BILL ANALYSIS �
SB 1211
Page 1
Date of Hearing: June 25, 2014
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATION
Isadore Hall, Chair
SB 1211 (Padilla) - As Amended: May 27, 2014
SENATE VOTE : 37-0
SUBJECT : Emergency Services: Next Generation 911.
SUMMARY : Requires the Office of Emergency Services (OES) to
develop a plan and timeline of target dates for testing,
implementing, and operating a Next Generation 911 (Next Gen 911)
emergency communication system, including text to 911 services,
throughout California. Specifically, this bill :
1)Specifies that in order to maximize efficiency and contain
costs, the Next Gen 911 emergency communication system shall
incorporate shared infrastructure and elements of other public
safety and emergency communications networks, including, but
not limited to, all of the flowing:
a) Public safety communications identified in the annual
plan by the Public Safety Communications Divisions within
OES.
b) Local and regional public safety broadband networks
authorized by the federal American Recovery and
Reinvestment Act of 2009.
c) Public safety broadband networks authorized by the
federal Middle Class Tax relief and Job Creation Act of
2013.
d) Public safety radio and communications facilities used
for the purpose of public warnings.
2)Requires OES, in determining the surcharge rate, to
additionally include costs it expects to incur, consistent
with the plan and timeline, to plan, test, implement, and
operate Next Gen 911 technology and services, including text
to 911 services.
3)Requires OES, at least one month before determining the
surcharge rate, to prepare a summary of the calculation of the
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proposed surcharge and make it available to the Legislature
and the 911 Advisory Board, and on OES's Internet Web site.
EXISTING LAW
1)Requires OES to administer the state's 911 emergency telephone
system, including local dispatch centers known as Public
Safety Answering Points (PSAP), with funds from a 911 customer
surcharge on intrastate communication service.
2)Requires OES to determine annually, on or before October 1, a
surcharge rate that it estimates will produce sufficient
revenue to fund the current fiscal year's 911 costs. The
surcharge cannot be greater than three-quarters of 1 percent
nor less than one-half of 1 percent.
3)Establishes the State 9-1-1 Advisory Board to advise OES on
various topics, including but not limited to OES policies,
practices, and procedures; training; budget and funding; and
proposed projects and studies.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
Purpose of the bill : According to the author, California's
statewide 911 telephone system is on the cusp of a major upgrade
to enable texting to 911 as a new additional option for
requesting assistance in an emergency. Eventually, "Next Gen
911" infrastructure will enable real-time transmission of
emergency-related data, photos, and video between the public and
public safety agencies. Texting to 911 enhances public safety
for persons with disabilities, in a hostage situation or home
break-in when a voice call can be dangerous, and when network
congestion from high usage during a crisis makes voice
connections unavailable or slow.
SB 1211 establishes a transparent process for adjusting the
customer fee that funds the 911 system. It also requires
coordinated planning of 911 upgrades, and shared infrastructure
where feasible, with other public safety communications networks
deployed in California with state and federal funds.
Current 911 system : California's existing 911 system was
established pursuant to the Warren 911 Emergency Assistance Act
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of 1976 and includes 458 PSAPs. A PSAP is a call center that is
responsible for answering calls to an emergency telephone number
for police, firefighting, and ambulance services. The PSAPs in
California receive about 25 million 911 voice calls per year, 75
percent of which are from wireless devices. These calls are
dispatched to local first responders including police,
ambulance, fire, medical and other emergency service providers.
The Public Safety Communications Office within OES administers
the state 911 system. In 2013, this office was transferred from
the California Technology Agency (CTA) to OES as part of the
2013-14 Budget Act.
The 911 program costs are paid from the State Emergency
Telephone Number Account (SETNA) funds, which are derived from a
statewide 911 surcharge on telephone customer bills. OES is
required to determine the surcharge rate annually up to a
statutory maximum of 0.75 percent of intrastate service charges.
The SETNA has been in a structural deficit for years, with
annual surcharge revenue declining from about $133 million in
2005-06 to about $80 million in 2012-13. The rate was set at
0.50 percent from 2007 through 2013, but in October OES
increased the surcharge to 0.75 percent effective January 1,
2014, with projected total revenue of $108 million for 2014-15.
Next Gen 911 : Next Gen 911 refers to an Internet Protocol
(IP)-based, two-way communications system that will enable
real-time transmission of emergency-related voice, text, data,
photos, and video between the public and public safety agencies.
Next Gen 911 will build upon, and eventually replace, the
existing 911 voice system that operates on the legacy switched
telephone network. Implementing Next Gen 911 will require
substantial funding for PSAP upgrades to an IP-based platform. A
"Rough Order Magnitude Cost Estimate" reported in 2013 was $885
million for total hardware and software costs to deploy
conceptual Next Gen 911 design while also running the existing
911 system. OES states that this is an estimated $375 million
additional investment over five years on top of the $510 million
to operate the existing system over that same five years.
No later than May 15, 2014, the four major wireless carriers -
AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, and T-Mobile - will offer all subscribers
the ability to text to 911, pursuant to a voluntary commitment
to the FCC. A proposed FCC rule would require all wireless and
Internet-based text providers to offer text-to-911 capability by
December 31, 2014. Short Message Service (SMS) texting
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technology is an acceptable interim solution prior to full
deployment of Next Gen 911 infrastructure. While a voice call
to 911 is still preferred, text to 911 offers public safety
advantages for persons with disabilities, in a hostage situation
or home break-in when a voice call can be dangerous, and when
network congestion from high usage during a crisis makes voice
connections unavailable or slow. But despite these 2014 carrier
obligations, text to 911 will not be fully operational until
PSAPs are "technically ready" and authorized by a state or local
911 agency to receive 911 text messages.
To date, OES has not specified plans to fund PSAP upgrades to
receive texts, but reports that it is conducting pilots to
verify the operation of each form of text to provide the PSAPs
with a basis to determine which, if any, form of text they want
to receive. (OES also reports that all PSAPs currently have the
ability to receive SMS to teletype texts, devices used by the
hearing-impaired.) In the meantime, carriers currently are
required to send a "bounce-back" auto-reply message to alert
subscribers who attempt to text to 911 that the service is not
available and that they should place a voice call instead.
Arguments in support : The California Ambulance Association
writes in support of the bill stating that efficient, effective
emergency dispatch is essential to ensuring that our communities
receive the highest quality emergency medical response. Next
Gen 911 will enable the public to make voice, text, or video
emergency requests for assistance from any communications
device. Additionally, public safety answering points will be
able to receive emergency data from personal safety devices such
as automatic collision notification systems and medical alert
systems.
The American Federation of State, County, and Municipal
Employees, AFL-CIO, states that this bill would significantly
improve the safety of Californians by integrating new emergency
response technologies, such as the Next Gen 911 emergency
communication system. Improvements would include a text to 911
service which would greatly enhance the efficiency of emergency
responders.
Double-referral : SB 1211 was previously heard in the Assembly
Utilities and Commerce Committee where it successfully passed
with a vote of 14 to 0.
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REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees,
AFL-CIO
AT&T
California Ambulance Association
California Chapter of the National Emergency Number Association
California Communications Association
California's Independent Telecommunications Companies
California Police Chiefs Association
Frontier Communications
Office of Ratepayer Advocates
SPRINT
The Utility Reform Network
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by : Felipe Lopez / G. O. / (916) 319-2531