BILL NUMBER: SB 712 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 1, 2009
AMENDED IN SENATE MAY 5, 2009
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 22, 2009
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 2, 2009
INTRODUCED BY Senators Padilla and Benoit
FEBRUARY 27, 2009
An act to add Article 6.7 (commencing with Section 53128) to
Chapter 1 of Part 1 of Division 2 of Title 5 of the Government Code,
relating to telecommunications.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 712, as amended, Padilla. "211" telephone number system.
Existing law requires a public safety agency, as defined, to
maintain a "911" emergency telephone number, as specified, and sets
forth the duties of the Division of Telecommunications of the
Department of General Services, including the provision of management
oversight of statewide telecommunications developments. Existing law
authorizes a local public agency, as defined, to establish a
nonemergency "311" telephone system, and authorizes the Division of
Telecommunications to, among other things, aid local public agencies
in the formulation of concepts, methods, and procedures that will
improve the operation of the "311" systems and to increase
cooperation among public agencies.
This bill would require an information and referral service
provider, as defined, to operate a "211" system in a manner that is
consistent with the applicable orders of the Federal Communications
Commission and the Public Utilities Commission. The bill would
provide that an information and referral services provider and its
employees, directors, officers, and agents ,
or any public or nonprofit agency that provides information to a "211"
system are not liable to any person in a civil action for
injuries or losses to persons or property, as a result of an act or
omission of the provider or its employees, directors, officers, or
agents, in connection with certain specified activities, unless the
act or omission constitutes willful or wanton misconduct.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. (a) The Legislature hereby finds and declares all of
the following:
(1) Californians need easy to find, easy to access information for
their social services needs as provided by "211" call centers.
(2) Californians experience major disasters every year and need
up-to-date, accurate information during those disasters in a manner
that prevents overloading "911" systems with nonemergency calls.
(3) Over the past five years, California has experienced four
major wildfire natural disasters where the population either
benefitted from or could have benefitted benefited
from or could have benefited from a "211" system that provided
information regarding evacuation, shelters, and other services.
(4) In 2008, "211" call centers in California handled over 1.8
million calls to assist people in finding the help they needed.
(5) At a time of great economic crisis, with "211" call centers
experiencing a 40-percent increase in calls for help, "211" is more
important than ever to providing Californians access to the
information and services they need.
(6) California families are struggling in this economic recession.
With the unemployment rate increasing to 10.5 percent throughout the
state, many workers who have lost their jobs are also losing their
homes and their health care. All too often, families and individuals
don't know where to turn for help. "211" is an easy to remember
number that provides access to telephone and Internet-based means to
connect people to the help they need now, and allows the caller to
speak to a live person about his or her needs.
(7) Many Californians, including senior citizens, people with
disabilities, and low-income families, have restricted mobility.
Where available, Californians can call "211" to obtain information on
transportation services or other social services in order to help
them maintain their independence.
(8) Mental illness affects many families in California, and "211"
call centers in California help those families connect with local
resources.
(9) Many of the counties that do not have a "211" system lack the
resources to plan and implement a "211" system on their own. These
counties need the assistance of the state and federal governments to
help their residents access health and human service programs and
disaster-response disaster response
information.
(10) During emergencies and disasters, the "911" system is
sometimes overrun with nonemergency calls. A "211" system can help to
divert nonemergency calls away from the "911" system, as evidenced
by the "211" system in southern California that handled over 130,000
calls in the five-day period following the wildfires of October 2007.
(11) In authorizing the use of the "211" dialing code, the Federal
Communications Commission found that "[i]ndividuals facing serious
threats to life, health, and mental well-being have urgent and
critical needs that are not addressed by dialing 9-1-1 for emergency
assistance or 3-1-1 for nonemergency police assistance."
(12) Californians need help navigating the sea of telephone help
lines available to assist them, many of which rely on automated menu
systems, only provide recorded information, or lack the capability to
provide multilingual service or evening and weekend service.
Research shows it sometimes takes a caller as many as eight separate
calls to be connected with the appropriate resource. The "211" system
allows those in need to make one free call to access the information
and resources they need, in 140 different languages, 24 hours a day.
(13) The 2-1-1 California Partnership (2-1-1 California), a
partnership of the California Alliance of Information and Referral
Services (CAIRS) and the United Ways of California, currently
coordinates statewide planning and research activities and provides
leadership for "211" systems in California. 2-1-1 California has
worked with key state agencies to establish and improve "211" systems
in California, including the Public Utilities Commission, the
California Emergency Management Agency, the State 911 Advisory Board,
the California Health and Human Services Agency, California
Volunteers, the Department of Transportation, the Department of Food
and Agriculture, and the Department of Veterans Affairs.
(14) Currently, there are 21 California counties with established
"211" systems, serving 86 percent of California's population. All
"211" call centers in California look to 2-1-1 California for
direction, guidance, and leadership.
(15) 2-1-1 California is governed under the leadership of CAIRS
and the United Ways of California, which are the main entities in the
state that provide funding, training, standards, and technical
support to the "211" call centers and oversee operations and planning
for expanding "211" coverage statewide.
(b) It is the intent of the Legislature to do all of the
following:
(1) Provide all Californians with an easy to remember, toll-free
telephone number that can help them access the information, services,
and benefits they need from public and nonprofit social services
providers and emergency services providers.
(2) Provide the state with a more efficient and cost beneficial
way to provide information to members of the general public, while
saving public agencies the costs of operating various help lines and
redirecting misdirected service request calls from members of the
general public.
(3) Ensure oversight of "211" systems.
(4) Ensure coordination of "211" systems, policies, and standards
with state and local government agencies.
(5) Ensure that "211" systems are developed in coordination with
the Department of Veterans Affairs to increase access to information
and resources for veterans who have sacrificed for our nation and for
those new veterans who protected us from foreign terrorists and are
now returning from current conflicts.
(6) Ensure that "211" systems maintain a close working
relationship with California's lead homeland security agency, the
California Emergency Management Agency.
(7) Comply with federal funding opportunities, to the extent
consistent with federal law, including potential future funding
through the proposed Calling for 2-1-1 Act of 2009 (S. 211 and H.R.
211).
SEC. 2. Article 6.7 (commencing with Section 53128) is added to
Chapter 1 of Part 1 of Division 2 of Title 5 of the Government Code,
to read:
Article 6.7. Community Health and Social Services Disaster
Response Telephone System
53128. (a) An information and referral service provider that uses
the abbreviated dialing code "211," "211"
shall operate the system in a manner that is consistent with
the applicable orders of the Federal Communications Commission and
the Public Utilities Commission.
(b) Except as specified in subdivision (c), an information and
referral service provider that has been authorized by the Public
Utilities Commission to use the "211" abbreviated telephone dialing
code and its employees, directors, officers, and agents are not
liable to any person in a civil action for injuries or losses to
persons or property, as a result of an act or omission of the
authorized information and referral service provider or its
employees, directors, officers, or agents, or
any public or nonprofit agency that supplies information to "211,"
in connection with any of the following:
(1) Developing, adopting, implementing, maintaining, or operating
a "211" system.
(2) Making "211" available for use by the public.
(3) Providing "211" services.
(4) Supplying information on public or nonprofit services,
resources, or disaster response information.
(c) Subdivision (b) is not applicable to injuries or losses
resulting from the willful or wanton misconduct of the information
and referral service provider or its employees, directors, officers,
or agents. agents, or any public or nonprofit
agency that supplies information to "211."
(d) The Public Utilities Commission shall be responsible for
evaluating requests for, and authorizing the use of, the "211"
abbreviated telephone dialing code. The Public Utilities Commission
may assist information and referral service providers, local exchange
carriers, and local public agencies to improve operation of, and
access to, a "211" telephone dialing system and to increase
cooperation among information and referral service providers, local
exchange carriers, and public agencies.
(e) All state agencies and other official state organizations may
provide reasonable assistance and cooperation in carrying out the
purposes of this article, including, but not limited to, promoting
the use of "211" telephone dialing for access to health and social
services and for disaster response information.
53128.1. As used in this article, the following terms have the
following meanings:
(a) "Agency" means the California Health and Human Services
Agency.
(b) "Information and referral service provider" means an
information and referral service provider currently authorized by the
Public Utilities Commission to use the "211" abbreviated telephone
dialing code.
53128.2. (a) In order to assist in the implementation of a "211"
abbreviated telephone dialing system throughout the state, the agency
shall be the lead entity, and shall be responsible for all of the
following:
(1) Performing planning, administrative, fiscal, and reporting
functions required under any state and federal "211" funding program.
(2) Developing a plan for implementation of "211" services
throughout the state.
(3) Allocating "211" funds to entities in accordance with
applicable law.
(4) Reporting activities and progress as requested by the
Legislature or the Public Utilities Commission.
(5) Acting as liaison between state agencies and information and
referral service providers, local exchange carriers, and local public
agencies for the purposes of coordinating communication, training,
and development of public-private partnerships and updating statewide
service information.
(6) Requiring all "211" call centers to comply with the Standards
for Professional Information and Referral, of the national Alliance
of Information and Referral Systems, in place as of January 16, 2009.
These standards shall be adopted by the lead entity as the
operational quality standards and updated as the lead entity deems
appropriate.
(b) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), the responsibilities of the
lead entity, pursuant to this article, shall be contingent upon the
availability of federal funds, and the lead entity is not required to
carry out this section until those federal funds are available.
(b)
(c) The agency may delegate the functions of the lead
entity to another entity if the decisions and actions of the
delegated entity are reviewed and approved by the agency. In
selecting an entity to be delegated the functions of the lead entity,
or in reviewing the performance of an entity that has been delegated
functions of the lead entity, the agency shall consider the extent
to which that entity conforms to all of the following:
(1) Consists of representatives from different geographic areas of
the state.
(2) Demonstrates experience in providing leadership, education,
and support to the information and referral service industry in the
state.
(3) Demonstrates experience in statewide "211" planning and
implementation efforts in the state.
(4) Demonstrates established relationships with information and
referral service providers throughout the state.
(5) Demonstrates the means to maintain established relationships
with information and referral service providers throughout the state.
(6) Demonstrates established relationships with national
information and referral service interests and with information and
referral service interests in other states.
(7) Demonstrates the ability to provide training, technical
assistance, and service evaluation in adherence with information and
referral service industry standards.
(8) Demonstrates substantial expertise with the operational
requirements of information and referral service providers in the
state, including, but not limited to, database resources, software
requirements, and referral practices.
(9) Has the endorsement of "211" information and
referral service providers to act as the lead entity and to represent
the system in statewide matters.
(c)
(d) The lead entity shall allocate federal and state
funds made available for the development, implementation, and
administration of the "211" telephone dialing system. In allocating
those funds, the lead entity shall be responsible for accomplishing
all of the following:
(1) Maximize the federal funds available to information and
referral providers using the "211" abbreviated dialing code to
provide comprehensive information and referral services throughout
the state.
(2) Consider population, poverty rates, and geographic isolation.
(3) Consider information and referral service providers'
developmental requirements, in addition to their operational
requirements.
(4) Include a reasonable administration fee sufficient to support
the activities of the lead entity.
(5) Ensure that any fund matching requirement is met , except
that General Fund moneys shall not be used for the federal match
.
53128.3. The activities of the lead entity may be funded in any
of the following manners:
(a) Through compliance with federal funding opportunities, to the
extent consistent with state law, including potential future funding
through the proposed Calling for 2-1-1 Act of 2009 (S. 211 and H.R.
211).
(b) Upon appropriation by the Legislature.
(c) By other public and private sources.