BILL ANALYSIS
AB 611
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 22, 2009
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATION
Curren D. Price, Chairman
AB 611 (Fong) - As Amended: April 15, 2009
SUBJECT : Emergency services: populations with limited English
proficiency.
SUMMARY : Requires the California Emergency Management Agency
(Cal EMA) to take measures to help people with limited English
proficiency (LEP) prepare for emergencies and understand
information conveyed during emergencies, such as utilizing
bilingual persons in public contact positions, and coordinating
with organizations that represent the needs of LEP persons in
order to disseminate guidance to local and regional governmental
entities. Specifically, this bill :
1) Provides that the Secretary of the California Emergency
Management Agency (Secretary) shall take into consideration
the multiple languages and the needs of populations with
LEP during emergency preparedness planning, response, and
recovery, including when developing committee
recommendations within the Standardized Emergency
Management System (SEMS) structure, drafting guidance for
local and regional governmental entities, and reviewing
emergency plans of state, regional, and local governmental
entities [Government Code Section 8588.16 (a) (1)].
2) Provides that the Secretary shall work in collaboration
with local ethnic community-based organizations and ethnic
media outlets in developing communication strategies so
that alert and warning information can be more broadly sent
out to LEP communities [Government Code Section 8588.16
(b)].
3) Specifies that the Secretary shall utilize a registry of
qualified bilingual persons in public contract positions,
as defined, to assist with emergency preparedness,
response, and recovery, as deemed necessary [Government
Code Section 8588.16 (c)].
4) Provides that the Secretary shall incorporate the needs
of populations with LEP in all emergency preparedness,
response, and recovery training and exercises, including
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the exercises identified in the statewide exercise strategy
and other exercises related to crisis communications
[Government Code Section 8588.16 (d)].
5) Makes legislative findings and declarations.
EXISTING LAW
1) Requires, under the California Emergency Services Act,
Cal EMA to coordinate the emergency services of all state
agencies in connection with emergencies, and to establish a
standardized emergency management system for use by all
emergency response agencies. Cal EMA is responsible for
assuring the state's readiness to respond to and recover
fro m the effects of emergencies that threaten lives,
property, and the environment. Cal EMA assists local
governments and state agencies in developing their
emergency preparedness, response, recovery and mitigation
plans, in accordance with the State Emergency Plan.
2) Provides that the Secretary is responsible for
coordinating the emergency activities of all state agencies
in connection with a state emergency.
3) Requires the Secretary to appoint representatives of the
disabled community to serve on Standardized Emergency
Management System (SEMS) committees. Requires the
Secretary to ensure that all SEMS committee recommendations
regarding preparedness, planning, and procedures relating
to emergencies include the needs of people with
disabilities.
4) Establishes the Emergency Council to act as an advisory
body to the Governor in times of emergency and on matters
of emergency preparedness. Requires the Emergency Council
to publish a biennial report on the state of emergency
preparedness for catastrophic disasters. Requires the
report to include information from the after action
analysis of disasters in the preceding two years, research
directed by the Emergency Council, and surveys of local and
state emergency response agencies. Requires the report to
also include a summary of strategic actions necessary to
address identified gaps in emergency preparedness and an
evaluation of previous efforts to close gaps identified in
previous reports, audits, and independent analyses.
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5) Requires Cal EMA to develop model guidelines for local
government agencies and community-based organizations
planning to develop a disaster registry program. Specifies
that adoption of the model guidelines is voluntary.
Requires the guidelines to:
a) Specify the intent of the registry is to
encourage that those registered will receive a phone
call or visit from neighborhood disaster volunteers as
soon as possible after the disaster;
b) Establish a list of person eligible for the
registry, including disabled person (including persons
with developmental disabilities), the elderly, those
for whom English is not a first language, long-term
health care facilities, residential community care
facilities, and residential care facilities for the
elderly;
c) Contain a statement specifying that the party
responsible for responding to those registered will
not beheld liable for not responding; and,
d) Contain a plan for ensuring that hard data is
available if computers shut down.
6) Defines a "bilingual person" as a person who is
proficient in both the English language and the foreign
language to be used. Defines a "sufficient number of
qualified bilingual persons in public contact positions" as
the number required to provide the same level of services
to non-English-speaking persons as is available to
English-speaking persons seeking services.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS : According to the author, California has long been
prone to disasters, and emergency preparedness planning at the
state and local levels is crucial for ensuring our state is
equipped to recover from any disaster situation. With 6 million
limited English proficient individuals in California, and 40
percent of Asian and Pacific Islander and Latino communities
having limited English proficiency, the state's emergency
preparedness system must account for the needs of our
significant LEP population.
In any emergency situation, communication with the public is
crucial for sending out instructions and procedures, thereby
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saving lives and minimizing injuries and damage.
Disaster preparedness report . The Tomas Rivera Policy Institute
and Asian Pacific American Legal Center worked together to
release a report in June 2008 that examines how communities with
large populations with LEP immigrants would fare in the face of
a natural disaster striking Southern California. After
conducting interviews with emergency service personnel, both in
local governments and in non-profit organizations, and holding
focus groups with LEP community members in their languages, they
came away with the several findings:
a) Both county and city government agencies and non-profit
relief organizations, for the most part, are not providing
culturally sensitive disaster preparedness education in
languages that reflect the demographics of the populations
being served;
b) Currently, there are no tools in place to provide
immediate translation of all emergency information in a
rapid manner to LEP populations in Southern California;
c) First responders rely on bilingual family members, often
children, to provide translation for officers, deputies,
fire personnel, etc.;
d) Latino, Chinese, and Vietnamese focus group participants
named their respective native language radio stations as
the first place they turn to for emergency information,
highlighting the importance of these ethnic media outlets
as a tool for communication; and,
e) All first response personnel interviewed stated that
immigration status is not considered when providing
disaster services, but none of the agencies interviewed had
in place mechanisms by which to reassure the public that
immigration status is not asked during disaster response.
Integrating Emergency Services . Little Hoover Commission
issued a report in 2006 titled Preparing for Catastrophic
Events that charged California for not being prepared to
respond to a catastrophic emergency. Since then, the
Governor's Office of Emergency Services has worked with the
Office of Homeland Security and, together, they have taken
steps to improve the performance in the area of emergency
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preparedness through their Golden Guardian exercises. In
2007, legislation required the Office of Emergency Services to
merge with the Office of Homeland Security to become the
California Emergency Management Agency (AB 38 (Nava), Chapter
372, 2008 Statutes).
Even with the recent improvements, the Little Hoover
Commission indicates that our state and local agencies must be
prepared to accommodate communication for large numbers of LEP
individuals. This bill seeks to build on our existing
emergency preparedness system to respond to this particular
need.
Related legislation . AB 1930 (Torrico), 2008 Legislative
Session, Held in Senate Appropriations Committee. Would have
required the Office of Emergency Services to take measures to
help people with limited English Proficiency (LEP) prepare for
emergencies and understand information conveyed during
emergencies, such as utilizing persons in public contact
positions, and coordinating with organizations that represent
the needs of LEP persons in order to disseminate guidance to
local and regional governmental entities.
AB 615 (Torrico), 2007 Legislative Session, Held in Assembly
Appropriations Committee. Would have required the Office of
Emergency Services to consider the needs of people with LEP in
creating emergency and disaster response plans.
AB 103 (Cohn), Chapter 696, 2006 Statutes. Requires the State
Department of Education to electronically distribute disaster
preparedness educational materials and lesson plans that are
currently available to local school districts and county
offices of education in at least the three most dominant
primary languages spoken by English learners in California.
Requires the Department of Education to coordinate with the
Office of Emergency Services to make sure that all materials
are reviewed and updated, annually.
SB 1451 (Kehoe), Chapter 600, 2006 Statutes. Requires OES to
ensure that members of the disabled community are represented
on all pertinent SEMS Specialist Committees to ensure that the
needs of people with disabilities are met during emergency and
disaster situations. Requires OES to submit a report to the
Legislature and appropriate state and local agencies by
January 1, 2009 containing recommendations regarding emergency
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preparedness and the needs of people with disabilities.
Requires OES to prepare and disseminate sample brochures and
other materials on the emergency preparedness and evacuations
needs of the disabled community. Requires OES and the Office
of the State Fire Marshal to seek research funding in order to
develop new technologies and information systems that will in
the effort to improve emergency services to people with
disabilities.
SB 546 (Dutton), Chapter 232, 2005 Statutes. Authorizes OES
to share facilities and systems with private businesses and
nonprofit organizations in a voluntary program that
integrates private sector emergency preparedness measures into
governmental disaster planning programs to the extent that the
cost of the program is reimbursed by the private
sector.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Asian Americans for Civil Rights and Equality (Sponsor)
American Civil Liberties Union
American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees,
AFL-CIO
American Red Cross, Bay Area Chapter
Asian and Pacific Islander American Health Forum
Asian Health Services
California Academy of Family Physicians
California Association of Nonprofits
California Catholic Conference
California Immigrant Policy Center
California Professional Firefighters
Latino Coalition for a Healthy California
Little Hoover Commission
NICOS Chinese Health Coalition
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by : Rod Brewer / G. O. / (916) 319-2531