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AB-865 State agencies: live customer service agents.(2007-2008)

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Enrolled  August 08, 2008
Passed  IN  Senate  July 10, 2008
Passed  IN  Assembly  August 07, 2008
Amended  IN  Senate  June 24, 2008
Amended  IN  Assembly  January 22, 2008
Amended  IN  Assembly  January 17, 2008
Amended  IN  Assembly  April 23, 2007

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2007–2008 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill
No. 865

Introduced  by  Assembly Member Davis

February 22, 2007

An act to amend Section 11022 of the Government Code, relating to state agencies.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


AB 865, Davis. State agencies: live customer service agents.
Existing law requires each state agency to establish a procedure whereby incoming telephone calls on any public line shall be answered within 10 rings during regular business hours, subject to certain exceptions.
This bill would name these provisions the State Agency Live Customer Service Act. It would require each state agency to answer an incoming call on its main public line with a live customer service agent or automated telephone answering equipment with an automated prompt that allows a caller to select the option to speak with a live customer service agent, subject to certain exceptions.
Existing law provides for the State and Consumer Services Agency, the Business, Transportation and Housing Agency, the California Environmental Protection Agency, the California Health and Human Services Agency, the Labor and Workforce Development Agency, the Resources Agency, and the Youth and Adult Correctional Agency in state government.
This bill would specify that its provisions only apply to these designated agencies.
Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: NO  

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:


SECTION 1.

 Section 11022 of the Government Code is amended to read:

(a) This section shall be known and may be cited as the State Agency Live Customer Service Act.

11022.
 (b) Each state agency shall establish a procedure pursuant to which incoming telephone calls on the main public line shall be answered by a live customer service agent, or automated telephone answering equipment in accordance with subdivision (c), within 10 rings during regular business hours as set forth in Section 11020, except when emergency or illness requires adjustments to normal staffing levels.
(c) During regular business hours, as set forth in Section 11020, the headquarters of every state agency that uses automated telephone answering equipment shall have for all incoming telephone calls on the main public line, an automated prompt that allows a caller to select the option to speak with a live customer service agent and shall have a live customer service agent available for this purpose.
(d) Subdivision (c) does not apply to telephone lines dedicated as hotlines for emergency services, telephone lines dedicated exclusively to providing general information, and any system that is designed to permit an individual to conduct a complete transaction with a state agency over the telephone solely by pressing one or more touch-tone telephone keys in response to automated prompts.
(e) For the purposes of this section, the following definitions shall apply:
(1) “Headquarters” means the chief executive office of the agency designated by the director or head of the agency as its main office.
(2) “Main public line” means the line designated by the director or head of the agency as its main public line.
(f) Notwithstanding Section 11000, for the purposes of this section, “agency” refers only to those agencies listed in Section 12800.