BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 1211
Page 1
Date of Hearing: August 6, 2014
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Mike Gatto, Chair
SB 1211 (Padilla) - As Amended: May 27, 2014
Policy Committee: Utilities and
Commerce Vote: 16-0
Governmental Organization 14-0
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
No Reimbursable:
SUMMARY
This bill requires the Office of Emergency Services (OES) to
develop a plan, including a timeline of target dates, for the
development of a Next Generation 911 (Next Gen 911) emergency
communication system. Next Gen 911 is an upgrade to allow
texting as an option for requesting emergency assistance.
This bill requires OES, when determining the necessary 911
surcharge rate, to include costs to implement the Next Gen 911
system according to the plan. Specifically, this bill:
1)Requires the Next Gen 911 system to incorporate shared
infrastructure and elements of other public safety and
emergency communications networks.
2)Requires OES, when annually determining the surcharge rate
needed to fund 911 costs, to include planning, testing,
implementation, and operating costs consistent with the
established plan and timeline for the Next Gen 911 system.
3)Requires OES, at least one month before finalizing the
surcharge rate, to report a calculation of the proposed 911
surcharge to the Legislature and the 911 Advisory Board and
post it on its Internet Web site.
FISCAL EFFECT
1)One-time costs of approximately $250,000 from the State
Emergency Telephone Number Account for two years for OES to
develop the plan and timeline (State Emergency Telephone
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Number Account).
2)Increased cost pressures to implement Next Gen 911 estimated
to be $375 million during a five-year transition period, in
addition to $510 million to operate the current system (State
Emergency Telephone Number Account.)
3)Ongoing costs to operate the Next Gen 911 system are
anticipated to be higher than operating the current system due
to increased complexity (State Emergency Telephone Number
Account.)
4)Potential GF cost pressures resulting from a structural
imbalance in the State Emergency Telephone Number Account.)
OES annually determines a customer surcharge rate on intrastate
voice communication services to provide sufficient revenues to
fund the 911 emergency system. State Emergency Telephone Number
Account (SETNA) revenues have been sharply declining over the
last eight years because texting and other communication
technologies have been replacing intrastate voice service.
OES raised the surcharge to the statutory cap of 0.75% last
October, but the revenue decline is continuing. Program costs
have exceeded revenues for several years, requiring additional
funds from reserves and a GF loan to cover costs. Raising the
maximum surcharge amount is unlikely to provide a long-term
solution due to the decline is use of intrastate phone calls.
The cost of developing a plan under this bill and the ultimate
implementation of Next Gen 911 will put additional pressures on
the SETNA. GF revenues may be necessary to cover the costs of
the 911 system if the larger structural deficit issues with
SETNA are not addressed.
COMMENTS
1)Purpose. According to the author, California's statewide 911
telephone system will be upgraded to enable texting to 911 as
an option for requesting emergency assistance.
This bill establishes a process for adjusting the customer fee
that funds the 911 system. It also requires coordinated
planning of 911 upgrades, and shared infrastructure where
feasible, with other public safety communications networks
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deployed in California with state and federal funds.
2)Background. California's existing 911 emergency system was
established by the Warren 911 Emergency Assistance Act of 1976
and includes 458 Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPs). A
PSAP is a call center that is responsible for answering calls
to an emergency telephone number for police, firefighting, and
ambulance services. The PSAPs in California receive about 25
million 911 voice calls per year, 75% of which are from
wireless devices.
These calls are dispatched to local first responders including
police, ambulance, fire, medical and other emergency service
providers. The Public Safety Communications Office within OES
administers the state 911 system. In 2013, this office was
transferred from the California Technology Agency (CTA) to OES
as part of the 2013-14 Budget Act.
The 911 program costs are paid from SETNA funds derived from a
statewide 911 surcharge on telephone customer bills. OES is
required to determine the surcharge rate annually up to a
statutory maximum of 0.75% of intrastate service charges. The
SETNA has been in a structural deficit for years, with annual
surcharge revenue declining from about $133 million in 2005-06
to about $80 million in 2012-13. The rate was set at 0.50
percent from 2007 through 2013, but in October OES increased
the surcharge to 0.75 percent effective January 1, 2014, with
projected total revenue of $108 million for 2014-15.
3)Next Gen 911. Next Gen 911 refers to an Internet Protocol
(IP)-based, two-way communications system that will enable
real-time transmission of emergency-related voice, text, data,
photos, and video between the public and public safety
agencies. Next Gen 911 will build upon, and eventually
replace, the existing 911 voice system. Implementing Next Gen
911 will require substantial funding for PSAP upgrades to an
IP-based platform. A preliminary OES cost estimate reported in
2013 was $885 million for total hardware and software costs to
deploy conceptual Next Gen 911 design while also running the
existing 911 system. OES states this is an estimated $375
million over five years on top of the $510 million to operate
the existing system over that same five years.
Under a proposed FCC rule, wireless and Internet-based text
providers will be required to offer text-to-911 capability by
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December 31, 2014. Short Message Service (SMS) texting
technology is an acceptable interim solution prior to full
deployment of Next Gen 911 infrastructure. Text to 911 will
not be fully operational until PSAPs are "technically ready"
and authorized by a state or local 911 agency to receive 911
text messages.
To date, OES has not specified plans to fund PSAP upgrades to
receive texts, but reports that it is conducting pilots to
verify the operation of each form of text to provide the PSAPs
with a basis to determine which, if any, form of text they
want to receive. Carriers are required to send a "bounce
back" auto-reply message that the service is not available and
the customer should place a voice call instead.
Analysis Prepared by : Jennifer Galehouse / APPR. / (916)
319-2081