BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATION
Senator Isadore Hall, III
Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular
Bill No: AB 2311 Hearing Date: 6/28/2016
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|Author: |Brown |
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|Version: |5/27/2016 Amended |
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|Urgency: |No |Fiscal: |Yes |
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|Consultant:|Felipe Lopez |
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SUBJECT: Emergency services: access and functional needs in
emergencies
DIGEST: This bill requires each political subdivision of the
state to integrate access and functional needs, as defined, into
its emergency plan.
ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
1)Establishes the Office of Emergency Services (OES) which is
responsible for the state's emergency and disaster response
services for natural, technological, or manmade disasters and
emergencies.
2)Requires OES to work with specified entities to improve
communication with deaf and hearing-impaired persons during
emergencies.
3)Specifies that "political subdivision" includes any city, city
and county, county, district, or other local governmental
agency or public agency authorized by law.
4)Defines "emergency plans" to mean those official and approved
documents which describe the principles and methods to be
applied in carrying out emergency operations or rendering
mutual aid during emergencies. These plans include such
AB 2311 (Brown) Page 2 of ?
elements as continuity of government, the emergency services
of governmental agencies, mobilizations of resources, mutual
aid, and public information.
This bill:
1)Requires each political subdivision to integrate access and
functional needs into its emergency plan by addressing, at a
minimum, how the access and functional needs population is
served by the following:
a) Emergency communications, including the integration of
interpreters, translators, and assistive technology.
b) Emergency evacuation, including the identification of
transportation resources that are compliant with the
federal American with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) for
individuals who are dependent on public transportation.
c) Emergency sheltering, including ensuring that designated
shelters are compliant with ADA or can be made compliant
through modification and that showers and bathrooms are
fully accessible to all occupants.
2)Specifies that "access and functional needs population"
consists of individuals who have developmental or intellectual
disabilities, physical disabilities, chronic conditions,
injuries, limited English proficiency or who are non-English
speaking, older adults, children, people living in
institutionalized settings, or those who are low income,
homeless, or transportation disadvantaged, including, but not
limited to, those who are dependent on public transit or those
who are pregnant.
Background
Purpose of the bill. According to the author, "despite ADA
requirements and the existence of OES' Office of Access and
Functional Needs (OAFN), local governments and officials are not
integrating access and functional needs within their emergency
processes when they deliver actionable information to the public
during disasters and emergencies. This oversight violates ADA
and places the health and safety of California's access and
functional needs population at risk during disasters and
emergencies."
Office of Access and Functional Needs. In January 2008, OES
established the OAFN with the purpose to identify the needs of
AB 2311 (Brown) Page 3 of ?
people with disabilities and others with access and functional
needs before, during, and after a disaster and to integrate
disability needs and resources into emergency management
systems. The OAFN offers guidance to emergency managers and
planners, disability and older adult service systems for
planning and responding during disasters and recovery.
According to the U.S. Census of 2010, approximately three
million Californian's over the age of five years have a
disability. The OAFN goal is to strengthen the method and
planning of emergency management for people with disabilities
and others with access and functional needs.
Prior/Related Legislation
AB 918 (Cooley, Chapter 187, Statutes of 2013) required OES, on
or before July 31, 2015, to update the State Emergency Plan to
include proposed best practices for local governments and
nongovernmental entities to use to mobilize and evacuate people
with disabilities and others with access and functional needs
during an emergency or natural disaster.
AB 2051 (Tran, 2010) would have authorize the California
Emergency Management Agency to prepare, in voluntary cooperation
with specific local governmental and nongovernmental entities, a
specialized plan to mobilize senior citizens and disabled person
during an emergency or natural disasters. (Held on Senate
Appropriations Suspense File)
SB 426 (Kehoe, 2007) would have established a Deputy Director
for Access and Functional Needs position within OES responsible
for preparedness, response, and recovery services for
individuals of all ages with functional limitations and
disabilities. (Held on the Senate Appropriations Suspense File)
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.: Yes Local: Yes
SUPPORT:
California Coalition of Agencies Serving the Deaf & Hard of
Hearing (Source)
California Association of the Deaf
California School Employees Association, AFL-CIO
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Greater Los Angeles Agency on Deafness, Inc.
Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf, Inc.
OPPOSITION:
None received
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: According to the California Coalition
of Agencies Serving the Deaf & Hard of Hearing, "barriers to
access still exist, especially for those deaf Californians who,
due to language deprivation or delays, have not mastered the
English language and cannot follow written instructions and/or
captioning shown on media outlets. Having a sign language
interpreter will fill a huge communication access gap that has
been long ignored. It is high time that county and state
officials remove barriers to communication for public safety
reasons so that all Californians have access to all press/media
conferences shown on TV, including those at the emergency
shelters."