Office of Emergency Services: public alert and early warning software: master contract., the official text

An act to add and repeal Section 8607.05 of the Government Code, relating to emergency services.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

Existing law, the California Emergency Services Act, establishes the Office of Emergency Services (OES) within the office of the Governor, and sets forth its powers and duties, including responsibility for addressing natural, technological, or manmade disasters and emergencies, including activities necessary to prevent, respond to, recover from, and mitigate the effects of emergencies and disasters to people and property.
Existing law requires OES, in coordination with all interested state agencies with designated response roles in the state emergency plan and interested local emergency management agencies, to jointly establish by regulation a standardized emergency management system for use by all emergency response agencies, as specified. The act requires each local agency, in order to be eligible for any funding of response-related costs under disaster assistance programs, to use the standardized emergency management system to coordinate multiple-jurisdiction or multiple-agency operations, except that a local agency is eligible for repair, renovation, or any other nonpersonnel costs resulting from an emergency.
This bill would require OES, on or before July 1, 2027, in consultation with certain entities, to develop an implementation plan for entering into a statewide master contract for a public alert and early warning software that is capable of supporting interoperable public safety alerting across state, regional, and local governmental entities. The bill would require the implementation plan, among other requirements, to include a draft request for proposal under which the public alert and early warning software, among other things, is interoperable across state, regional, and local governmental entities. The bill would require the office, upon completion of the implementation plan, to send the plan to the Assembly Committee on Emergency Management and the Senate Committee on Emergency Management.
The bill would make the implementation of the plan to enter into a statewide master contract for the creation of a public alert and early warning software subject to approval by the Legislature. If the public alert and early warning software is implemented, the bill would require a city or county that issues public safety alerts to utilize the public alert and early warning software. The bill would specify, among other things, that it is the primary responsibility of the public emergency warning system operator in each city or county to send out emergency alerts to their residents. The bill would repeal its provisions on January 1, 2030.
The bill would include findings and declarations relating to its provisions.
The bill would include findings that changes proposed by this bill address a matter of statewide concern rather than a municipal affair and, therefore, apply to all cities, including charter cities.

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

SECTION 1.
(a) California is a disaster-prone state that continues to face a high frequency of severe emergencies and disasters such as wildfires, floods, earthquakes, extreme heat, and other threats that require timely, accurate, and coordinated public alert and warning capabilities.
(b) Effective alert and early warning systems are a critical component of the state’s emergency management framework and are essential to protecting life, property, and public safety, particularly for vulnerable populations.
(c) Public alert and warning capabilities currently vary across the state as each local jurisdiction individually contracts with differing software platforms, resulting in inconsistent functionality, limited interoperability, increased costs, and potential delays in sending alerts and warnings.
(d) A single, interoperable alert and early warning platform would ease coordination efforts between state, regional, and local agencies that cross jurisdictional boundaries to ensure alerts and warnings are provided in a timely fashion.
(e) Requiring local governments to adopt a common alert and early warning platform pursuant to a state master contract will strengthen California’s ability to operate as an integrated emergency response system while preserving local control over the issuance and content of alerts.

SEC. 2.
Section 8607.05 is added to the Government Code, to read:
8607.05.
(a) (1) On or before July 1, 2027, the office shall, in consultation with the entities described in paragraph (2), develop an implementation plan for entering into a statewide master contract for a public alert and early warning software that is capable of supporting interoperable public safety alerting across state, regional, and local governmental entities.
(2) The office shall develop the implementation plan in consultation with all of the following entities:
(A) Telecommunications representatives.
(B) California State Association of Counties (CSAC).
(C) League of California Cities.
(D) California Emergency Services Association (CESA).
(E) The access and functional needs community, including persons with disabilities, as described in paragraphs (1) to (3), inclusive, of subdivision (a) of Section 8588.15.
(F) Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CalFIRE).
(G) Department of the California Highway Patrol (CHP).
(H) Department of Technology.
(I) Standardized Emergency Management System Alert and Warning Specialist Committee.
(J) Any appropriate federal agencies, including the National Weather Service (NWS).
(b) The implementation plan shall do all of the following:
(1) Include a draft request for proposal under which the public alert and early warning software shall, at a minimum, meet all of the following requirements:
(A) Be interoperable across state, regional, and local governmental entities.
(B) Integrate with federal and state public alert systems, including, but not limited to, the federal Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS), the federal Emergency Alert System (EAS), and federal Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA).
(C) Integrate with relevant local government alert systems, including, but not limited to, local siren systems.
(D) Allow for real-time coordination and situational awareness among authorized users during emergencies.
(E) Require appropriate telecommunication carrier requirements to support the public alert and early warning software.
(2) Outline the process by which a local government adopts the public alert and early warning software and the requirements for a local government to use the software.
(3) Determine the level of systems structure needed to effectively and safely provide timely alerts and warnings at both the state and local government level.
(4) Provide guidance to local governments, including, but not limited to, guidance on software adoption, public messaging, templates, staffing, data integrity, use of alerting, and managing multijurisdictional alerts.
(5) Determine the level of support needed from the federal government and state Legislature.
(6) Provide timeline estimates for final implementation of the software, if approved.
(7) Analyze financial responsibility options for the state and local governments, as applicable.
(8) Assess data ownership and personally identifiable information responsibility.
(9) Include cybersecurity safety standards.
(10) Consider coordination with, or necessity of, existing software available at the statewide level.
(c) Upon completion of the implementation plan, the office shall send the plan to the Assembly Committee on Emergency Management and the Senate Committee on Emergency Management.
(d) Implementation of the plan to enter into a statewide master contract for the creation of a public alert and early warning software shall be subject to approval by the Legislature.
(e) If the public alert and early warning software is implemented, each local government that issues public safety alerts shall utilize the public alert and early warning software.
(f) Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit the authority of a local government to determine when and how to issue public safety alerts within its jurisdiction.
(g) For purposes of this section, “local government” means a city, including a charter city, county, or city or county, including a charter city or county.
(h) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2030, and as of that date is repealed.

SEC. 3.
The Legislature finds and declares that Section 2 of this act adding Section 8607.05 to the Government Code addresses a matter of statewide concern rather than a municipal affair as that term is used in Section 5 of Article XI of the California Constitution. Therefore, Section 2 of this act applies to all cities, including charter cities.