AB 2474: Office of Emergency Services: public alert and early warning software: master contract.
The bill aims to establish a statewide master contract for a public alert and early warning software that supports interoperable public safety alerting across state, regional, and local governmental entities. The software must be created and ready for use by January 1, 2028, and be interoperable across state, regional, and local entities. Cities and counties must utilize the software for public safety alerts on and after January 1, 2028, with the primary responsibility of sending out emergency alerts falling on local officials. The bill also requires an annual alert and warning training that includes the public alert and early warning software, starting from January 1, 2028. The state will reimburse local agencies and school districts for costs mandated by the bill if the commission on state mandates determines that the bill contains such costs.
| Apr. 13, 2026 | In committee: Set, first hearing. Hearing canceled at the request of author. |
| Apr. 09, 2026 | Re-referred to Com. on E.M. |
| Apr. 08, 2026 | From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to Com. on E.M. Read second time and amended. |
| Mar. 09, 2026 | Referred to Com. on E.M. |
| Feb. 21, 2026 | From printer. May be heard in committee March 23. |
| Amended IN Assembly April 08, 2026 |
| Introduced by Committee on Emergency Management (Assembly Members Ransom (Chair), Bains, Bennett, and Calderon) |
February 20, 2026 |
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
Existing law requires OES, at least annually, through its California Specialized Training Institute and with involvement of representatives from the access and functional needs community, as specified, to develop an alert and warning training that includes certain information, including the evaluation, purchase, and operation of federal Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) and federal Emergency Alert System (EAS) equipment and software, as specified.
This bill would require the next annual development of an alert and warning training on or after January 1, 2028, to include the public alert and early warning software created pursuant to the bill’s provisions.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.
This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1.
(a) California is a disaster-prone state that continues to face a high frequency of severe emergencies and disasters such as wildfires, floods, earthquakes, extreme heat, and other threats that require timely, accurate, and coordinated public alert and warning capabilities.(a)On or before July 1, 2022, 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, including people with disabilities, as described in paragraphs (1) through (3) of subdivision (a) of Section 8588.15, appropriate federal agencies, and the Standardized Emergency Management System Alert and Warning Specialist Committee, shall develop guidelines for alerting and warning the public of an emergency. Those guidelines shall include, at minimum, the following:
(1)Timelines for sending alerts during an emergency.
(2)Practices for sending advance warnings of an impending threat.
(3)Practices for testing, training on, and exercising a city’s, county’s, or city and county’s alert and warning system.
(4)Consideration for coordinating alerts with neighboring jurisdictions.
(5)Guidelines and protocols for redundancy and utilizing multiple forms of alerts.
(6)Guidelines and protocols for chain of command communications and accounting for staffing patterns to ensure a trained operator is always on call.
(7)Practices for effective notifications to the access and functional needs population as defined in subdivision (f) of Section 8593.3.
(8)Message templates.
(9)Common terminology.
(b)(1)The Office of Emergency Services shall provide each city, county, and city and county with a copy of the guidelines developed according to subdivision (a).
(2)Six months after the Office of Emergency Services provides the guidelines to each city, county, and city and county, the office may impose conditions upon a city’s, county’s, or city and county’s application for any voluntary grant funds that have a nexus to emergency management performance that the office administers, requiring that city, county, or city and county to operate its alert and warning activities in a manner that is consistent with the guidelines developed pursuant to subdivision (a).
(c)(1)Within six months of making the guidelines available pursuant to subdivision (b) and at least annually, the Office of Emergency Services, through its California Specialized Training Institute and with involvement of representatives from the access and functional needs community, including people with disabilities, as described in paragraphs (1) through (3) of subdivision (a) of Section 8588.15, shall develop an alert and warning training.
(2)The training developed pursuant to this subdivision shall include, at minimum, information regarding the following:
(A)The evaluation, purchase, and operation of federal Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) and federal Emergency Alert System (EAS) equipment and software, including capabilities that address communications for the access and functional needs community.
(B)The technical capabilities of the WEA and EAS function within an alert system, pursuant to current Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and Federal Communications Commission regulations, as amended from time to time.
(C)The alert and warning guidelines developed in subdivision (a).
(D)Upon the next annual development of an alert and warning training on or after January 1, 2028, the public alert and early warning software created pursuant to Section 8607.05.
(d)The safety of local communities requires designated alerting authorities to ensure that they have multiple operators, adequate testing and training, and functional equipment and software. To the extent designated alerting authorities have difficulty acquiring or maintaining adequate alert and warning resources, they may consult with the Office of Emergency Services on best practices to achieve those goals.
(e)“Operator” means those personnel required by the designated alerting authority to transmit alert and warning messages.
(f)The Office of Emergency Services (OES) may adopt emergency regulations to implement this section. The adoption, amendment, repeal, or readoption of a regulation authorized by this section is deemed to address an emergency, for purposes of Sections 11346.1 and 11349.6, and OES is hereby exempted for this purpose from the requirements of subdivision (b) of Section 11346.1.
SEC. 3.SEC. 2.
8607.05.
(a) (1) On or before July 1, 2027, the office(b)Under the master contract,
(1)
(2)
(3)
(c)Under the master contract, the public alert and early warning software shall be created and ready for use by January 1, 2028.
(d)On and after January 1, 2028, each local government that issues public safety alerts shall utilize the public alert and early warning software procured pursuant to the statewide master contract created by the office pursuant to subdivision (a).
(e)It shall be the primary responsibility of the public emergency warning system operator in each local government to send out emergency alerts to their residents.