BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 770
Page 1
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 770 (Torres)
As Amended June 1, 2011
Majority vote
UTILITIES & COMMERCE 11-3
APPROPRIATIONS 12-5
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|Ayes:|Bradford, Fletcher, |Ayes:|Fuentes, Blumenfield, |
| |Buchanan, Fong, Fuentes, | |Bradford, Charles |
| |Furutani, Roger | |Calderon, Campos, Davis, |
| |Hern�ndez, Huffman, Ma, | |Gatto, Hall, Hill, Lara, |
| |Skinner, Swanson | |Mitchell, Solorio |
| | | | |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
|Nays:|Knight, Nestande, Valadao |Nays:|Harkey, Donnelly, |
| | | |Nielsen, Norby, Wagner |
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SUMMARY : Expands the size and responsibilities of the state's
911 Advisory Board (advisory board). Specifically, this bill :
1)Requires the State Chief Information Officer (CIO) to review
and update standards for training of public safety
dispatchers when reviewing and updating technical and
operational standards for public agency systems.
2)Adds one representative from the Commission on Peace Officer
Standards and Training and a representative from the Office of
the State Fire Marshal to the advisory board.
3)Modifies the requirement that the advisory board advise the
CIO concerning the following:
a) Issues related to the receipt of calls in a language
other than English by dispatchers at a public safety
answering point;
b) Need for additional recruitment of multilingual public
safety dispatchers; and,
c) Need to create standardized basic and advanced training
programs for all dispatchers assigned to a public safety
access point (PSAP).
AB 770
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4)Makes technical changes to conform to the Governor's
Reorganization Plan No. 1 of the 2009-10 Regular Session.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, one-time special fund costs from the State Emergency
Telephone Number Account in the range of $250,000 in contracts
to support the advisory board regarding its additional
responsibilities and to assist the office in incorporating
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.
COMMENTS : According to the author, this bill addresses
potential improvements in the procedures for recruiting,
training, and ongoing skill development for 911 dispatchers.
911 dispatchers perform a crucial function in the public safety
system. Their job is high stress and demands precise
performance in order to effectively relay calls to the
appropriate response entity. Due to the nature of 911
dispatching, recruitment and job creation is a problem in this
line of work.
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)Need for additional multilingual public safety dispatchers :
This bill would require the advisory board to advise on issues
concerning the receipt of calls in a language other than
English by public safety dispatchers and the need for
additional recruitment of multilingual dispatchers. Clear
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communication between the dispatcher and a person requesting
emergency service is very important. Under the basic 911
system, when an individual calls 911, the dispatcher does not
automatically receive the caller's phone number and location,
thus the dispatcher needs to be able to understand this
information when it is relayed to them. Moreover, the
dispatcher needs to understand the nature of the emergency in
order to ensure they can dispatch the appropriate responders.
3)Standardized training : This bill requires the advisory board
to advise the CIO on the need to create standardized basic and
advanced training programs for all public safety dispatchers.
PSAPs vary in terms of the types of training they offer.
Currently, POST offers a 120 hour course for public safety
dispatchers and various courses for upgrading skills. Some
PSAPs, such as the Los Angeles Police Department, have their
own training for dispatchers, which has been certified by
POST. According to the author, other dispatch centers provide
no training at all.
Analysis Prepared by : DaVina Flemings / U. & C. / (916)
319-2083
FN: 0001179