California Assembly Bill AB1679 Amended / Bill

 BILL NUMBER: AB 1679AMENDED BILL TEXT AMENDED IN SENATE AUGUST 2, 2010 INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Torres JANUARY 25, 2010 An act  to add Chapter 30.6 (commencing with Section 7594.6) to Division 7 of Title 1 of the Government Code,  relating to public safety. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST AB 1679, as amended, Torres. Public Safety Telecommunicators Week. The Warren-911-Emergency Assistance Act requires every local public agency to establish and operate, or to be a part of, an emergency telephone system using the digits "911," and creates the State 911 Advisory Board to assist in facilitating the purpose of the act to establish the number 911 as the primary emergency telephone number statewide. This bill would designate the second full week of April of each year as California Public Safety Telecommunicators Week for the purpose of heightening citizen awareness of the great importance of 911 service and its role in keeping the public safe. The bill would require the Governor and the Legislature to annually issue proclamations and resolutions, as specified, that draw public attention to the week in order to encourage the private sector and state and local agencies to initiate activities recognizing public safety telecommunicators. Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no. State-mandated local program: no. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares all of the following: (a) Over one-half million dedicated men and women are engaged in the operation of emergency response systems for federal, state, and local governmental entities throughout the United States, including an estimated 55,000 dedicated men and women in California. (b) These individuals are responsible for responding to the telephone calls of the general public for police, fire, and emergency medical assistance, and for dispatching this critical assistance necessary to help save the lives and property of our citizens. (c) Public safety telecommunicators are the first point of contact for most interactions between members of the public and the public safety systems that keep Californians safe, and the public expects and receives extraordinarily dedicated service from these individuals. (d) America's public safety telecommunicators serve the public in countless ways each day, often without recognition by the beneficiaries of their services. (e) Congress has designated the second full week of April of each year as National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week, and it is appropriate for California to conform to this practice.  SEC. 2.   Chapter 30.6 (commencing with Section 7594.6) is added to Division 7 of Title 1 of the Government Code, to read: CHAPTER 30.6. PUBLIC SAFETY TELECOMMUNICATORS WEEK 7594.6. The second full week in April of each year,   SEC. 2.   The second full week in April of each year,  commencing in 2011, is hereby designated as California Public Safety Telecommunicators Week. The purpose of California Public Safety Telecommunicators Week shall be to heighten citizen awareness of the great importance of 911 service and its role in keeping the public safe. The Governor and the Legislature shall annually issue proclamations and resolutions, respectively, as deemed appropriate, that draw public attention to the week in order to encourage the private sector and state and local agencies to initiate activities recognizing public safety telecommunicators.