BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 770
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Date of Hearing: April 6, 2011
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Felipe Fuentes, Chair
AB 770 (Torres) - As Introduced: February 17, 2011
Policy Committee:
UtilitiesVote:11-3
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
No Reimbursable:
SUMMARY
This bill adds responsibilities to the Public Safety
Communications Office, within the California Technology Agency
(CTA), and to the State 911 Advisory Board. Specifically, this
bill:
1)Requires the Office, in its biennial review and update of
technical and operational standards, to include standards for
the recruitment and training of public safety dispatchers.
2)Expands the 911 Advisory Board's responsibility for advising
the Office to including:
a) Training standards for public safety workers.
b) Issues regarding the receipt of calls in a language
other than English by dispatchers at public safety
answering points, and the need for additional recruitment
of multilingual dispatchers, and the need to create
standardized and advanced training programs for all
dispatchers.
3)Adds representatives from the Commission of Peace Officer
Standards and Training (POST) and the Office of the State Fire
Marshal to the advisory board.
FISCAL EFFECT
One-time special fund costs in the range of $250,000 in
contracts to support the advisory board regarding its additional
responsibilities and to assist the Office in incorporating
AB 770
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recruitment and training standards into its biennial review.
The Office lacks any expertise with regard to dispatch center
operations and would have to contract for such expertise to
fulfill the requirements of this bill. �State Emergency
Telephone Number Account]
COMMENTS
1)Background . The Warren-911-Emergency Assistance Act (911 Act)
of 1976 was enacted to reduce the time required for a citizen
to request and receive emergency aid. The 911 Act established
the Department of General Services (DGS) as the state
oversight entity in order to ensure cooperation between the
public agencies, public safety agencies, and telephone service
areas that were involved with implementation. Because DGS
lacked expertise in this subject area, the 911 Act also
created a board to advise DGS on specific issues, including
technical and operational standards for the 911 system and
training standards for county coordinators and dispatch center
managers. The Governor's Reorganization Plan No. 1 of the
2009-10 Session led to establishment of the CTA and
transferred the above responsibilities from DGS to the new
agency.
2)Purpose . According to the author's office, AB 770 addresses
potential improvements in the procedures for recruiting,
training, and ongoing skill development for 911 dispatchers,
who perform a crucial function in the public safety system.
Their job is high-stress, and requires precise and effective
performance in order to relay calls accurately from the public
and making the call to the proper emergency responder.
Recruitment hurdles and high rates of turnover make filling
all dispatcher positions challenging.
3)Prior Legislation . In 2009, AB 423 (Torres), which was
substantially similar to this bill, was vetoed by Governor
Schwarzenegger, who cited concerns over cost and duplication
of effort.
Analysis Prepared by : Chuck Nicol / APPR. / (916) 319-2081