AB1168:v95#DOCUMENTBill Start
Assembly Bill
No. 1168
CHAPTER 237
An act to amend Section 53112 of the Government Code, relating to emergency services.
[
Approved by
Governor
September 05, 2019.
Filed with
Secretary of State
September 05, 2019.
]
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1168, Mullin.
Emergency services: text to 911.
Existing law, the Warren-911-Emergency Assistance Act, provides that each local public agency within its respective jurisdiction establish a basic system that automatically connects a person dialing 911 to an established public safety answering point through normal telephone service facilities, or to be part of such a system. The act requires the Office of Emergency Services to develop a plan and timeline of target dates for the testing, implementation and operation of a Next Generation 911 emergency coordination system, that includes a text to 911 service, throughout California.
This bill would require each public safety answering point to deploy a text to 911 service, no later than January 1, 2021, that is capable of accepting Short Message Service (SMS)
messages and Real-Time Text (RTT) messages.
Digest Key
Vote:
MAJORITY
Appropriation:
NO
Fiscal Committee:
YES
Local Program:
NO
Bill Text
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1.
Section 53112 of the Government Code is amended to read:53112.
(a) All systems shall be designed to meet the specific requirements of each community and public agency served by the system. Every system, whether basic or sophisticated, shall be designed to have the capability of using at least three of the methods specified in Sections 53103 to 53106, inclusive, in response to emergency calls. The Legislature finds and declares that the most critical aspect of the design of any system is the procedure established for handling a telephone request for emergency services.(b) To maximize efficiency and use of the system, all pay telephones within each system shall enable a caller to dial “911” for emergency services, and to reach an operator by dialing “0,”
without the necessity of inserting a coin. At those “911” public safety answering points serving an area where 5 percent or more of the population, in accordance with the latest United States census information, speak a specific primary language other than English, operators who speak that other language, in addition to English, shall be on duty or available through interagency telephone conference procedures at all times for “911” emergency services.
(c) Each system shall require installation of a telecommunications device capable of servicing the needs of the deaf or severely hard of hearing at the “911” public safety answering point or points. The device shall be compatible with devices furnished by telephone corporations pursuant to Section 2881 of the Public Utilities Code.
(d) By January 1, 2021, each public safety answering point shall deploy a text to 911 service that enables an individual to text “911” for emergency services that is capable of accepting Short Message Service (SMS) messages and Real-Time Text (RTT) messages.