CaliforniaGovernor's Office of Emergency Services: California Alert.
What it does
The California Emergency Services Act authorizes the Governor to declare a state of emergency, and local officials and local governments to declare a local emergency, when specified conditions of disaster or extreme peril to the safety of persons and property exist. Existing law establishes the Office of Emergency Services within the office of the Governor and charges it with responsibility 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 upon people and property. Existing law requires the Office of Emergency Services, in consultation with, at minimum, telecommunications carriers, the California cable and broadband industry, radio and television broadcasters, the California State Association of Counties, the League of California Cities, the access and functional needs community, appropriate federal agencies, and the Standardized Emergency Management System Alert and Warning Specialist Committee, to develop guidelines for alerting and warning the public of an emergency.
More detail
This bill would require the office to establish a statewide emergency alert system called California Alert. The bill would require California Alert to utilize Wireless Emergency Alerts authorized by the Integrated Public Alert Warning System, the Federal Emergency Management Agency's national system for local alerting that provides authenticated emergency information to the public through mobile phones within a designate cell tower's coverage area. The bill would require the office to contract with a private vendor that provides alerting systems to send California Alerts to registered phone numbers that are not location based. The bill would require the office to establish standards for issuing emergency alerts to California residents across local jurisdictional boundaries.
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Where it stands
- Introduced
- Passed Senate
- Passed Assembly
- To Governor
- Became Law
Looking ahead
No hearings or votes scheduled.
History
- 2026
- Feb 2Returned to Secretary of Senate pursuant to Joint Rule 56.Latest
- 2025
- May 23May 23 hearing: Held in committee and under submission.
- May 16Set for hearing May 23.
- May 5May 5 hearing: Placed on APPR. suspense file.
- Vote recorded Placed on suspense file. Result: pass.Upper
- Apr 25Set for hearing May 5.
- Apr 22From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 14. Noes 0. Page 830.) (April 22). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.Minor
- Vote recorded Do pass, but first be re-referred to the Committee on [Appropriations]. Result: pass.Upper
- Apr 10Set for hearing April 22.
- Apr 2Re-referred to Com. on G.O.Minor
- Mar 24From committee with author's amendments. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on RLS.Major
- Feb 26Referred to Com. on RLS.Minor
- Feb 20From printer. May be acted upon on or after March 22.
- Feb 19Introduced. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment. To print.Introduced