BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1769|
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CONSENT
Bill No: AB 1769
Author: Rodriguez (D)
Amended: 3/28/16 in Assembly
Vote: 21
SENATE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE: 7-0, 6/14/16
AYES: Hancock, Anderson, Glazer, Leno, Liu, Monning, Stone
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: Senate Rule 28.8
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 79-0, 4/21/16 (Consent) - See last page for
vote
SUBJECT: 911 emergency system: nuisance communications
SOURCE: Author
DIGEST: This bill expands existing law, which makes a "nuisance
call" to the 911 system a misdemeanor, subject to specific
fines, by making the same prohibitions and penalties applicable
to other electronic communication devices.
ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
1)Prohibits the use of a telephone for the purpose of annoying
or harassing an individual through the 911 line. (Pen. Code §
653x(a).)
2)States that the intent to annoy or harass is established by
proof of repeated calls that are unreasonable under the
circumstances. (Pen. Code § 653x(b).)
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3)States that anyone guilty of using the 911 line to annoy or
harass is responsible for all reasonable costs incurred by the
unnecessary emergency response. (Pen. Code § 653x(c).)
4)States that anyone who knowingly uses the 911 telephone system
for any reason other than because of an emergency is guilty of
an infraction, punishable by a warning for a first offense,
and fines for subsequent offenses. (Pen. Code § 653y)
This bill:
1)Prohibits the use of electronic communications for the purpose
of annoying or harassing an individual through the 911 system.
2)States that the intent to annoy or harass is established by
proof of repeated communications that are unreasonable under
the circumstances.
3)States that anyone who knowingly contacts the 911 system via
electronic communication for any reason other than an
emergency is guilty of an infraction.
Background
The Warren 911 Emergency Assistance Act established the original
911 line in California as part of a national push to make 911
the primary contact number for emergencies nationwide. The
Local Emergency Telephone Systems Article required localities to
develop their own system or join a regional system for police,
fire and medical emergency dispatch using the 911 phone number
rather than the thousands of separate emergency numbers for each
local department which previously existed. The regional
dispatchers who connect 911 callers to the appropriate emergency
response entity are called Public Safety Answering Points
(PSAPs). Currently, there are 452 PSAPs statewide receiving
tens of millions of calls each year, with approximately half of
these coming from cell phones. The volume of calls and the
difficulty in locating cell phone callers, among other issues,
precipitated the need for an upgrade to the 911 system.
The Office of Emergency Services (OES) is responsible for
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planning, implementing and upgrading the 911 system statewide.
Through the California 911 Emergency Communications Branch of
the Logistics Operation Directorate, OES has begun the process
of upgrading the 911 system as required under the Government
Code. The IP based network of NextGen911 (NG911) will allow for
capabilities such as location based routing, policy based
routing and dynamic call routing between PSAPs. Additionally,
applications like text, video and photos along with continual
advancements in communications technology create the desire for
a more advanced system to access emergency care. Currently,
there are five NG911 pilot programs in the state. As these
expand, the volume of text and other electronic communications
to the 911system will increase.
The Penal Code provisions amended by this bill deter frivolous
or harassing calls which can clog the 911 system. The National
Emergency Number Association 911 dispatchers' goal of answering
90% of calls in 10 seconds or less were not met in many
California counties due to high volume of calls. Frivolous
calls, non-emergency calls or prank calls that include
'swatting' and other harassment consume dispatchers' time and
prevent them from helping individuals in actual emergencies.
The Penal Code attempts to deter frivolous, harassing or
otherwise inappropriate non-emergency calls by imposing a
schedule of warnings and fines in the case of frivolous and
non-emergency calls, or fines and jail time for use of the 911
system to annoy or harass dispatchers. However, both of these
Code Sections prohibit only telephone calls and not the other
electronic communications methods enabled by NG911 systems.
This bill prohibits those electronic communications.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.:YesLocal: Yes
SUPPORT: (Verified 6/27/16)
Association for Los Angeles Deputy Sheriffs
California Association of Code Enforcement Officers
California College and University Police Chiefs Association
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California Fire Chiefs Association
California Narcotic Officers Association
California Peace Officers' Association
California Police Chiefs Association, Inc.
California State Sheriffs' Association
City of Ontario
Fire Districts Association of California
Los Angeles Police Protective League
Los Angeles County Professional Peace Officers Association
Office of the Los Angeles Sheriff
Professional Peace Officers Association
Riverside Sheriffs' Association
San Diego County Sheriff's Department
OPPOSITION: (Verified6/27/16)
None received
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: According to the California Police
Chiefs Association Inc., "Current law only addresses nuisance
9-1-1 phone calls. AB 1769 amends Penal Code (PC) Section 653x
to include nuisance texting. It is imperative that the Penal
Code reflect the new option to text 9-1-1 as agencies continue
to implement NextGen 9-1-1, which allows for digital information
to flow form the public, through the 9-1-1 networks, and on to
emergency responders."
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 79-0, 4/21/16
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Travis Allen, Arambula, Atkins, Baker,
Bigelow, Bloom, Bonilla, Bonta, Brough, Brown, Burke,
Calderon, Campos, Chang, Chau, Chávez, Chiu, Chu, Cooley,
Cooper, Dababneh, Dahle, Daly, Dodd, Eggman, Frazier, Beth
Gaines, Gallagher, Cristina Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gatto,
Gipson, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gray, Grove, Hadley, Harper,
Roger Hernández, Holden, Irwin, Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Kim,
Lackey, Levine, Linder, Lopez, Low, Maienschein, Mathis,
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Mayes, McCarty, Medina, Melendez, Mullin, Nazarian, Obernolte,
O'Donnell, Olsen, Patterson, Quirk, Rodriguez, Salas,
Santiago, Steinorth, Mark Stone, Thurmond, Ting, Wagner,
Waldron, Weber, Wilk, Williams, Wood, Rendon
NO VOTE RECORDED: Ridley-Thomas
Prepared by:Molly Lao / PUB. S. /
6/29/16 15:50:39
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