California's Office of Emergency Services has spent over 450 million dollars since 2019 to upgrade the state's 9-1-1 system but has failed to deliver. Lawmakers held an oversight hearing on Tuesday as CAL OES looks to build a new system.
Known as "Next Gen 911," the project would replace outdated phone infrastructure with internet-based technology capable of receiving texts, images, and video calls. But after a decade since being announced, only 23 of more than 400 dispatch centers are online. Steve Yarborough with Cal OES says the system has been plagued with technical issues.
["In several cases, calls were routed incorrectly, transferred improperly, or experienced degraded voice quality during those handoffs."]
CAL OES is now proposing a single statewide system to be ready by 2030, replacing the current regional approach which has four different vendors, but didn't offer a clear cost estimate.
The California Legislative Analyst's Office has recommended pausing the project until questions surrounding the scope of the problems --- and how they'll be fixed--- are addressed. Democratic Assemblymember Steve Bennett agreed:
"911 is so important and with the Olympics coming, it's so important. We cannot blow this. We cannot blow this transition."
A bill to increase oversight — including quarterly reports to lawmakers about the project's timeline— is currently moving through the Legislature.
