BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    �



                                                                  AB 911
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   May 24, 2013

                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
                                  Mike Gatto, Chair

                      AB 911 (Bloom) - As Amended:  May 8, 2013 

          Policy Committee:                              Utilities and  
          Commerce     Vote:                            15-0

          Urgency:     No                   State Mandated Local Program:  
          No     Reimbursable:              

           SUMMARY
           
          This bill establishes various requirements regarding 911  
          emergency call technology for multiline telephone systems  
          (MLTS), operators of shared telecommunications services, and  
          businesses with a MLTS.  Specifically, this bill:  

          1)Requires a MLTS operator in an area that has enhanced 911  
            capability, beginning January 1, 2019, to maintain and operate  
            the MLTS, as specified, to ensure that each emergency call  
            placed from any telephone station on the MLTS is routed to a  
            public safety answering point (PSAP).  

          2)Provides exemptions for buildings or structures under 7,000  
            square feet or where enhanced 911 service is not available.

          3)Authorizes the assessment of civil penalties against a MLTS  
            provider that violates these requirements.

           FISCAL EFFECT  

          Minor, absorbable costs to the PUC.

           COMMENTS

          1)Rationale.   According to the author, most public safety  
            organizations have implemented Enhanced 911 (E911) service to  
            identify the phone number and location from which a 911 call  
            originates.  Currently, there are no uniform requirements.   
            Not all MLTS users have configured their phone systems to  
            provide precise location data to a Public Safety Answering  
            Point (PSAP).








                                                                  AB 911
                                                                  Page  2


            Enhanced 911 service can be extremely helpful to first  
            responders in situations where a caller is unable to provide  
            his or her location.  However, it is only useful if the phone  
            system can provide an accurate location to the PSAP.  In urban  
            skyscrapers, the physical address where the emergency occurred  
            is of little use without knowledge of which floor to go to.

            In some cases where all calls in a large phone system are  
            routed through a central switchboard, the switchboard is  
            physically located far from where a call originates, and the  
            PSAP may dispatch help to the switchboard's location while the  
            emergency is miles away. AB 911 is intended to help resolve  
            these problems and reduce response times.

           2)Background.   An MLTS is a telephone system comprised of common  
            control units and telephones providing local telephone service  
            to multiple end-users.  MLTS includes Voice over Internet  
            Protocol (VoIP) and includes network and premises based  
            systems such as Centrex, PBX, and hybrid key telephone  
            systems.  Many businesses, government agencies, hotels, and  
            schools use these telephone systems.

           3)911 service  .  Currently, over 240 million 911 calls are made  
            annually to the 6187 public agencies serving as PSAPs  
            nationwide.  In California, over 480 PSAPs receive nearly 30  
            million calls annually.  An increasing proportion of these  
            calls are delivered by wireless and internet technology (over  
            40 % last year).  

           4)Proposed Amendments.   The author proposes technical  
            amendments to the definition of MLTS.



           Analysis Prepared by  :    Jennifer Galehouse / APPR. / (916)  
          319-2081