2007 California Government Code Article 6.5. Accessibility To Emergency Services Information 8593-8594

CA Codes (gov:8593-8594)

8593.  The Office of Emergency Services shall work with advocacy
groups representing the deaf and hearing impaired, including, but not
limited to, the California Association of the Deaf and the Coalition
of Deaf Access Providers, California television broadcasters, city
and county emergency services coordinators, and, as appropriate, the
Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Federal Communications
Commission, to improve communication with deaf and hearing-impaired
persons during emergencies, including the use of open captioning by
California television broadcasters when transmitting emergency
information.


8593.1.  The Office of Emergency Services shall investigate the
feasibility of, and the funding requirements for, establishing a
"Digital Emergency Broadcast System" network, to be used by local and
state government agencies for the provision of warnings and
instructions in digital or printed form to California broadcast
outlets for relay to the public both orally and visually, through
television, and orally, through radio, during emergencies.



8593.2.  The Office of Emergency Services shall investigate the
feasibility of establishing a toll-free 800 telephone hotline,
including TDD (telecommunications device for the deaf) accessibility,
which would be accessible to the public, including deaf, hearing
impaired, and non- English speaking persons, for use during
nonemergency and emergency periods to respond to inquiries about
emergency preparedness and disaster status.



8593.4.  (a) The Office of Emergency Services shall conduct a study
of the emergency notification systems at California television and
radio broadcast stations to determine the ability of these stations
to notify the public of emergency situations 24 hours a day.
   (b) The office shall report its findings and any recommendations
for improving the system to the Legislature no later than July 1,
2003.



8593.6.  (a) No later than six months after securing funding for the
purposes of this section, the Director of the Office of Emergency
Services shall convene a working group for the purpose of assessing
existing and future technologies available in the public and private
sectors for the expansion of transmission of emergency alerts to the
public through a public-private partnership. The working group shall
advise the director and assist in the development of policies,
procedures, and protocols that will lay the framework for an improved
warning system for the public.
   (b) (1) The working group shall consist of the following
membership, to be appointed by the director:
   (A) A representative of the Office of Homeland Security.
   (B) A representative of the Attorney General's office.
   (C) A representative of the State Department of Public Health.
   (D) A representative of the State Emergency Communications
Committee.
   (E) A representative of the Los Angeles County Office of Emergency
Management, at the option of that agency.
   (F) A representative or representatives of local government, at
the option of the local government or governments.
   (G) Representatives of the private sector who possess technology,
experience, or insight that will aid in the development of a
public-private partnership to expand an alert system to the public,
including, but not limited to, representatives of providers of mass
communication systems, first responders, and broadcasters.
   (H) Additional representatives of any public or private entity as
deemed appropriate by the Director of the Office of Emergency
Services.
   (2) In performing its duties, the working group shall consult with
the Federal Communications Commission, and with respect to grants
and fiscal matters, the Office of Homeland Security.
   (c) The working group shall consider and make recommendations with
respect to all of the following:
   (1) Private and public programs, including pilot projects that
attempt to integrate a public-private partnership to expand an alert
system.
   (2) Protocols, including formats, source or originator
identification, threat severity, hazard description, and response
requirements or recommendations, for alerts to be transmitted via an
alert system that ensures that alerts are capable of being utilized
across the broadest variety of communication technologies, at state
and local levels.
   (3) Protocols and guidelines to prioritize assurance of the
greatest level of interoperability for first responders and families
of first responders.
   (4) Procedures for verifying, initiating, modifying, and canceling
alerts transmitted via an alert system.
   (5) Guidelines for the technical capabilities of an alert system.

   (6) Guidelines for technical capability that provides for the
priority transmission of alerts.
   (7) Guidelines for other capabilities of an alert system.
   (8) Standards for equipment and technologies used by an alert
system.
   (9) Cost estimates.
   (10) Standards and protocols in accordance with, or in
anticipation of, Federal Communications Commission requirements and
federal statutes or regulations.
   (11) Liability issues.
   (d) The director shall report the findings and recommendations of
the working group to the Legislature no later than one year from the
date the working group is convened.
   (e) The director may accept private monetary or in-kind donations
for the purposes of this section.


8594.  (a) If an abduction has been reported to a law enforcement
agency and the agency determines that a child 17 years of age or
younger, or an individual with a proven mental or physical
disability, has been abducted and is in imminent danger of serious
bodily injury or death, and there is information available that, if
disseminated to the general public, could assist in the safe recovery
of the victim, the agency, through a person authorized to activate
the Emergency Alert System, shall, absent extenuating investigative
needs, request activation of the Emergency Alert System within the
appropriate local area.  Law enforcement agencies shall only request
activation of the Emergency Alert System for an abduction if these
requirements are met.  The Emergency Alert System is not intended to
be used for abductions resulting from custody disputes that are not
reasonably believed to endanger the life or physical health of a
child.
   The California Highway Patrol, if requested by a law enforcement
agency, shall activate the system.
   (b) The California Highway Patrol, in consultation with the
Department of Justice, as well as a representative from the
California State Sheriffs' Association, the California Police Chiefs'
Association, and the California Peace Officers' Association, shall
develop policies and procedures providing instruction specifying how
law enforcement agencies, broadcasters participating in the Emergency
Alert System, and any other intermediate emergency agencies that may
institute activation of the Emergency Alert System, and, where
appropriate, other supplemental warning systems, shall proceed after
a qualifying abduction has been reported to a law enforcement agency.
  Those policies and procedures shall include, but not be limited to:

   (1) Procedures for transfer of information regarding the abducted
victim and abduction from the law enforcement agency to the
broadcasters;
   (2) Specification of the event code or codes that should be used
if the Emergency Alert System is activated to report a qualifying
child abduction;
   (3) Recommended language for an abduction alert;
   (4) Specification of information that must be included by the
reporting law enforcement agency, including which agency a person
with information relating to the abduction should contact and how the
person should contact the agency; and
   (5) Recommendations on the extent of the geographical area to
which a child abduction emergency alert should be broadcast.
   (c) The California Highway Patrol, in consultation with the
Department of Justice, shall review the Amber Plan as adopted by
other states and Orange County's Child Abduction Regional Emergency
Alert Program for guidance in developing appropriate policies and
procedures for use of the Emergency Alert System and, where
appropriate, other supplemental warning systems to report qualifying
abductions.
   (d) The California Highway Patrol, in conjunction with the
Department of Justice, shall develop a comprehensive child abduction
education system to educate children in the state on the appropriate
behavior to deter abduction. The California Highway Patrol shall
convene a group consisting of a representative from the California
State Sheriffs' Association, the California Police Chiefs'
Association, and the California Peace Officers' Association,
representatives of advocacy groups, and the Department of Education
to assist in the development of a plan.