Assembly Bill Would Reroute Some 911 Wireless Calls

The Assembly Committee on Utilities and Commerce has approved a measure that would amend a statute requiring all wireless 911 calls to be routed through the California Highway Patrol.

The measure, which would allow about 30% of the wireless 911 calls to be routed to municipalities that could better handle the emergency, will be heard by the Assembly Judiciary Committee on May 5. If it is approved, the bill will go to the full Assembly for a vote.

Legislators hope the measure will bring some relief to the state’s overburdened wireless 911 system, and allow cellular carriers to put in place new technologies that would help track cellular phone numbers and a caller’s location.

The Judiciary Committee is expected to discuss a controversial provision in the measure, written by Assemblywoman Helen Thomson (D-Davis), that would give cellular carriers the protection of limited liability extended to land-line companies.

The Consumer Attorneys of California (formerly the California Trial Lawyers Assn.) opposes the provision, arguing that it would allow cellular carriers to make mistakes in the state’s wireless 911 network without penalty.