Notes from this month’s 9-1-1 Advisory Board Meeting:
FirstNet
A presentation on the FirstNet program was given by Jeff Johnson of the FirstNet Board. Items of note: LARICS now has approval/agreement with FirstNet to continue their work. BAYRICS is still in negotiations.
State Emergency Telephone Number Account
The Board of Equalization agreed to increase the 9-1-1 wireline surcharge from one half of one percent to three quarters of one percent, effective January 1, 2014. This should improve the SETNA fund balance for the next fiscal year, but is not a long term solution. The state is in the process of conducting a 3 year audit of the SETNA fund.
ALI Re-Bids
In 2006 the 9-1-1 Office sent out a memo asking PSAPs to not set up automatic ALI bids for wireless Phase II due to capacity limitations. This is apparently not an issue now, so they will be sending out a follow up memo rescinding the recommendation.
9-1-1 Wireless Routing Accuracy
The FCC is looking into the degradation of wireless accuracy from the wireless providers.
Education Awareness
The 9-1-1 Office is reviewing the results of the statewide PSAP survey inquiring about who calls 9-1-1, how it is used, current educational materials, and strategies. They got a 51% return on the surveys. No ETA on plans to improve in this area.
NextGen 9-1-1
The 5 NextGen 9-1-1 projects are still in progress. The 5 sites are:
• Butte County
• Mendocino
• Pasadena
• Ventura
• Northeastern California
Fact Sheets are available on the state website.
Four Text to 9-1-1 pilot projects will start next week:
• Butte County
• CSU Long Beach
• Long Beach PD
• Downey PD
They plan on producing a report in June of 2014.
Annual Training Allotment
The 9-1-1 Office has drafted annual training allotment guidelines for the 9-1-1 Consultants. This will be used to assist the consultants in making decisions on approval of 9-1-1 training opportunities.
Advisory Board Meeting Dates
The 9-1-1 Advisory Board has established their meeting dates for 2014:
February 19th
May 21st
August 20th
November 19th
All meetings will be in Sacramento, with the exact location to be determined.
LRPC
The Long Range Planning Committee is continuing to work on needed modifications to the Warren 9-1-1 Act.
9-1-1 Working Group
We are still in the information gathering phase – we have reviewed all the input received by the state, and have had informational presentations on the SETNA fund and the funding formula. Recently we sent out a survey to all PSAPs to get a better feel about how the SETNA fund is used and viewed. We got an impressive 80% response, primarily due to follow up contact from the members of the Working Group. We reviewed the results of the survey in our face to face meeting this week.
Incremental Funding
The LRPC had asked the Working Group to review/revise and submit a proposal for the incremental fund list. The list was reviewed and revised, and a proposal was presented to the LRPC on Tuesday.
PSAP Annual Spending Plans
The working group discussed this existing requirement, and will draft a proposed change to the manual for the next meeting.
Legislative Update
The 2013 legislative year is over. The following bills were being followed by the Association:
AB 47 (Gatto D) Emergency telephone system: abuse.
Status: This will be carried into the next legislative session – 2 year bill.
Summary: Would make any person who calls the 911 telephone system to dispatch a police, sheriff, fire department, or emergency medical service personnel response to a residence or place of business where there is no emergency, with the intent to annoy or harass another person, and police, sheriff, fire department, or emergency medical service personnel are dispatched as a result of the call, guilty of a
misdemeanor
AB 218 (Dickinson D) Employment applications: criminal history.
Status: Chaptered (signed into law)
Summary: Would, commencing July 1, 2014, prohibit a state or local agency from asking an applicant to disclose information regarding a criminal conviction, except as specified, until the agency has determined the applicant meets the minimum employment qualifications for the position.
AB 300 (Perea D) Telecommunications: prepaid mobile telephony services: state surcharge and fees: local charges collection.
Status: Vetoed by Governor Brown.
Summary: Would enact the Prepaid Mobile Telephony Service Surcharge Collection Act (act).
AB 911 (Bloom D) Telephone systems: 911.
Status: This will be carried into the next legislative session – 2 year bill.
Summary: Would require an MLTS operator, as defined, to program, maintain, and operate the MLTS, as specified, to ensure that each emergency call placed from any telephone on the MLTS is routed to the appropriate public safety answering point or private emergency answering point
SB 135 (Padilla D) Earthquake early warning system.
Status: Chaptered by Secretary of State
Summary: Would require the Office of Emergency Services, in collaboration with various entities, including the United States Geological Survey, to develop a comprehensive statewide earthquake early warning system in California through a public-private partnership and would require the system to include certain features, including the installation of field sensors.