BILL NUMBER: AB 424AMENDED BILL TEXT AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JANUARY 13, 2010 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JANUARY 7, 2010 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JANUARY 4, 2010 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 22, 2009 INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Torres FEBRUARY 23, 2009 An act to add Section 53114.5 to the Government Code, relating to the 911 emergency telephone number system. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST AB 424, as amended, Torres. Warren-911-Emergency Assistance Act: public education campaign. 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 require the office of the State Chief Information Officer to develop and implement a public education campaign to instruct the public on the appropriate and inappropriate uses of the 911 emergency telephone number system. 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. The Legislature finds and declares all of the following: (a) Calling 911 is the primary way of initiating communication between the public and public safety and law enforcement responders. (b) The 911 emergencytelephone numberresponse system in California is facing multiple challenges in meeting the needs of the public, including rapidly evolving communications technologies, understaffing of public safety answering points, budget constraints, and technical limitations of the current systems. Due to these challenges, the state's 911 emergencytelephone numberresponse system is failing to meet minimum standards for response in some areas, and jeopardizing the health and safety of Californians. (c) Californians can participate in addressing some of these challenges by increasing their knowledge of appropriate and inappropriate uses of the 911 emergency telephone number system, and the characteristics of the communication systems they use to access the 911 emergency response system. (d) The responsible state entities should undertake a public education campaign to increase the public's knowledge and assist the public in making effective use of the 911 emergency telephone number system, thereby improving the performance of the 911 emergencytelephone numberresponse system. SEC. 2. Section 53114.5 is added to the Government Code, to read: 53114.5. (a) The office of the State Chief Information Officer shall develop and implement a public education campaign to instruct the public on appropriate and inappropriate uses of the 911 emergency telephone number system. The public education campaign may include any of the following: (1) Education programs designed to help members of the public: (A) Distinguish emergencies that require a 911 call from nonemergencies that can be handled through other types of requests for information and response. (B) Understand alternatives, including 211 and 311, that can provide nonemergency assistance to the public. (C) Understand what information they can provide when calling 911 to assist the 911 relay operator or dispatcher, including, but not limited to, the caller's phone number, the caller's location, and a brief description of the emergency. (2) Education programs aimed specifically at informing schoolage children about the appropriate and inappropriate uses of 911. (3) Any other matters that the office deems appropriate or that the advisory board recommends and the office approves. (b) The costs to develop and implement the public education campaign shall be costs of administration within the meaning of paragraph (3) of subdivision (a) of Section 41136 of the Revenue and Taxation Code, so long as these costs directly relate to the 911 emergency telephone number system, and shall be funded upon an appropriation by the Legislature for that purpose.