BILL ANALYSIS
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 424
Author: Torres (D)
Amended: 6/22/10 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE ENERGY, U.&C. COMMITTEE : 8-1, 6/15/10
AYES: Padilla, Dutton, Corbett, Florez, Kehoe, Lowenthal,
Simitian, Wright
NOES: Strickland
NO VOTE RECORDED: Cox, Oropeza
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 7-4, 8/12/10
AYES: Kehoe, Alquist, Corbett, Leno, Price, Wolk, Yee
NOES: Ashburn, Emmerson, Walters, Wyland
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 46-24, 1/27/10 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : 911 emergency telephone number system
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill requires the Office of the Chief
Information Officer to develop and implement a public
education campaign regarding appropriate and inappropriate
uses of the 911 emergency telephone system.
ANALYSIS : Under current law, local governments (and the
California Highway Patrol) respond to calls made to the 911
emergency telephone system. The Office of the Chief
Information Officer is required to oversee the development
CONTINUED
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and operation of the system. California residents pay a
surcharge based on the amount paid for all intrastate
telephone calls. The surcharge is set by the Department of
General Services, and must be between 0.5 percent and 0.75
percent of the billed amount. (Currently, the surcharge is
set at 0.5 percent.) Revenues generated from the surcharge
are used to pay for state oversight costs, paying for 911
database and networks costs, local government equipment
costs, and local public education campaigns.
This bill requires the Office of the Chief Information
Officer to develop and implement a public education
campaign to instruct the public on appropriate and
inappropriate uses of the 911 system. This bill sets out
several subject areas that the campaign may include, such
as the difference between emergency calls and non-emergency
calls, information that callers should provide to 911
dispatchers, and education specifically directed towards
children.
This bill specifies that the costs of the campaign are to
be considered allowable administrative costs of the 911
surcharge.
Comments
Purpose of the bill . According to the author, who has 18
years of experience as a 911 dispatcher, the purpose of
this bill is to improve the ability of the public to make
informed and effective use of the 911 telephone system and
thereby improve public agency response to emergencies. The
author states that experts believe up to 80 percent of 911
calls may not involve genuine emergencies, these
non-emergency calls overburden the 911 system, and Public
Safety Answering Point performance could be improved with
better public understanding of when and how to make a 911
call.
The Wireless Challenge . The legislative findings in this
bill cite the "multiple challenges" facing California's 911
emergency response system, including "rapidly evolving
communications technologies." The bill requires a public
education campaign about the 911 emergency telephone number
system and identifies specific topics that "may" be
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included in this campaign but does not specifically mention
an education program about wireless 911 service. As
identified in the California 911 Strategic Plan, wireless
911 calls pose unique challenges relating to caller
location, call routing, and emergency response time.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/12/10)
AT&T
California Professional Firefighters
ASSEMBLY FLOOR :
AYES: Ammiano, Arambula, Beall, Block, Blumenfield,
Bradford, Brownley, Buchanan, Caballero, Charles
Calderon, Chesbro, Coto, Davis, De La Torre, Eng, Evans,
Feuer, Fong, Fuentes, Furutani, Galgiani, Hayashi,
Hernandez, Hill, Huber, Huffman, Jeffries, Jones, Lieu,
Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Mendoza, Monning, Nava, Nielsen,
John A. Perez, Portantino, Ruskin, Salas, Saldana,
Skinner, Solorio, Swanson, Torres, Torrico, Yamada
NOES: Adams, Anderson, Bill Berryhill, Tom Berryhill,
Blakeslee, Cook, DeVore, Emmerson, Fletcher, Fuller,
Gaines, Garrick, Hagman, Harkey, Knight, Logue, Miller,
Nestande, Niello, Silva, Smyth, Audra Strickland, Tran,
Villines
NO VOTE RECORDED: Carter, Conway, De Leon, Gilmore, Hall,
V. Manuel Perez, Torlakson, Bass
DLW:mw 8/17/10 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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