BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 2281
Page 1
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 2281 (Torres)
As Introduced February 24, 2012
Majority vote
UTILITIES & COMMERCE 14-0
APPROPRIATIONS 12-5
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|Ayes:|Bradford, Fletcher, |Ayes:|Fuentes, Blumenfield, |
| |Buchanan, Fong, Fuentes, | |Bradford, Charles |
| |Furutani, Gorell, | |Calderon, Campos, Davis, |
| |Roger Hern�ndez, Huffman, | |Gatto, Hall, Hill, Lara, |
| |Ma, Nestande, Skinner, | |Mitchell, Solorio |
| |Swanson, Valadao | | |
| | | | |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
| | |Nays:|Harkey, Donnelly, |
| | | |Nielsen, Norby, Wagner |
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SUMMARY : This bill would make changes to the State 9-1-1
Advisory Board (Advisory Board). Specifically, this bill :
1)Adds two members to the Advisory Board, one member to be
appointed by the Speaker of the Assembly and the other to be
appointed by the Chair of the Senate Rules Committee.
2)Requires members of the Advisory Board to attend board
meetings rather than designate a substitute representative.
EXISTING LAW establishes a state 9-1-1 emergency telephone
response system.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, negligible fiscal impact. Advisory Board members
receive no compensation, but may be reimbursed for travel and
per diem. (The Governor's proposed budget for 2012-13 proposes
to eliminate the Advisory Board.)
COMMENTS : According to the author, "The ultimate goal is to
deliver on the promise of the Warren 9-1-1 Act of 1976 (Stats.
1976, Ch 443) and the Federal 9-1-1 Act to afford the public a
seamless, responsive universal 3-digit number for emergency
AB 2281
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calls without regard to the technology used by the caller to
access the system. The bills address several of the dimensions
of a system of overlapping institutions that will take several
years and multiple measures to address thoroughly."
The Advisory Board meets and considers topics with statewide
significance, including oversight of State-Emergency Telephone
Number Account (SETNA), a fund of approximately $10.5 million.
The membership does not include a legislative representative who
can participate on the Advisory Board and develop an in depth
understanding of the status of the fund.
The California 9-1-1 Strategic Plan, issued in 2009, reported
that they received comments expressing concerns regarding the
effectiveness of the Advisory Board and the knowledge that board
members possess about "public safety answering point" (PSAP)
operations. One of the recommendations from this Strategic Plan
included removing the ability of Advisory Board members to
assign substitutes:
"Many of the current difficulties experienced by the Advisory
Board could be significantly mitigated by reviewing the
Board's advisory role?adhering to the Government Code
requirements regarding term limits and qualification of the
members, removing the ability to assign substitutes and by
modifying the position of the Board chairperson to become a
voting member selected by the Board."
This bill is one of a number of bills introduced by the author
to address 9-1-1. The other bills are AB 770, AB 2459, and ACR
130.
Analysis Prepared by : Susan Kateley / U. & C. / (916)
319-2083
FN: 0003344