BILL ANALYSIS 1
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SENATE ENERGY, UTILITIES AND COMMUNICATIONS COMMITTEE
DEBRA BOWEN, CHAIRWOMAN
AB 1263 - Thomson Hearing
Date: June 27, 2000 A
As Amended: June 26, 2000 FISCAL B
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DESCRIPTION
Current law requires all "911" emergency telephone calls
made from cellular telephones to be routed to the
California Highway Patrol (CHP) for emergency response.
Current law charges the Department of General Services
(DGS) with the responsibility for administering the 911
system.
This bill applies to all wireless communications services,
including cellular telephone service and personal
communications service (PCS). It permits "911" calls made
from wireless telephones to be routed to a public safety
agency other than the CHP if it's economically and
technically feasible, if it will benefit public safety, and
if the CHP, DGS, and the public safety agency believe it
will provide more efficient 911 service.
This bill also bars any charges for wireless telephone
calls to "911" and requires wireless "911" calls from
non-customers to be completed.
QUESTIONS
1.Should cellular "911" calls be permitted to be routed to
a local public safety agency instead of to the CHP?
2.Does this bill inadvertently require paging companies to
provide "911" service?
BACKGROUND
The number of cellular "911" calls has exploded over the
past 15 years or so, jumping 7,000% between 1984 and 1997
when the CHP handled over 3 million cellular/wireless "911"
calls. Of these 3 million calls, about 30% had to be
transferred from the CHP to a different public safety
agency because the CHP didn't have jurisdiction over the
particular emergency (e.g. the emergency is occurring on a
city street, not a freeway).
When cellular telephone service was introduced in 1984, all
cellular "911" calls were routed through the CHP because at
that time, the vast majority of cellular calls came from
freeways, over which the CHP has jurisdiction.
Furthermore, in 1984, the technological limitations made it
impossible to locate the origin of a cellular "911" call.
Technology has improved to get a better, though by no means
precise, fix on the origin of wireless calls. This feature
permits the wireless network to determine whether a call is
more likely to come from a freeway or from a city or
unincorporated area. If the public safety jurisdiction
serving the wireless call can be predetermined, then the
wireless "911" call can be routed directly to the public
safety entity most likely to respond, rather than having to
first be routed to the CHP and then be forwarded to the
appropriate public safety agency. This would relieve the
CHP from having to handle calls outside of its jurisdiction
and lead to a quicker, more accurate emergency response.
This bill permits a public safety agency other than the CHP
to directly receive the wireless "911" call if it's
technologically feasible to do so, if it benefits public
safety, if the call originates from outside the CHP's
jurisdiction, and if the CHP, DGS, and the public safety
agency agree.
COMMENTS
1)Pinpointing The Call . The ability to pinpoint the
location or origin of a wireless telephone call is
imprecise and limited. Federal rules encourage such
capabilities, but progress has been hampered by disputes
within the wireless industry on a standard "location
technology."
Still, in some circumstances, public safety authorities
can be positive that a wireless call has originated from
a jurisdiction other than the CHP because of the location
of the receiving antenna and the directionality of the
caller's signal.
This bill provides in those instances, the call can be
routed directly to the local law enforcement agency
without first having to go through the CHP.
2)Hello Again . This bill is similar to AB 909 (Thomson) of
1998, which passed the Assembly and the Senate Judiciary
Committee but was held by this committee over the issue
of liability for the cellular telephone companies. At
the time, the wireless carriers were concerned that if
they mistakenly routed a wireless "911" call to the wrong
public safety agency, they'd be liable for damages.
Federal legislation passed in October 1999 limited the
liability of all wireless carriers for "911" calls,
thereby eliminating liability as an issue as it relates
to this bill.
3)Pager Service & 911 . The paging industry has raised a
concern that the bill may force paging companies to
provide 911 service. That concern seems misplaced in
light of Page 3, Lines 29-34 of the bill which requires
the transmission of 911 calls to be consistent with all
applicable Federal Communications Commission orders, none
of which require paging companies to provide 911 service.
ASSEMBLY VOTES
Assembly Utilities & Commerce Committee(11-0)
Assembly Appropriations Committee (21-0)
Assembly Floor (76-0)
POSITIONS
Sponsor:
Department of General Services
Support:
California State Automobile Association
GTE California Incorporated
Oppose:
None on file.
Randy Chinn
AB 1263 Analysis
Hearing Date: June 27, 2000