BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1074|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 1074
Author: Fuentes (D)
Amended: 8/15/11 in Senate
Vote: 27 - Urgency
SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE : 5-0, 7/5/11
AYES: Evans, Harman, Blakeslee, Corbett, Leno
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 76-0, 5/26/11 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Personal liability immunity:
telecommunications service
providers
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill provides that a retail or wholesale
service provider of telecommunications service, or other
service, involved in providing 9-1-1 service, as specified,
shall not be liable for any civil claim, damage, or loss
caused by an act or omission in the design, development,
installation, maintenance, or provision of 9-1-1 service.
This immunity would not apply, however, if the act or
omission that proximately caused the claim, damage, or loss
constituted gross negligence, wanton or willful misconduct,
or intentional misconduct. The immunity also would not
apply to services provided under tariff. This bill defines
"public safety agency" and "9-1-1 service" for the purposes
of this bill, and otherwise makes findings and declarations
with respect to Next Generation 9-1-1 (NG 9-1-1) services.
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Senate Floor Amendments of 8/15/11 add an urgency clause.
ANALYSIS : Existing state law generally provides that
everyone is responsible, not only for the result of his/her
willful acts, but also for an injury occasioned to another
by his/her want of ordinary care or skill in the management
of his/her property or person, except so far as the latter
has, willfully or by want of ordinary care, brought the
injury upon himself/ herself. (Civil Code Section 1714)
Existing federal law provides that a wireless carrier,
Internet Protocol (IP)-enabled voice service provider, or
other emergency communications provider, and their
officers, directors, employees, vendors, and agents, shall
have immunity or other protection from liability in a state
of a scope and extent that is not less than the scope and
extent of immunity or other protection from liability that
any local exchange company, and its officers, directors,
employees, vendors, or agents, have under federal and state
law (whether through statute, judicial decision, tariffs
filed by such local exchange company, or otherwise)
applicable in such state, including in connection with an
act or omission involving the release to a public safety
answer point (PSAP), emergency medical service provider or
emergency dispatch provider, public safety, fire service or
law enforcement official, or hospital emergency or trauma
care facility of subscriber information related to
emergency calls, emergency services, or other emergency
communications services. (47 United States Section 615a)
Existing federal law provides that in matters related to
9-1-1 communications via wireless 9-1-1 service, IP-enabled
voice service, or other emergency communications service, a
PSAP, and its employees, vendors, agents, and authorizing
government entity (if any) shall have immunity or other
protection from liability of a scope and extent that is not
less than the scope and extent of immunity or other
protection from liability under applicable law accorded to
such PSAP, employees, vendors, agents, and authorizing
government entity, respectively, in matters related to
9-1-1 communications that are not via wireless 9-1-1
service, IP-enabled voice service, or other emergency
communications service. (47 United States Code Section
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615a)
Existing Public Utilities Commission (PUC) tariff provides
that a utility shall not be liable for civil damages,
whether in contract, tort or otherwise, to any person,
corporation, or other entity for any loss or damage caused
by any Utility act or omission in the design, development,
installation, maintenance, or provision of 9-1-1 Service
other than an act or omission constituting gross negligence
or wanton or willful misconduct. The Utility shall not be
liable or responsible for any indirect, incidental, or
consequential damages associated with the provision of
9-1-1 Service, including, for example and without
limitation, when a call originates from a system or line
which makes the provision of specific location information
impossible to provide for technical reasons, and when a
failure or interruption in 9-1-1 Service is due to the
attachment of any equipment by a customer to Utility
facilities.
Existing state law, the Warren 911-Emergency Assistance
Act, requires every local public agency to establish a
telephone service which automatically connects a person
dialing the digits "911" to an established public safety
answering point through normal telephone service
facilities. (Government Code Section 53100 et seq.) This
Act defines "public safety agency" to mean a functional
division of a public agency which provides firefighting,
police, medical, or other emergency services. (Government
Code Section 53102)
This bill provides that a retail or wholesale service
provider of telecommunications service in accordance with
the Warren-911-Emergency Assistance Act (Article 6
(commencing with Section 53100) of Chapter 1 of Part 1 of
Division 2 of Title 5 of the Government Code) involved in
providing 9-1-1 service, shall not be liable for any civil
claim, damage, or loss caused by an act or omission in the
design, development, installation, maintenance, or
provision of 9-1-1 service, unless the act or omission that
proximately caused the claim, damage, or loss constituted
gross negligence, wanton or willful misconduct, or
intentional misconduct.
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This bill defines "public safety agency" in accordance with
the Warren 911-Emergency Assistance Act, and define "9-1-1
service" as a telecommunications service, or other wireline
or wireless service, that provides to the user of the
public telephone system the ability to reach a public
safety agency by utilizing the digits 9-1-1 or otherwise
facilitates the provision of emergency services pursuant to
the Warren-911-Emergency Assistance Act.
This bill provides that "9-1-1 service" includes a 9-1-1
service that utilizes in whole or in part an IP.
This bill specifies that this section shall not be
construed to modify the liability of a manufacturer,
distributor, or other person arising from a claim, damage,
or loss, related to the operation or performance of an
end-user device that is not related to the provision of
9-1-1 service.
This bill does not apply to services provided under tariff.
This bill includes findings and declarations.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 7/12/11)
AT&T
California's Independent Telecommunications Companies
Civil Justice Association of California
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author:
"This bill extends the same immunity from ordinary
negligence that telephone companies have in their tariff
to other service providers when they are functioning as
part of the 911 emergency system. This immunity would
only attach when a third party is actively participating
in connecting a caller to a 911 provider, and not
generally to the company or its other activities.
"All entities associated with responding to emergencies,
including providers of 911 service, have immunity from
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ordinary negligence. Without this protection, no entity,
whether a public agency or private company, could assume
the risk of liability associated with responding to an
emergency. Emergency responders have immunity through
statute, while telephone corporations have it through
tariffs filed with the Public Utilities Commission (PUC).
NG 911, however, will involve third-party providers that
are neither emergency responders nor telephone companies,
and these third-parties will be deterred from providing
emergency related services if they cannot have the same
immunity from ordinary negligence. The leading examples
are companies that maintain mapping databases and
specialize in converting X/Y map coordinates into an
address, which is a vital function in locating a wireless
caller who cannot give their location."
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 76-0, 5/26/11
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Beall,
Bill Berryhill, Block, Blumenfield, Bonilla, Bradford,
Brownley, Buchanan, Butler, Charles Calderon, Campos,
Carter, Chesbro, Conway, Cook, Dickinson, Donnelly, Eng,
Feuer, Fletcher, Fong, Fuentes, Furutani, Beth Gaines,
Galgiani, Garrick, Gatto, Gordon, Grove, Hagman,
Halderman, Hall, Harkey, Hayashi, Roger Hernández, Hill,
Huber, Hueso, Huffman, Jeffries, Knight, Lara, Logue,
Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Mansoor, Mendoza, Miller, Mitchell,
Monning, Morrell, Nestande, Nielsen, Norby, Olsen, Pan,
Perea, V. Manuel Pérez, Portantino, Silva, Skinner,
Smyth, Solorio, Swanson, Torres, Valadao, Wagner,
Wieckowski, Williams, Yamada, John A. Pérez
NO VOTE RECORDED: Cedillo, Davis, Gorell, Jones
RJG:mw 8/15/11 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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