SECTION 1.
The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:(a) In order to create a statewide disaster preparedness, response, and recovery system and to facilitate the reach of local services to vulnerable populations, this act is hereby established to create the 2-1-1 Strategic Advisory Committee to recommend policies and priorities to the Governor, the Legislature, and to appropriate state agencies to encourage the development of California’s 2-1-1 infrastructure to promote equity, strengthen wildfire resilience, and promote public health and safety.
(b) 2-1-1 is a free-to-use information and referral service that connects people in covered areas to health and human services in their community. First established in 2000 by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), 2-1-1 service is fully deployed in 41 California counties and partially deployed in 17 rural counties, activated only when a state of emergency has been declared.
(c) Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) has regulatory authority over public utilities, including telephone corporations. The FCC, pursuant to its existing authority over the North American Numbering Plan, has established several abbreviated dialing codes, including designating the number 9-1-1 for persons to dial to obtain emergency services, designating the number 3-1-1 for persons to dial for nonemergency police assistance, and designating the number 2-1-1 for persons to dial to obtain information about, and referral to, community social services.
(d) Pursuant to authority delegated by the FCC to state regulatory bodies and its existing statutory authority, the PUC has established procedures for implementing 2-1-1 dialing in California, including designating qualifying entities to manage 2-1-1 service in the state.
(e) Every day, thousands of Californians contact 2-1-1 operators who are trained to connect callers to services in their community. 2-1-1 is available to people of all income levels, languages, and cultural backgrounds and is a critical gateway for federal, state, and localized information and resources to all communities for services such as shelter, food, health care, and support during times of emergency or disaster.
(f) During times of economic uncertainty as well as disasters, the demand for rapid response resources, complex case management, and coordination increases significantly. In many cases, individuals and families who have not had to use health and social services find themselves struggling to navigate various systems of care. 2-1-1 acts as the community front door in these cases, ensuring individuals are referred and connected to appropriate local agencies and community organizations.
(g) 2-1-1 service increases the reach of government, nonprofits, and community programs by offering callers information on, and access to, a variety of health and human services, rent and utility assistance, physical and mental health resources, employment opportunities, support for older Americans and persons with disabilities, and support for families with special needs.
(h) 2-1-1 is a hub for disaster-related information and plays a critical role during emergencies and disasters, such as fires, floods, earthquakes, terrorist attacks, and epidemics, reducing nonemergency call volume on 9-1-1 lines, which frees up emergency responders to address true life-or-death situations, thus effectively leveraging local public safety resources.
(i) In 2022 alone, 2-1-1 providers took on the challenge of obtaining additional resources and were able to make 2,000,000 connections via telephone call and made over 2,100,000 referrals, 710,000 of which were to address housing insecurity and homelessness. 2-1-1 providers across the state demonstrated their capabilities as experienced responders who are able to scale their infrastructure and offer new services quickly, such as addressing rising food insecurity and assisting people for whom online forms presented language, digital literacy, or internet access challenges.
(j) The limited emergency funding established under Senate Bill 1212 (Chapter 841 of the Statutes of 2016) expired on January 1, 2023, which put at risk the access of 17 rural and geographically diverse counties to 2-1-1 services. These counties and their 500,000 residents are especially vulnerable to natural disasters, such as wildfires, and thus have a greater need for expanded 2-1-1 services.
(k) The Legislature further finds and declares that every county in California needs full-time access to 2-1-1 information and referral services that use curated local resource information and that state funding is necessary to foster greater capacity, coordination, and alignment among all 2-1-1 providers in order to create a statewide health and human services navigation network, to improve its disaster preparedness, response, and recovery system, and to facilitate the reach of local services to vulnerable populations.
(l) It is the intent of the Legislature, in enacting this act, to establish a statewide advisory committee to support the equitable access to and coordination of 2-1-1 services statewide.