BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 2837|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 2837
Author: Hertzberg (D)
Amended: 8/29/00 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE ENERGY, U.&C. COMMITTEE : 8-0, 6/27/00
AYES: Bowen, Alarcon, Hughes, Kelley, Mountjoy, Murray,
Peace, Solis
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 10-2, 8/23/00
AYES: Johnston, Alpert, Bowen, Burton, Escutia, Johnson,
Kelley, McPherson, Perata, Vasconcellos
NOES: Leslie, Mountjoy
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 63-14, 5/30/00 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : State nonemergency telephone number system
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill authorizes local public agencies, as
defined, to establish a "311" nonemergency telephone system
designed to serve as the primary nonemergency telephone
number.
Senate Floor Amendments of 8/29/00 allow cities and
counties which currently have "911" systems, rather than
counties, to operate and manage such systems. These
amendments lower the cap on the surcharge for this program
from 0.75 percent to 0.25 percent of the customer's
intrastate telephone bill.
CONTINUED
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ANALYSIS : Current law provides for a "911" Emergency
Telephone Service system, which is financed by a surcharge
on all residential and business telephone bills, and caps
that surcharge at 0.75 percent of a customer's telephone
bill.
Current law provides for a pilot program to test a "311"
non-emergency telephone system.
This bill authorizes local public agencies, as defined, to
establish a "311" non-emergency telephone system.
This bill allows local public agencies to pay for such a
system by increasing the existing 911 surcharge on the
telephone bills in their local jurisdiction.
This bill requires the Communications Division of the State
Department of General Services (DGS) to help local public
agencies create "311" implementation plans, gives the
Division the authority to disapprove plans, and requires
the division to administer the "311" program.
Background
As most people are aware, "911" is the number for emergency
telephone service. This service was created in 1976 and
paid for by a surcharge (statutorily capped at 0.75
percent) on each telephone bill.
The number of calls to "911" has grown faster that the
number of operators needed to answer those calls. In Los
Angeles, it's been reported that five percent of all "911"
calls went unanswered and 27 percent of the calls took 10
or more seconds to answer. In the San Francisco Bay Area,
23 percent of "911" calls made by cellular telephones went
unanswered.
A significant number of "911" calls are for non-emergency
purposes. Estimates on just how many calls are of a
non-emergency variety range from as low as 20 percent to as
high as 95 percent. Here in Sacramento, officials estimate
between 50 percent and 80 percent of "911" calls aren't
true emergencies. Current law makes it a misdemeanor to
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use the "911" system for anything other than reporting
emergencies, though this has obviously not been a
successful deterrent.
One idea for relieving the pressure on the "911" system is
to provide an alternate means of contacting public safety
agencies for non-emergency purposes. In 1996, President
Clinton called for the creation of a nationwide
non-emergency telephone service similar to "911." In 1997,
the Federal Communications Commission ordered that "311"
service be made available for that purpose and, in that
same year, the Legislature passed AB 1198 (Hertzberg),
Chapter 887, Statutes or 1997, which created a "311" pilot
program in San Jose. Under the pilot, a "311" number was
tested against an attempt to educate the public about an
existing seven-digit non-emergency public assistance
number.
Last year, a final draft report on the results of the pilot
program found that both approaches improved "911" response
and that the "311" program was the more effective of the
two approaches. Under the "311" program, the average "911"
answer time decreased by 26 percent, and the number of
non-emergency calls to "911" decreased by 63 percent.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Unable to verify due to time constraints)
Association of Los Angeles Deputy Sheriffs
Los Angeles Police Protective League
Riverside Sheriff's Association
Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors
OPPOSITION : (Unable to verify due to time constraints)
State Board of Equalization
ASSEMBLY FLOOR
AYES: Alquist, Aroner, Battin, Bock, Calderon, Cardenas,
Cardoza, Cedillo, Corbett, Correa, Cox, Cunneen, Davis,
Dickerson, Ducheny, Dutra, Firebaugh, Florez, Floyd,
Frusetta, Gallegos, Havice, Honda, Jackson, Keeley, Knox,
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Kuehl, Lempert, Leonard, Longville, Lowenthal, Machado,
Maddox, Maldonado, Margett, Mazzoni, McClintock, Migden,
Nakano, Olberg, Robert Pacheco, Rod Pacheco, Papan,
Pescetti, Reyes, Romero, Scott, Shelley, Steinberg,
Strickland, Strom-Martin, Thomson, Torlakson,
Villaraigosa, Vincent, Washington, Wayne, Wesson,
Wiggins, Wildman, Wright, Zettel, Hertzberg
NOES: Aanestad, Ackerman, Ashburn, Bates, Baugh, Brewer,
Briggs, Campbell, House, Kaloogian, Leach, Oller, Runner,
Thompson
NC:kb 9/19/00 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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