BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 2311
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Date of Hearing: May 4, 2016
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Lorena Gonzalez, Chair
AB
2311 (Brown) - As Amended March 16, 2016
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Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: YesReimbursable:
Yes
SUMMARY:
This bill requires state and local agencies to utilize a
credentialed sign language interpreter in public events
regarding an emergency. Specifically, this bill:
AB 2311
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1)Requires the California Governor's Office of Emergency
Services (CalOES), in cooperation with the Office for Access
and Functional Needs (OAFN), to provide or contract for a
disaster response sign language interpreter credential program
to train American Sign Language interpreters to effectively
communicate public safety information.
2)Requires every state agency and every local agency to utilize
a sign language interpreter who has completed the credential
program to provide interpretation services at every media or
public briefing and any emergency shelter where actionable
information will be disseminated before, during, or after a
state of war emergency, state of emergency, or local
emergency.
FISCAL EFFECT:
1)Negligible costs to develop a credentialing program for
certified sign language interpreters. OAFN already has a
program in place that meets the requirements of this bill.
2)Unknown reimbursable costs to local agencies for employing
credentialed sign language interpreters in the event of a
state-declared emergency. The estimated cost for a local
agency to bring aboard an interpreter for public events on
disasters, per event, is in the range of $200 to $300, which
covers the hourly rate and estimated travel reimbursement.
State costs would depend on the number of qualified
state-declared disasters that occur in a given year, with most
years having few emergencies and thus minor costs. Costs would
be much greater in the event of a sustained state-declared
disaster that covers many jurisdictions.
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3)Significant ongoing costs for CalOES in the range of $100,000
to expand coordination of current credential programs to meet
increased local demand for certified sign language
interpreters. Under the current model, CalOES does not bear
the cost of running credentialing programs. However, CalOES
staff help manage referrals and the program would need to be
expanded to accommodate these new local requirements.
COMMENTS:
1)Purpose. According to the author, the deaf community continues
to be denied access to information and resources at the time
of disasters. This bill is intended to remove barriers to
critical information for the deaf community in times of need.
2)Background. In 2009, the California Legislature merged the
powers, purposes, and responsibilities of the former OES with
those of OHS into the newly- created California Emergency
Management Agency (Cal EMA). On July 1, 2013, Governor Edmund
G. Brown Jr.'s Reorganization Plan #2 eliminated Cal EMA and
restored it to the Governor's Office, renaming it the
California Governor's Office of Emergency Services (CalOES),
and merging it with the Office of Public Safety
Communications. Today, CalOES is responsible for overseeing
and coordinating emergency preparedness, response, recovery
and homeland security activities within the state.
3)Office for Access and Functional Needs (OAFN).
In January 2008, CalOES established the OAFN. The purpose of
OAFN is to identify the needs of people with disabilities and
others with access and functional needs before, during, and
after a disaster and to integrate disability needs and
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resources into 4)emergency management systems. OAFN offers
guidance to emergency managers and planners, disability and
older adult service systems for planning and responding during
disasters and recovery.
5)Reach of this bill. The Assembly Governmental Organization
Committee's analysis of this bill notes that CalOES currently
has in place a Disaster Response Interpreter (DRI) Training
Course that should satisfy certain provisions of AB 2311. This
course involves partnerships with local on-call sign language
services, and certified interpreters are already sent to areas
affected by disaster.
AB 2311's mandate that every local agency must utilize a
certified sign language interpreter at every relevant meeting
would likely result in an increased demand for interpreters.
According to CalOES, there are approximately 100 statewide
certified interpreters spread across various agencies
statewide. The number of certified interpreters would have to
increase substantially to ensure this mandate could be met on
the state and local level.
Analysis Prepared by:Luke Reidenbach / APPR. / (916)
319-2081
AB 2311
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