Assembly BillPassed both housesGovernment
AB 1832: 2-1-1 information and referral response system.
What AB 1832 does, verified September 15, 2026
<p>The bill requires the California Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES) to establish communication channels with the Public Utilities Commission's (PUC) designated 2-1-1 lead entity and other emergency planning agencies. It mandates Cal OES to support 2-1-1 providers by enhancing system capacity, ensuring equitable access, publishing community needs data, aligning systems with 9-1-1 and 9-8-8 services, and implementing the duties of the 2-1-1 lead entity. The bill also requires the 2-1-1 lead entity to conduct statewide activities, provide funding to local providers if available, and submit annual reports to Cal OES. Additionally, it mandates Cal OES to communicate funding needs for the 2-1-1 system annually to the Department of Finance and the Governor's office for state budget planning purposes.</p>
Bill journey
✓IntroducedComplete
✓In CommitteeComplete
✓First Chamber FloorComplete
✓Second ChamberComplete
5GovernorCurrent
6ChapteredPending
Last action: Enrolled and presented to the Governor at 3:30 p.m. (2026-09-08)Alert me
Author and sponsors
Full contact details, staff, and committees with Connect, $15/moUnlockRecent actions27 total · showing 5
| Sep. 08, 2026 | Enrolled and presented to the Governor at 3:30 p.m. |
| Aug. 28, 2026 | Senate amendments concurred in. To Engrossing and Enrolling. (Ayes 77. Noes 0. Page 6793.). |
| Aug. 27, 2026 | In Assembly. Concurrence in Senate amendments pending. |
| Aug. 27, 2026 | Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Assembly. (Ayes 39. Noes 0.). |
| Aug. 25, 2026 | Ordered to special consent calendar. |
Latest bill textEnrolled version, September 2, 2026 · 930 words
| Enrolled September 02, 2026 |
| Passed IN Senate August 27, 2026 |
| Passed IN Assembly August 28, 2026 |
| Amended IN Senate August 13, 2026 |
| Amended IN Senate June 18, 2026 |
| Amended IN Assembly April 16, 2026 |
| Amended IN Assembly March 19, 2026 |
CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2025–2026 REGULAR SESSION
Assembly Bill
No. 1832
| Introduced by Assembly Member Ransom (Coauthors: Assembly Members Jeff Gonzalez and Wallis) |
February 11, 2026 |
An act to add Section 8588.4 to the Government Code, relating to communications.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1832, Ransom. 2-1-1 information and referral response system.
Existing law, the California Emergency Services Act, creates, within the office of the Governor, the Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES) under the supervision of the Director of Emergency Services. Under existing law, Cal OES is responsible for the state’s emergency and disaster response services for natural, technological, or man-made disasters and emergencies, including responsibility for activities necessary to prevent, respond to, recover from, and mitigate the effects of emergencies and disasters to people and property, as provided.
Existing law vests the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) with regulatory authority over public utilities, including telephone corporations. Existing law requires local public agencies to establish a “9-1-1” emergency telephone number, as specified. Existing law also authorizes a local public agency to establish a nonemergency “3-1-1” telephone system. Under existing federal law, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has designated “2-1-1” to be the national abbreviated dialing code to provide access to nonemergency community information and referral services. Pursuant to authority delegated by the FCC to state regulatory bodies and its existing statutory authority, the PUC has established procedures for implementing 2-1-1 dialing in California.
This bill would create in the State Treasury the 2-1-1 Fund and, upon appropriation by the Legislature, would require Cal OES to allocate moneys appropriated from the fund to the California 211 Providers Network to be used for, among other things, enhancing critical 2-1-1 system capacity and service quality through core operating support, providing equitable access to 2-1-1 dialing and services, publishing a statewide 2-1-1 community needs data dashboard for use by state agencies, and providing annual reports to Cal OES, as specified. The bill would authorize Cal OES, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to recover its reasonable administrative costs to administer the 2-1-1 Fund, as specified.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1.
This act shall be known, and may be cited, as the 2-1-1 Infrastructure and Emergency Response Act.SEC. 2.
The Legislature finds and declares both of the following:(a) Californians must be able to access 2-1-1 essential community services and critical communications infrastructure year-round and during disasters.
(b) Because the 2-1-1 system serves such a wide range of populations and service categories and has no dedicated funding source, unlike 9-1-1 and 9-8-8, it would benefit the public to create a fund to pool funding from different sources unless or until a dedicated funding source for the 2-1-1 system is identified.
SEC. 3.
Section 8588.4 is added to the Government Code, to read:8588.4.
(a) There is hereby created in the State Treasury the 2-1-1 Fund, the moneys in which shall be used for purposes of subdivisions (c), (d), and (e), upon appropriation by the Legislature.(b) The office shall allocate moneys appropriated from the 2-1-1 Fund to the California 211 Providers Network, also known as 211 California, to carry out the actions pursuant to subdivisions (c) and (d).
(c) The moneys in the fund shall be used for all of the following purposes:
(1) Enhancing critical 2-1-1 system capacity and service quality through core operating support, including all of the following:
(A) Staffing to handle 2-1-1 contacts.
(B) Training, supervision, and quality assurance.
(C) Consistent data collection and reporting.
(D) Multilingual and multichannel access through modern technology and infrastructure.
(2) Providing equitable access to 2-1-1 dialing and services by closing 2-1-1 coverage gaps and ensuring basic 2-1-1 service access statewide.
(3) Publishing a statewide 2-1-1 community needs data dashboard for use by state agencies in monitoring and identifying community and disaster needs and resource gaps, and to inform efficient and responsive resource allocation.
(4) Strengthening 2-1-1 community resource databases and enable resource data sharing and delivery to state agencies, health systems, and other key partners, and reduce redundancies in resource directory building and updating.
(5) Promoting 2-1-1 awareness through public education and outreach opportunities.
(6) Improving 2-1-1 system readiness, infrastructure, and capacity to respond to disasters and all hazard events, including by doing all of the following:
(A) Completing local and statewide 2-1-1 emergency operations plans.
(B) Securing needed infrastructure updates, tools, protocols, and training for both local disaster response and statewide mutual aid and network response.
(C) Engaging with local counties, cities, community-based organizations, and voluntary organizations active in disaster response planning, regarding the role of the 2-1-1 system and communication protocols.
(D) Providing emergency funding for 2-1-1 disaster activation when local or philanthropic funding is not available or not sufficient to match 2-1-1 disaster contact volume.
(d) The California 211 Providers Network shall annually provide a report to the office on the 2-1-1 system status, use of any funds, and future 2-1-1 system funding needs.
(e) The office shall administer the 2-1-1 Fund solely for the purposes of allocating moneys appropriated from the 2-1-1 Fund to the California 211 Providers Network pursuant to subdivision (b) and of receiving and reviewing the annual reports required pursuant to subdivision (d). The office may recover up to one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) per fiscal year for its reasonable administrative costs to administer the 2-1-1 Fund for these purposes.
Text of AB 1832 as enrolled, from the official record. Connect Plus keeps every version and highlights what changed.Compare versions