BILL ANALYSIS 1
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SENATE ENERGY, UTILITIES AND COMMUNICATIONS COMMITTEE
DEBRA BOWEN, CHAIRWOMAN
AB 914 - Reyes Hearing Date:
July 8, 2003 A
As Amended: July 7, 2003 FISCAL B
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DESCRIPTION
Current law establishes a program for contacting emergency
response personnel by dialing 911. This program is funded out
of a surcharge on telephone service that's capped at 0.75% and
administered by the Communications Division of the Department of
General Services (DGS).
This bill makes numerous technical changes to the program:
q Changes the name of the program from the
Warren-911 Emergency Assistance Act to the
Telecommunications Emergency Response System Act.
q Acknowledges that 911 calls are not the only means
of requesting emergency response.
q Changes "telephone" to "telecommunications" in
many instances.
This bill expands the services which may be paid out of the 911
fund to include a mapping system.
BACKGROUND
The existing 911 program pays for the cost of the call from the
person requesting 911 service and the emergency service
provider, as well as the cost of the telephone equipment used by
the emergency service provider to accept the call. These costs
are paid for out of the 911 surcharge on telecommunications
service. That surcharge, currently set at 0.72%, is statutorily
capped at 0.75%.
Public safety agencies receive about 19 million 911 calls
annually, of which 7 million come from wireless phones. Unlike
911 calls made from traditional phones, 911 calls made from
wireless phone don't automatically transmit location
information. That capability is slowing being added to the
wireless phone networks.
DGS has administered the 911 program since its inception in the
1970s. Earlier this year, this committee passed SB 911
(Alpert), which established a 911 advisory committee to assist
DGS.
COMMENTS
1.Out With The Rotary Dial, In With The New . According to the
author, the intent of this bill is to update the 911 statutes
to reflect changes and improvements in technology.
2.Draw Me A Picture . Emergency calls don't just come to public
safety agencies via 911, they also get there via other phone
numbers and other methods, such as alarm circuits. As a
result, having electronic mapping capabilities will help
public safety agencies better locate the increasing number of
wireless phone 911 calls. The bill doesn't provide additional
funding to or duties for the local public safety agencies.
Instead, the bill authorizes the 911 fund to pay for a
geographic information system (GIS) used to locate wireless
911 callers on a street map if DGS opts to build or contract
for such a system. The bill limits DGS to creating one master
GIS mapping system to ensure map compatibility between public
safety agencies.
ASSEMBLY VOTES
Assembly Floor (79-0)
Assembly Appropriations Committee (24-0)
Assembly Revenue and Taxation Committee
(6-0)
Assembly Utilities and Commerce Committee
(13-0)
POSITIONS
Sponsor:
California Chapter of the National Emergency Number Association
California State Sheriffs' Association
Support:
California Independent Public Employees Legislative Council
California Peace Officers' Association
California Police Chiefs' Association
League of California Cities
Los Angeles District Attorney's Office
Service Employees International Union
Oppose:
None on file
Randy Chinn
AB 914 Analysis
Hearing Date: July 8, 2003