BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                                                  AB 2051
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   May 5, 2010

                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
                                Felipe Fuentes, Chair

                 AB 2051 (Tran) - As Introduced:  February 18, 2010 

          Policy Committee:                              Governmental  
          Organization Vote:                            21 - 0 

          Urgency:     No                   State Mandated Local Program:  
          No     Reimbursable:              

           SUMMARY  

          This bill authorizes the California Emergency Management Agency  
          (CalEMA) to prepare a specialized plan to mobilize elderly and  
          disabled persons during an emergency or natural disaster. 

           FISCAL EFFECT  

          CalEMA is already authorized to develop a mobilization plan for  
          persons with disabilities and seniors during an emergency.   
          Their Office of Access and Functional Needs Assessment works  
          with other entities to ensure that the needs of these  
          populations are addressed during any type of emergency.  
          Therefore, there are no new costs associated with this  
          legislation.

           COMMENTS  

           1)Purpose  . According to the author, the law does not  
            specifically require CalEMA to develop an emergency plan  
            tailored to senior citizens and disabled people.  The author  
            states, "Senior citizens and disabled people are among those  
            who are most at risk during a natural disaster because of  
            their limited mobility or non-mobile status." The author  
            believes that this bill will facilitate a discussion and bring  
            community leaders together so that an efficient, effective  
            plan can be established to ensure the safety of as many  
            citizens as possible.

           2)Related Legislation  . SB 1451 (Kehoe; Chapter 600, Statutes of  
            2006) required the Office of Emergency Services (OES) to  
            ensure that members of the disabled community are represented  








                                                                  AB 2051
                                                                  Page  2

            on all pertinent emergency preparedness committees.

            In 2010, AB 1970 (Fong) would require counties to assess the  
            needs of the elderly and disabled in emergency shelters during  
            a declared state of emergency and to provide and pay In-Home  
            Supportive Services (IHSS) providers to work with those  
            individuals needing services. That bill is currently pending  
            on this committee's suspense file. 

           Analysis Prepared by  :    Julie Salley-Gray / APPR. / (916)  
          319-2081