BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATION
Senator Isadore Hall, III
Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular
Bill No: SB 449 Hearing Date: 4/14/2015
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|Author: |Nielsen |
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|Version: |04/08/2015 |
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|Urgency: |No |Fiscal: |Yes |
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|Consultant:|Felipe Lopez |
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SUBJECT: State contracts: telecommunications: callback features.
DIGEST: This bill requires that any contract or renewal of a
contract for a state agency, on and after January 1, 2016,
provide for a queue callback feature, as described.
ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
1)Requires contracts for the acquisition of telecommunication
services and goods, whether by lease or purchase, to be made
by, or be made under the supervision of, the Department of
Technology (CalTech).
2)Specifies that CalTech shall have responsibility for the
establishment of policy and procedures for telecommunications.
3)Specifies that the Trustees of the California State University
and the Board of Governors of the California Community
Colleges shall assume the functions of the agency with regard
to acquisition of telecommunications goods and services by the
California State University and the California Community
Colleges, respectively.
This bill:
SB 449 (Nielsen) Page 2 of ?
1)Requires that for any contract, on and after January 1, 2016,
for the acquisition of telecommunication services, or any
renewal of a contract for telecommunications services, for a
state agency that interacts with, or receives inquiries from,
the general public shall provide for a queue callback feature.
2)Describes a queue callback feature as a feature that allows
customers calling the state agency to be offered the option of
receiving a callback from a representative of the state agency
rather than wait on the telephone line for the next available
representative.
3)Defines a "state agency" as every state office, department,
division, bureau, board, and commission, but does not include
the Legislature and does not include the courts or an entity
in the judicial branch of government.
Background
Purpose of the bill: According to the author, while not all
state agencies have the manpower to immediately answer all
telephone calls, now with the assistance of technology, agents
can respond in a timely manner, and without the burdening wait
times. The author further contends that this bill seeks to make
state agencies more efficient by upgrading agency telephone
systems to an improved technology, which will in turn improve
the constituent experience and result in less wasted time spent
listening to hold music.
The author concludes that this bill will improve agency
operations by providing a tool that assists agents to more
efficiently serve their constituency.
Queue callback features: The queue callback feature has been
widely available at various different private and public
entities for quite some time. Though the feature might vary
slightly, ultimately the feature works in the following manner:
when a customer calls a particular entity and all of the
entity's representatives are busy, the customer is given the
option of either staying on the line or receiving a call back
once a representative becomes available. If the customer
decides the callback option, he or she would hang up the phone
and receive a call once a representative becomes available.
This option gives customers the opportunity to go about their
SB 449 (Nielsen) Page 3 of ?
day without the need to stay on hold. Businesses and public
agencies benefit by having such a system in a couple of ways.
First, the queue callback feature results in less irritated
customers. In addition, since there are fewer customers on
hold, a callback feature lowers the telecommunication costs.
California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) callback feature:
In 2011 the DMV began to offer a callback feature for its
customers. Rather than waiting on the line and waiting for the
next available customer agent, customers were given the option
of receiving a callback. The system is set to offer this option
when the average wait time exceeds 5 minutes.
This new queue callback feature lets customers hang up and go
about their day. When an agent becomes available, the system
automatically calls the DMV back. To the DMV agent, it looks
like any other inbound call.
This new feature has been a great success for the DMV and has
received positive reviews by DMV customers.
Prior/Related Legislation
AB 2523 (Cooley), Chapter 391, Statutes of 2014. The bill
requires the Director of CalTech to establish a unit, within
CalTech, of consulting information technology experts to serve
as support for state agencies.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.: Yes Local: No
SUPPORT:
Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association
OPPOSITION:
None received
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: The Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association
states that in an effort to promote transparency and put the
taxpayer first, a queue callback feature allows calls to be
returned when it is convenient for the individual needing
service. They further argue that government seems to have
SB 449 (Nielsen) Page 4 of ?
forgotten their job is to serve the taxpayers that support them
and that SB 449 will help address the problem.