BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 1074
Page 1
Date of Hearing: May 9, 2011
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON UTILITIES AND COMMERCE
Steven Bradford, Chair
AB 1074 (Fuentes) - As Introduced: February 18, 2011
SUBJECT : Telecommunication service providers: personal
liability immunity.
SUMMARY : Extends certain immunities to specified companies in
the provision of 9-1-1 emergency assistance services.
Specifically, this bill :
1)Provides that a retail or wholesale service provider of
telecommunications service, or other service, involved in
providing 9-1-1 service, shall not be liable for any claim,
damage, or loss caused by an action or omission of the
company, business, or individual in the design, development,
installation, maintenance, or provision of 9-1-1 service,
unless the act or omission that proximately caused the claim,
damage, or loss constituted gross negligence, recklessness, or
intentional misconduct.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Provides pursuant to the California Public Utilities
Commission (PUC) tariff that a utility shall not be liable for
civil damages, whether in contract, tort, or otherwise, to any
person, corporation, or other entity for any loss or damage
caused by any Utility act or omission in the design,
development, installation, maintenance, or provision of 9-1-1
service other than an act or omission constituting gross
negligence or wanton or willful misconduct. The Utility shall
not be liable or responsible for any indirect, incidental, or
consequential damages associated with the provision of 9-1-1
service, including, for example and without limitation, when a
call originates from a system or line which makes the
provision of specific location information impossible to
provide for technical reasons, and when a failure or
interruption in 9-1-1 service is due to the attachment of any
equipment by a customer to Utility facilities.
2)Provides pursuant to federal law that a wireless carrier,
Internet Protocol (IP)-enabled voice service provider, or
other emergency communications provider, and their officers,
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directors, employees, vendors, and agents, shall have immunity
or other protection from liability in a State of a scope and
extent that is not less than the scope and extent of immunity
or other protection from liability that any local exchange
company, and its officers, directors, employees, vendors, or
agents, have under Federal and State law (whether through
statute, judicial decision, tariffs filed by such local
exchange company, or otherwise) applicable in such State,
including in connection with an act or omission involving the
release to a Public Service Access Point (PSAP), emergency
medical service provider or emergency dispatch provider,
public safety, fire service or law enforcement official, or
hospital emergency or trauma care facility of subscriber
information related to emergency calls, emergency services, or
other emergency communications services.
3)Provides pursuant to federal law that a person using wireless
9-1-1 service, or making 9-1-1 communications via IP-enabled
voice service or other emergency communications service, shall
have immunity or other protection from liability of a scope
and extent that is not less than the scope and extent of
immunity or other protection from liability under applicable
law in similar circumstances of a person using 9-1-1 service
that is not via wireless 9-1-1 service, IP-enabled voice
service, or other emergency communications service.
4)Provides pursuant to federal law that in matters related to
9-1-1 communications via wireless 9-1-1 service, IP-enabled
voice service, or other emergency communications services, a
PSAP, and its employees, vendors, agents, and authorizing
government entity (if any) shall have immunity or other
protection from liability of a scope and extent that is not
less than the scope and extent of immunity or other protection
from liability under applicable law accorded to such PSAP,
employees, vendors, agents, and authorizing government entity,
respectively, in matters related to 9-1-1 communications that
are not via wireless 9-1-1 service, IP-enabled voice service,
or other emergency communications service.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown.
COMMENTS : According to the author, all entities associated
with responding to emergencies, including providers of 9-1-1
service, have immunity from ordinary negligence. Without this
protection, no entity, whether a public agency or a private
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company could assume the risk of liability associated with
responding to an emergency. Emergency responders have immunity
through statute, while telephone corporations have immunity
through tariffs filed with the PUC. Next Generation 911 (NG
911), however, will involve third-party providers that are
neither emergency responders nor telephone corporations, and
these third-parties will be deterred from providing
emergency-related services if they cannot also have immunity
from ordinary negligence. The leading examples are companies
that maintain mapping databases and specialize in converting X/Y
map coordinates into an address, which is a vital function in
locating wireless callers who cannot give their location.
1)Issue : Public expectations for the 9-1-1 emergency telephone
system are increasing as IP -
based communications technology becomes increasingly available
on both wireline and wireless devices. The existing system,
however, was designed for the analog or digital circuit-switched
telephone system, or landline system, which cannot accommodate
IP-based applications that are common today. To accommodate
growing expectations that the 9-1-1 system will meet these
technological advancements, the 9-1-1 system will need to
migrate to an IP-based system, which is also referred to as NG
911.
This bill seeks to address issues regarding liability that arise
from the fact that an IP-based system may encompass service
providers other than traditional telephone corporations.
1)Next Gen 911 : Under NG 911, it is envisioned that all
connections to a PSAP will be made
via the Internet, whether from traditional landlines, wireless
cellular telephones, email or text messaging. This Internet
based system will also allow for additional services as well,
most notably converting location data from a GPS-enabled cell
phone into a street address that can be provided to the 9-1-1-
operator. In support of the bill, Verizon states that a private
company called Intrado has the best location-based address
database in the U.S., and Verizon wants to partner with this
company to provide the address of a cell phone user calling
9-1-1 who cannot give an address.
Regulated telecommunications companies are protected from
certain civil liability by PUC tariff and pursuant to federal
law. Supporters wish to extend protection from liability to
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businesses like Intrado, when involved in providing 9-1-1
service - that is, actually performing a function that connects
a caller to a 9-1-1 operator - through a company like Verizon
that is under contract with the state. It would not be
appropriate for these businesses to be subject to the PUC tariff
as their business model does not fall within the purview of the
PUCs authority unlike the telecommunications companies.
According to supporters, no single company can provide all the
services needed for NG 911, and the needed technology companies
will be reluctant to risk the potentially unlimited liability
associated with 911 services without the immunity from ordinary
negligence that Verizon has. The regulated telecommunications
companies like Verizon, however, will continue to be the
entities that contract with the state and remain responsible for
the quality of the 9-1-1 service provided regardless of who they
contract with.
2)Suggested amendments : This bill was heard in Assembly
Judiciary Committee on May 3,
2011, and the author agreed to amend the bill in Assembly
Utilities and Commerce Committee to better clarify the intent of
the bill and respond to concerns raised by the opposition. As
such, the author and this committee may wish to add legislative
intent language regarding the value of NG 911 . Additionally,
the author and this committee may wish to add Section 1714.55 to
the Civil Code as follows:
1714.55 (a) A retail or wholesale service provider of
telecommunications service or other service involved in
providing 9-1-1 service, shall not be liable for any civil
damage or loss caused by an act or omission in the design,
development, installation, maintenance, or provision of 9-1-1
service unless the act or omission that proximately caused the
damage or loss constituted gross negligence, wanton or willful
misconduct or intentional misconduct .
(b) For purposes of this section:
(1) "Public safety agency" means a public safety agency
defined by the Warren 911 Emergency Assistance Act (Article
6 (commencing with Section 53100) of Chapter 1 of Part 1 of
Division 2 of Title 5 of the Government Code).
(2) "9-1-1 service" means a telecommunications service or
other wireline or wireless service that provides to the
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user of the public telephone system the ability to reach a
public safety agency by dialing the digits 9-1-1 or
facilitates the provision thereof. This definition
includes 9-1-1 service that utilizes in whole or in part
Internet Protocol for emergency services pursuant to the
Warren-911 Emergency Assistance Act .
(c) This section shall not apply to services provided under
tariff .
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Verizon
Opposition
California Chapter of the National Emergency Number Association
(CalNENA)
Analysis Prepared by : DaVina Flemings / U. & C. / (916)
319-2083