BILL NUMBER: AB 510INTRODUCED BILL TEXT INTRODUCED BY Assembly Members Rodriguez and Williams FEBRUARY 23, 2015 An act to add and repeal Section 53122 of the Government Code, relating to emergency services. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST AB 510, as introduced, Rodriguez. Emergency services: 911 emergency communication system. The Warren-911-Emergency Assistance Act requires a local public agency to adopt a plan to implement a 911 emergency telephone response system, and establishes the State 911 Advisory Board to advise on specified subjects relating to the state's 911 emergency telephone response system. Existing law requires the Office of Emergency Services to determine annually, on or before October 1, a surcharge rate that it estimates will produce sufficient revenue to fund the current fiscal year's 911 costs, as specified. Existing law also requires the office to develop a plan and timeline of target dates for testing, implementing, and operating a Next Generation 911 emergency communication system, including text to 911 service, throughout this state. Existing law requires the office, in determining the surcharge rate, to additionally include costs it expects to incur, consistent with the plan and timeline, to plan, test, implement, and operate Next Generation 911 technology and services, including text to 911 service. Existing law requires the office, at least one month before determining the surcharge rate, to prepare a summary of the calculation of the proposed surcharge and make it available to the Legislature and the 911 Advisory Board, and on the office's Internet Web site. This bill would require the office, by January 1, 2017, to conduct a comprehensive review of California's 911 emergency communications system, including all public safety answering points, available technology, funding needs, and telephone and equipment limitations, and provide a report on its findings to the Legislature, to include specified information and recommendations. 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) There are gaps in public safety protection. Also, accurate caller location information is vital for 911 calls and the safety of Californians. (b) Problems with the current 911 systems include: (1) misrouting a call to an entirely incorrect public safety answering point (PSAP), sometimes in a different city or region, and (2) delivery of inaccurate caller location information to the proper PSAP. (c) In many areas, approximately 70 to 80 percent of 911 calls are made by wireless devices, and in many cases the exact location of the caller is not immediately known. Calls are generally forwarded to a California Highway Patrol PSAP. The caller is queried, the location determined, and the call transferred to a local dispatch center. This often results in delays in the arrival of emergency medical services responders and the provision of important medical care. On some occasions errors in this process have resulted in serious injury or death. (d) The 911 system is technology dependent, which over the years has steadily improved. There are, however, significant problems with the 911 system and planning, and recent developments in technology and decisions made by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) require the state to reassess policies and practices. (e) On January 29, 2015, the FCC voted to adopt rules to help emergency responders to better locate wireless callers to 911. The FCC press release stated: "These updates to the Commission's Enhanced 911 (E911) rules respond to Americans' increasing use of wireless phones to call 911, especially from indoors, where traditional 911 location technologies often do not work effectively or at all. The new rules take advantage of technological developments that will allow for more accurate location information to be transmitted with indoor 911 calls. The Commission's E911 rules require wireless providers to automatically transmit to 911 call centers information on the location of wireless 911 callers, within certain parameters for accuracy. These rules, which were adopted in 1996 and underwent their last major revision in 2010, enabled wireless providers to meet this accuracy standard based solely on the measured performance of outdoor wireless 911 calls. However calling habits are changing. Many Americans are replacing landlines with wireless phones, with more than two out of five U.S. households now relying solely on wireless. Most 911 calls are currently made from wireless phones, and most wireless calls are made from indoors. This increases the likelihood that wireless 911 calls will come from indoor environments where traditional location accuracy technologies, optimized for outdoor calling, may not work. To close this gap in performance, the Commission today updated its E911 rules to include requirements focused on indoor location accuracy. The new rules are intended to help first responders locate Americans calling for help from indoors, including challenging environments such as large multi-story buildings, where responders are often unable to determine the floor or even the building where the 911 call originated. The new rules establish clear and measurable timelines for wireless providers to meet indoor location accuracy benchmarks, both for horizontal and vertical location information. The Commission noted that no single technological approach will solve the challenge of indoor location, and no solution can be implemented overnight. The new requirements therefore enable wireless providers to choose the most effective solutions and allow sufficient time for development of applicable standards, establishment of testing mechanisms, and deployment of new location technology. The new rules were informed by extensive input from stakeholders, including public safety organizations, wireless providers, technology vendors, state and local governments, and public interest groups. The Commission emphasized that its ultimate objective in this proceeding is for all Americans - whether they are calling 911 from urban or rural areas, from indoors or outdoors - to receive the support they need in times of emergency. Today's action takes affirmative steps to make that happen." (f) It is imperative that the State of California perform a review of its 911 emergency communications system policies and procedures, to make changes that reflect technology available now and in the near future, and to make plans to improve the 911 system in order to protect lives. SEC. 2. Section 53122 is added to the Government Code, to read: 53122. (a) The Office of Emergency Services shall, by January 1, 2017, conduct a comprehensive review of California's 911 emergency communications system, including all public safety answering points, available technology, funding needs, and telephone and equipment limitations, and provide a report on its findings to the Legislature. The report shall provide information regarding the accuracy of calls made by mobile devices made in different areas of the state and shall include office recommendations for future investment in services and coordination with private and public groups needed to improve service and accuracy. (b) (1) A report to be submitted pursuant to subdivision (a) shall be submitted in compliance with Section 9795. (2) Pursuant to Section 10231.5, this section is repealed on January 1, 2020.