Governor Signs Benoit 911 Abuse Bill
California Political Desk
July 12, 2008
SACRAMENTO – On Thursday, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed into law Assembly Bill 1976, legislation by Assemblyman John J. Benoit (R-Bermuda Dunes) that strengthens fines for fraudulent 911 telephone calls.
"Having spent years responding to emergency situations where lives are in imminent danger, it disturbs me to think that some individuals are purposely undermining emergency responses with their abuse of 911 lines," said Assemblyman Benoit. "This new law will protect public safety by cracking down on abusers of the 911 emergency service lines."
There are about 500,000 calls to 911 in the United States every day, about 183 million every year. In California, the 911 calls made from cellular phones are answered by the California Highway Patrol. When call volume increases substantially, up to 37 percent of cellular phone calls made to the CHP go unanswered. In Los Angeles, it´s been reported that 5 percent of all 911 calls went unanswered and 27 percent of the calls took ten or more seconds to answer. In the San Francisco Bay Area, 23 percent of 911 calls made by cellular phones went unanswered.
According to the California Performance Review, in 2003, of 8 million cell phone calls made to 911 lines, between 20-45 percent of those calls were for non-emergencies. In Sacramento, officials estimate between 50-80 percent of 911 calls weren´t true emergencies. Under current law, offenders are given warnings on the first two offenses, fined $50 on the third, fined $100 on the fourth offense, and fined $200 on subsequent offenses.
AB 1976 strengthens this punishment by removing the second warning and imposing a $50 fine for the second offense, a $100 fine for a third offense, and a $250 fine for every subsequent offense. This legislation ensures that those who continue to make non-emergency phone calls to 911 understand that they will be held responsible for the costs that they inflict on our 911 system.
"Issuing warning after warning simply has not deterred this behavior," commented Assemblyman Benoit. "This important new law takes a common-sense approach in protecting a vital public safety tool."
"Having spent years responding to emergency situations where lives are in imminent danger, it disturbs me to think that some individuals are purposely undermining emergency responses with their abuse of 911 lines," said Assemblyman Benoit. "This new law will protect public safety by cracking down on abusers of the 911 emergency service lines."
There are about 500,000 calls to 911 in the United States every day, about 183 million every year. In California, the 911 calls made from cellular phones are answered by the California Highway Patrol. When call volume increases substantially, up to 37 percent of cellular phone calls made to the CHP go unanswered. In Los Angeles, it´s been reported that 5 percent of all 911 calls went unanswered and 27 percent of the calls took ten or more seconds to answer. In the San Francisco Bay Area, 23 percent of 911 calls made by cellular phones went unanswered.
According to the California Performance Review, in 2003, of 8 million cell phone calls made to 911 lines, between 20-45 percent of those calls were for non-emergencies. In Sacramento, officials estimate between 50-80 percent of 911 calls weren´t true emergencies. Under current law, offenders are given warnings on the first two offenses, fined $50 on the third, fined $100 on the fourth offense, and fined $200 on subsequent offenses.
AB 1976 strengthens this punishment by removing the second warning and imposing a $50 fine for the second offense, a $100 fine for a third offense, and a $250 fine for every subsequent offense. This legislation ensures that those who continue to make non-emergency phone calls to 911 understand that they will be held responsible for the costs that they inflict on our 911 system.
"Issuing warning after warning simply has not deterred this behavior," commented Assemblyman Benoit. "This important new law takes a common-sense approach in protecting a vital public safety tool."
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