911 centers by creating a statewide 311 system using artificial intelligence will move forward to a Senate vote, before going to the House of Delegates for consideration.
“You probably know that this Saturday is Pi Day, because it’s 3/14. What you may not know is that today, March 11, is 311 day,” Kagan said during the senate floor session Wednesday.
311 is for non-emergency government information and service requests, like questions about trash and recycling, maintenance requests, and housing complaints. Six jurisdictions in Maryland have 311, according to Kagan, who represents residents of Gaithersburg and Rockville. 18 jurisdictions do not.
If passed, Maryland will be “the very first state in the country to have a statewide 311 system to lighten the load on our 911 centers,” Kagan said.
Montgomery County has its own 311 customer service center, as well as a 311 online chatbot “Monty 2.0,” powered by ChatGPT AI.
According to a 2025 report from Montgomery County police, last year the county’s 911 center selected AI technology that processes calls on its non-emergency number (301-279-8000), so call takers can have more time for 911 calls.
The average answer time for 911 calls in the county was 12 seconds last year. Calls on the non-emergency line are about 35% of the call volume, according to the report.
“If you need police, fire, or paramedics, because your mother isn’t breathing, your house is literally burning down, or you’ve just been attacked, you do not want voicemail, you do not want to be put on hold, you want someone to answer and dispatch the support that you need,” Kagan said.
“It’s not going to be the crazy stuff,” Kagan said regarding what responses AI may give. It will pull information from state and county websites. It will also be interoperable with the 911 system, the suicide and crisis 988 hotline, and the 211 system.
This will supplement, not replace, where 311 exists now. The bill also includes an oversight board — “there will be accountability,” Kagan said.
She said there will be a report after the chatbot is launched and after the voicebot is launched.
In October 1996, Baltimore City was the first city in the nation to create a 311 center.
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