Bill Text: CA SB821 | 2017-2018 | Regular Session | Amended

California Senate Bill 821 (Prior Session Legislation)

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

Bill Title: Emergency notification: county jurisdictions.

Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2)

Status: (Passed) 2018-09-21 - Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 615, Statutes of 2018. [SB821 Detail]

Download: California-2017-SB821-Amended.html

Amended IN Assembly August 23, 2018

Amended IN Assembly August 16, 2018

Amended IN Assembly June 25, 2018

Amended IN Senate March 12, 2018

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2017–2018 REGULAR SESSION

Senate Bill

No. 821

Introduced by Senator Jackson
(Principal coauthor: Assembly Member Limón)

January 03, 2018

An act to add Section 8593.4 to the Government Code, ~~and to repeal and add Section 10850.9 of the Welfare and Institutions Code,~~ relating to emergency services.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

SB 821, as amended, Jackson. Emergency notification: county jurisdictions.

~~(1)The~~

The California Emergency Services Act establishes the Office of Emergency Services in the office of the Governor and provides that the office is responsible for the state’s emergency and disaster response services for natural, technological, or manmade disasters and emergencies, including responsibility for activities necessary to prevent, respond to, recover from, and mitigate the effects of emergencies and disasters to people and property.

Existing law defines “emergency plan” for purposes of emergency services provided by local governments and requires each county, including a city and county, upon the next update to its emergency plan, to integrate access and functional needs into its emergency plan by addressing, at a minimum, how the access and functional needs population, as defined, is served by emergency communications, evacuation, and sheltering.

This bill would authorize each county, including a city and county, to enter into an agreement to access the contact information of resident accountholders through the records of a public utility or other agency responsible for water service, waste and recycling services, or other property-related services for the sole purpose of enrolling county residents in a county-operated public emergency warning system. The bill would require any county that enters into such an agreement to include procedures to enable any resident to opt out of the warning system and a process to terminate the receiving agency’s access to the resident’s contact information. The bill would prohibit the use of the information gathered for any purpose other than for emergency notification.

(2)Existing law permits an authorized employee of a county social services department to disclose the name and residential address of elderly or disabled clients to police, fire, or paramedical personnel, or other designated emergency services personnel, in the event of a public safety emergency, as defined, that necessitates the possible evacuation of the area in which those elderly or disabled clients reside. Existing law requires the Director of Social Services to seek any federal approval necessary to implement the disclosure and conditions the implementation on the director executing a declaration stating that any required federal approval has been obtained, and only for the duration of that approval.
This bill would recast those provisions to instead permit an authorized employee of a county social services department, to the extent permitted by federal law, to disclose the contact information of persons from the access and functional needs population who are receiving public social services, and the contact information of the designated emergency contacts of those persons, to the above-described entities, in order to protect those persons in the event of a public safety emergency. The bill would revise the definition of “public safety emergency,” as specified. The bill would limit the use of disclosed contact information to the provision of emergency notification or direct emergency services. The bill would condition the disclosures on a determination that a public safety emergency exists, as specified.

Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: NO Local Program: NO

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

SECTION 1.

Section 8593.4 is added to the Government Code, to read:

8593.4.

(a) A county, including a city and county, may enter into an agreement to access the contact information of resident accountholders through the records of a public utility or other agency, including an electrical or gas corporation, local publicly owned electric utility, public water agency, or other agency responsible for water service, waste and recycling services, or other related services for a property address, for the sole purpose of enrolling county residents in a county-operated public emergency warning system.

(b) A county, including a city and county, that enters into an agreement to access information pursuant to subdivision (a) shall include procedures to enable any resident to opt out of the warning system and a process to terminate the receiving agency’s access to the contact information of the resident from a public utility or other agency, including an electrical or gas corporation, local publicly owned electric utility, public water agency, or other agency responsible for water service, waste and recycling services, or other related services for a property address. A county, or city and county, may not use the information gathered for any purpose other than for emergency notification. The receiving agency shall ensure that the confidentiality of the contact information is protected under reasonable security procedures.

(c) For purposes of this section, “contact information” means a person’s name, address, telephone numbers, and email address.

(d) Notwithstanding any other law, a public utility or other agency, including an electrical or gas corporation, local publicly owned electric utility, public water agency, or other agency responsible for water service, waste and recycling services, or other related services for a property address, shall not be subject to civil or criminal liability for the accuracy of, or any use, nonuse, or improper release of, the contact information it provides to the county under this section, including, without limitation, for any deficiencies or inaccuracies of the contact information provided.

SEC. 2.Section 10850.9 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is repealed.
SEC. 3.Section 10850.9 is added to the Welfare and Institutions Code, to read:
10850.9.
(a)Notwithstanding Section 10850, and to the extent permitted by federal law, an authorized employee of a county social services department may disclose the contact information of persons receiving public social services, and the contact information of the designated emergency contacts of those persons, if any, to police, fire, paramedical personnel, or other designated emergency services personnel, in order to protect those persons in the event of a public safety emergency.
~~(b)Contact information disclosed pursuant to this section shall be used only for the purpose of providing emergency notification or direct emergency services.~~
(c)Disclosures made pursuant to this section shall occur only after the director of a county social services department, or his or her designated representative, has determined that a public safety emergency exists.
~~(d)For purposes of this section, the following definitions apply:~~
~~(1)“Contact information” means a person’s name, address, telephone numbers, and email address.~~
(2)“Public safety emergency” means a fire, earthquake, gas leak, bomb scare, heat emergency, or other natural or human-made event that jeopardizes the immediate physical safety of persons within the service area of a county social services department.
(3)“Persons receiving public social services” means individuals from the access and functional needs population, as defined in Section 8593.3 of the Government Code, who are receiving public social services.