BILL ANALYSIS
AB 538
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Date of Hearing: March 31, 2009
Consultant: Larry Yee
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY
Jose Solorio, Chair
AB 538 (Arambula) - As Introduced: February 25, 2009
SUMMARY : Authorizes agencies that provide emergency medical
services to report misuse of the 911 system to the public safety
agency that originally received the call. Specifically, this
bill :
1)Permits emergency medical services providers to report
intentional, non-emergency use of the 911 telephone service to
the public safety entity that originally received the call.
2)Provides that the public safety entity that received the call
shall verify that a violation has occurred.
3)Provides that the public safety entity that received the call
shall issue warnings and citations consistent with Penal Code
Section 653y(a)(1) and (2).
EXISTING LAW :
1)States any person who knowingly allows the use or who uses the
911 telephone system for any reason other than because of an
emergency is guilty of an infraction, for a first or second
violation, a written warning shall be issued to the violator
by the public safety entity originally receiving the call
describing the punishment for subsequent violations. The
written warning shall inform the recipient to notify the
issuing agency that the warning was issued inappropriately if
the recipient did not make, or knowingly allowed, the use of
the 911 telephone system for the non-emergency 911 call. The
law enforcement agency may provide educational materials
regarding the appropriate use of the 911 telephone system.
[Penal Code Section 653y(a)(1).]
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2)Provides for a third or subsequent infraction, a citation may
be issued by the public safety entity originally receiving the
call pursuant to which the violator shall be subject to the
following penalties that may be reduced by a court upon
consideration of the violator's ability to pay [Penal Code
Section 653(a)(2)]:
a) For a third violation, a fine of $50.
b) For a fourth violation, a fine of $100.
c) For a fifth or subsequent violation, a fine of $200.
3)States the parent or legal guardian having custody and control
of an un-emancipated minor who violates this section shall be
jointly and severally liable with the minor for the fine
imposed pursuant to this section. [Penal Code Section
653y(b).]
4)Provides for purposes of this section, "emergency" is defined
as any condition in which emergency services will result in
the saving of a life; a reduction in the destruction of
property; quicker apprehension of criminals; or assistance
with potentially life-threatening medical problems, a fire, a
need for rescue, an imminent potential crime, or a similar
situation in which immediate assistance is required. [Penal
Code Section 653y(c).]
5)Provides that it is a misdemeanor to knowingly and maliciously
interrupt or otherwise interfere with the transmission of
emergency-related communication over an amateur or a citizen's
band radio frequency. Provides that it is a felony if this
offense results in serious bodily injury or property loss in
excess of $10,000. (Penal Code Section 653t.)
6)Provides that it is a misdemeanor to telephone the 911
emergency line with the intent to annoy or harass another
person, punishable by a fine of not more than $1,000; by
imprisonment in a county jail for not more than six months; or
by both the fine and imprisonment. Specifies that intent to
annoy or harass is established by proof of repeated calls over
a period of time, however short, that are unreasonable under
the circumstances. (Penal Code Section 653x.)
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7)Provides that it is a misdemeanor to knowingly report a false
emergency. Provides that it is a felony if this offense
results in great bodily injury or death. (Penal Code Section
148.3.)
8)Provides that the digits "911" shall be the primary emergency
telephone number, but a public agency may maintain a separate
secondary backup number and shall maintain a separate number
for non-emergency telephone calls. (Government Code Section
53111.)
9)States that the 991 system provides a simplified means of
procuring emergency services which will result in the saving
of life, a reduction in the destruction of property, and
quicker apprehension of criminals. (Government Code Section
53100.)
10)Provides that local governments are encouraged to develop and
improve emergency communication procedures so as to be able to
quickly respond to any person calling 911 seeking police,
fire, medical, rescue, and other emergency services.
(Government Code Section 53100.)
11)States that every local public agency may establish a
non-emergency telephone system with the digits "311" dedicated
as the non-emergency telephone number, and the location of the
initial call is to be determined to provide a coordinated
uniform delivery system (Government Code Section 53126.)
12)Provides that "non-emergency telephone system" is defined as
a system structured to provide access to public safety
agencies and to services provided by local public agencies,
such as street maintenance and animal control. (Government
Code 53126.5.)
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
1)Author's Statement : According to the author, "This bill is
intended to address the problem of individuals who call 911 to
arrange for emergency medical transportation, knowing that
they do not have a medical emergency.
"Existing law addresses the problem of people who call 911 as a
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prank, to harass, or to make conversation unrelated to any
emergency. However, the law is somewhat vague in dealing with
individuals who claim they are having an emergency primarily
to use the dispatched emergency transportation as a taxi
service."
2)Background : According to the background submitted by the
author, "Under current law, any person who knowingly allows
the use of, or who uses, the 911 telephone system for a
non-emergency, is guilty of an infraction. The law provides
that the entity that receives such non-emergency calls,
generally a public agency, shall issues warnings and citations
to violators.
"There is a weakness in current law as it may apply to people
who knowingly call 911 for emergency medical transportation
services, claiming a medical emergency, but whose only purpose
is to get transported from one location to wherever the
hospital emergency room is located. While no statistics have
been kept on this kind of abuse, both emergency medical
transportation services and emergency room physicians have
reported that this abuse is common, particularly in rural
areas.
"911 calls made from land lines are routed to city and county
communication centers. 911 calls made from cell phones are
answered by California Highway Patrol (CHP) communication
centers. Depending on the nature of the emergency, personnel
at the call centers will arrange for the appropriate response,
including, dispatching emergency transportation services.
"Many of these medical transportation services are private
operators who contract with the Local Emergency Medical
Services Agency. When dispatched, they are obligated to roll
to the location of the caller, and in most instances if there
is someone at that location complaining of an emergency
condition, the transportation service is obligated to
transport them to an emergency room for diagnosis and
treatment. Unfortunately, in many instances, after arriving
at the emergency room, the individual leaves the premises,
with no further complaint or treatment. They abuse the 911
emergency system just to get free transportation.
"CHP, city and county communications centers keep records, and
can identify individuals who make repeated calls. Under the
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law, only these public entities can cite and fine 911 abusers.
AB 536 would allow all emergency medical service providers to
inform the public 911 call centers of abusers, and require the
public entity to investigate such reports. If they confirm
abuse, then the public entity would be required to follow
current law relative to issuing warnings and citations."
3)911 Generally : The 911 telephone system was established as
the primary emergency telephone number in California by
Chapter 1005, Statutes of 1972, and is paid for by a statewide
surcharge (statutorily capped at 0.75%) on each telephone
bill. Telephone calls to 911 made from landline telephones
are routed to local city or county communication centers. All
911 calls made from cellular phones are routed to a CHP
communication center. Currently, there are 24 CHP
communication centers statewide, staffed by 691 CHP
dispatchers.
As of 2004, according to CHP representatives, CHP communication
centers received almost 8 million calls per year; 800,000 of
which are non-emergency calls. The San Diego Sheriff's
Department reported in 2001 that more than one-half of its 911
calls were frivolous.
4)The Senate Energy, Utilities and Communications Committee
analysis of AB 669 (Hertzberg), Chapter 731, Statutes of 2002
states, "The number of calls to 911 has grown faster than the
number of operators needed to answer those calls. In Los
Angeles, it's been reported that 5% of all 911 calls went
unanswered and 27% of the calls took ten or more seconds to
answer. In the San Francisco Bay Area, 23% of 911 calls made
by cellular telephones went unanswered. A significant number
of 911 calls are for non-emergency purposes - estimates on
just how many calls are of a non-emergency variety range from
as low as 20% to as high as 95%. In Sacramento, officials
estimate between 50% and 80% of 911 calls aren't true
emergencies."
5)Technical Correction : If future amendments are made, it is
suggested that on Page 2, Line 38, after "The public safety"
insert: "entity".
6)Argument in Support : None received.
7)Argument in Opposition : According to the San Bernardino
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County Board of Supervisors, "As you know, this legislation
would require the public safety entity (the entity that
received 911 calls), to verify that a violation has occurred
and to issue the applicable warnings and citations, as
specified. This new state mandate that would directly impose
onto the men and women of our 911 dispatch center the duties
of investigating, warning, and citing the offending individual
should be the responsibility of law enforcement personnel.
"As an alternative, AB 538 would better serve all involved if
amended to state that emergency service providers can report
911 abuses to law enforcement for investigation, warning, and
citation, leaving out those responsibilities being placed on
the original call taker agency.
8)Prior Legislation :
a) AB 1976 (Benoit), Chapter 89, Statutes of 2008,
increased the penalties for the second, third, and
subsequent non-emergency use of the 911 emergency telephone
system.
b) AB 911 (Longville), Chapter 295, Statutes of 2004, made
the use or knowingly allowing the use of the 911 telephone
system for non-emergency purposes an infraction, punishable
by fines.
c) AB 669 (Hertzberg), Chapter 731, Statutes of 2002,
permitted local public safety agencies to establish a
non-emergency "311" telephone system.
d) AB 2741 (Cannella), Chapter 262, Statutes of 1994, made
it a misdemeanor to telephone the 911 emergency telephone
system with the intent to annoy or harass another person,
punishable by a fine up to $1,000 and liability for all
reasonable costs incurred by any unnecessary emergency
response.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
None received
Opposition
AB 538
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County of San Bernardino
Analysis Prepared by : Larry Yee / PUB. S. / (916) 319-3744