BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 666|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 666
Author: Bowen (D)
Amended: As introduced
Vote: 21
SENATE ENERGY, U.&C. COMMITTEE : 9-0, 4/8/03
AYES: Bowen, Morrow, Alarcon, Battin, Dunn, McClintock,
Murray, Sher, Vasconcellos
SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE : 5-0, 4/22/03
AYES: Escutia, Ackerman, Cedillo, Ducheny, Kuehl
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8
SUBJECT : Emergency 911 service
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill requires the State Department of
General Services to report annually to the Legislature on
the status of implementing wireless 911 service. The bill
also requires the State Department of Consumer Affairs to
convene a working group to make recommendations for a state
privacy policy related to customer location information of
users of wireless communications services.
ANALYSIS : Current law provides for a program where
telephone customers can dial "911" to directly contact
emergency response personnel. That program is administered
by the Communications Division of the Department of General
Services (DGS).
CONTINUED
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Current law requires 911 calls from wireless phones to
first go to the California Highway Patrol (CHP) unless a
local public safety agency reaches agreement with the CHP
and DGS that the call should first be routed to the local
public safety agency.
This bill requires the Communications Division to annually
report to the Legislature on the status of implementing
"911" service in connection with wireless telephones.
Current law creates the Office of Privacy Protection (OPP)
within the Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA).
This bill requires OPP to convene a working group of
wireless telecommunications service providers and users, as
well as privacy policy experts, to recommend a state
privacy policy related to customer location information on
users of wireless communications services.
Background
Wireless telephones are marvels of modern technology and
have proven to be remarkably useful. This utility has been
demonstrated in the United States, where there are more
than 144 million wireless subscribers, and worldwide, where
nearly 500 million wireless phones will be sold this year.
Wireless phones often provide superior functionality to
traditional telephones. However, they have some
shortcomings, one of which relates to their ability to
deliver 911 emergency service.
When 911 is called from traditional telephones, the public
safety answer point (PSAP), which is the police, fire,
sheriff, or CHP dispatch center that answers the call, is
automatically provided with the caller's telephone number
and street address. This information is critical to
providing rapid and accurate emergency response. It's
particularly helpful because in times of emergency,
flustered callers can fumble this basic information - or
they many not be in a position to provide it.
However, when 911 is called from a wireless phone, the
calling number is only sporadically provided and location
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information is never provided.
The lack of location information for wireless 911 calls has
delayed emergency response, and in some instances, resulted
in a loss of life. Providing location information on
wireless 911 calls is particularly useful precisely because
the users are mobile and probably aren't calling from home.
The federal government has required wireless phone
companies to provide location information on 911 calls.
Several types of location technologies are proposed,
including requiring wireless phones to employ a Global
Positioning System (GPS) chip or alternatively using a
triangulation method based on wireless phone signal
strength and timing of receipt of the signal at adjacent
wireless phone towers. The accuracy standard is for 95% of
wireless phones to be located within 50 meters of their
true position by the end of 2005. This true position
includes latitude and longitude, but not elevation.
Providing location information requires three actions.
First, the wireless phone networks must be capable of
supplying the location information. Second, for some
wireless phone companies, the handset must be upgraded to
work with the wireless phone network. Third, the PSAPs
must be upgraded to make use of the location information.
Responsibility for these actions is dispersed between the
wireless phone company (network upgrade), the customer
(handset upgrade), and the Communications Division and
PSAPs (PSAP equipment upgrade).
The ability of wireless phone companies to provide location
information on wireless phone customers is a double-edged
sword. While useful for emergency response, such location
information could be used for commercial purposes. A
customer walking past a Starbucks may receive a call from
that Starbucks offering a special on a double-decaf mocha
latte. More threateningly, location technology allows for
unprecedented opportunity to follow someone and know
exactly where and when they've been all day. This raises a
host of legal and civil liberty questions about who has or
should have access to the data, whether it's proprietary,
subject to subpoena, available for sale, and much more.
Comments
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Part I - Wireless 911 . The promise of wireless 911
location technology has yet to become a reality. The first
part of this bill requires the DGS Communications Division
to begin providing the Legislature with annual updates
(beginning in March 2004) on the status of implementation
of a wireless 911 system with location information.
Part II - Should Your Wireless Phone Serve As A LoJack ? As
noted above, the ability of wireless phone companies to
provide location information on wireless phone customers
has a number of privacy, civil liberty, and legal
implications.
TRUSTe, a non-profit organization active in Internet
commerce issues, is working on a wireless privacy project
in conjunction with some wireless carriers, privacy
advocates, and electronic commerce advocates. This bill
requires the OPP to convene a working group of privacy
interests and recommend a privacy policy to the Legislature
by July 1, 2004.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
NC:sl 5/5/03 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: NONE RECEIVED
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