BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 1074
Page 1
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 1074 (Fuentes)
As Amended May 16, 2011
Majority vote
JUDICIARY 9-0 UTILITIES & COMMERCE
14-0
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|Ayes:|Feuer, Wagner, Atkins, |Ayes:|Bradford, Fletcher, |
| |Dickinson, Huber, | |Buchanan, Fong, Fuentes, |
| |Huffman, Jones, Monning, | |Furutani, Roger |
| |Wieckowski | |Hern�ndez, Huffman, |
| | | |Knight, Ma, Nestande, |
| | | |Skinner, Swanson, Valadao |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
| | | | |
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SUMMARY : Extends certain immunities to specified companies in
the provision of 9-1-1-emergency assistance services.
Specifically, this bill 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 civil claim, 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 claim, damage, or loss constituted gross
negligence, wanton or willful misconduct, or intentional
misconduct.
FISCAL EFFECT : This bill is keyed non-fiscal.
COMMENTS : The author states that this bill is needed to address
the following issue:
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 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 Public Utilities
Commission. NG 911, however, will involve third-party
AB 1074
Page 2
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.
The purpose of this bill is to extend the immunity from
ordinary negligence that telephone companies have in
their tariffs to other service providers when they are
functioning as a part of the 9-1-1 emergency system.
Under AB 1074, this immunity would attach only when a
third party is actively participating in connecting a
caller to a 9-1-1 operator, and not generally to the
company or its other activities.
Connection to the 9-1-1 communications network is currently only
by telephone. As new devices like text messages and e-mail have
become available, the technological opportunity exists to
include accessibility for those devices in so-called "Next
Generation 9-1-1" (NG 9-1-1). Under NG 9-1-1, it is envisioned
that all connections to a Public Safety Answering Point (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 this
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 Public Utilities Commission tariff
and pursuant to federal law. Supporters wish to extend some
protection from liability to 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. According to supporters, no single company can provide
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all the services needed for NG 9-1-1, and the needed technology
companies will be reluctant to risk the potentially unlimited
liability associated with 9-1-1 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.
Analysis Prepared by : Kevin G. Baker / JUD. / (916) 319-2334
FN: 0000707